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The differences between retail specialists and customer service specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a customer service specialist has an average salary of $33,238, which is higher than the $31,114 average annual salary of a retail specialist.
The top three skills for a retail specialist include store management, retail environment and store associates. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Retail Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $31,114 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $14.96 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | - | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 269,690 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 41 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 12 |
A retail specialist is primarily in charge of securing sales and assisting customers on a sales floor, ensuring to meet the daily sales targets and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include greeting clients and answering inquiries, locating products, offering recommendations and promotions, and processing payments. They may also address issues or concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as a retail specialist, it is essential to maintain the cleanliness of the sales floor and arrange displays properly to attract customers.
Customer service specialists are employees who are responsible for providing the best customer experience to customers, usually for after-sales transactions. They attend to customers' inquiries and provide answers to their questions on products or services that the company offers. They also address customer complaints and help mitigate the concerns by offering solutions such as instructions on how to fix defects, or processing replacements or refunds. Customer service specialists also listen to customer feedback and ensure that these are logged properly so that proper departments will be able to receive them.
Retail specialists and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $31,114 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $43,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Salem, NH | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a retail specialist and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Retail Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retail specialists' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Retail Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 41 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |