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What does a retail supervisor do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a retail supervisor do

The retail supervisor's main job responsibility is to oversee the work of retail staff in a physical store environment. They check and monitor employee activity, coordinate the receiving and shipping of merchandise, and assist customers in their purchases, ensuring smooth day-to-day overall operation. They work for any type of retail store, whether it is clothing, home goods, or an electronics store. In addition, they typically work in a mixed environment that consists of both an office and a sales floor.

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Retail supervisor responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real retail supervisor resumes:

  • Assist store leadership in effectively leading, managing and developing store and/or department operations and associates to maximize sales and profitability.
  • Prepare food and ensure cleanliness of work area as well as served as a retail sales associate in the gift shop.
  • Prepare receipts for food using cash registers, computers, calculators, POS systems and other acceptable payment methods.
  • Maintain restaurant cleanliness, and delegate restaurant duties as necessary.
  • Monitor and submit weekly payroll and expense reports with modifications when need.
  • Perform management operations flawlessly and economically schedule employees, while maintaining weekly payroll.
  • Prepare sales and customer relations reports by analyzing and categorizing sales information; identifying and investigating customer complaints and service suggestions.
  • Gather and enter data into the computer system RMS.
  • Gain buy-in and trust with persuasive proposals, marketing collateral, and PowerPoint presentations.

Retail supervisor skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Retail Supervisors are proficient in POS, Cash Handling, and Product Knowledge. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Leadership skills, and Management skills.

We break down the percentage of Retail Supervisors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • POS, 8%

    Earned Six Sigma Certification at Yellow Belt, (POS, and Quality Control) to support top performance.

  • Cash Handling, 8%

    Inventory and sales tracking, cash handling, change order for cashiers, management of utility cleanliness and work prep area.

  • Product Knowledge, 7%

    Trained and managed 10+ associates and achieved significant improvements in their productivity and product knowledge.

  • Cleanliness, 6%

    Maintained restaurant cleanliness, and delegate restaurant duties as necessary.

  • Sales Floor, 5%

    Produce guest satisfaction with beneficial results through accurate and effective sales floor management.

  • Wine, 5%

    Managed 3 Supermarket & 1 C-store rep selling beer & wine, over 10 merchandisers and 1 merchandiser supervisor.

Common skills that a retail supervisor uses to do their job include "pos," "cash handling," and "product knowledge." You can find details on the most important retail supervisor responsibilities below.

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a retail supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Additionally, a retail supervisor resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "develop and maintain a strong working relationship with store management and staff through daily communication of equipment needs and upcoming events. "

Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling retail supervisor duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." According to a retail supervisor resume, here's how retail supervisors can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "addressed and correctedsales staff communication issues in a tactful and effectivemanner.l customer servicel leadershipl cash handling"

Problem-solving skills. A big part of what retail supervisors do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to retail supervisor responsibilities because "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical retail supervisor tasks: "supervised and educated over 20 employees in retail operations balanced cash registers daily resolved customer issues"

Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a retail supervisor to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what retail supervisors relies on this skill, since "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." How this skill relates to retail supervisor duties can be seen in an example from a retail supervisor resume snippet: "make sure all bank deposits are delivered on time. "

See the full list of retail supervisor skills

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Compare different retail supervisors

Retail supervisor vs. Floor manager

A floor manager is responsible for supervising the general operations of a specific department in an organization. Floor manager tasks include assisting customers, ensuring prompt resolution of clients' inquiries, distributing tasks to the staff, and monitoring the employees' performance. A floor manager will be in charge of checking inventories and report inadequate supplies, identifying business opportunities to increase the company's sales and profitability, developing strategic procedures to maintain customer satisfaction, and managing disputes from the customers and employees. A floor manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills to address specific concerns and process customers' requests as needed.

The annual salary of floor managers is $9,073 higher than the average salary of retail supervisors.Even though retail supervisors and floor managers are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require pos, product knowledge, and cleanliness in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, retail supervisor responsibilities require skills like "cash handling," "wine," "work ethic," and "retail store." Meanwhile a typical floor manager has skills in areas such as "pallets," "flyers," "safety standards," and "fine dining." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Floor managers earn the highest salaries when working in the telecommunication industry, with an average yearly salary of $44,098. On the other hand, retail supervisors are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $33,344.The education levels that floor managers earn slightly differ from retail supervisors. In particular, floor managers are 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a retail supervisor. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Retail supervisor vs. Part-time key manager

A part-time key manager is a senior manager employed to work part-time. Key managers are hired for their expertise and experience for business development and growth to increase revenues, production, and profits. Part-time key managers are also responsible for recruiting the right talent to implement and attain the set targets. Part-time key managers may cover for full-time key managers or assist them in their roles.

Part-time key manager positions earn higher pay than retail supervisor roles. They earn a $38,010 higher salary than retail supervisors per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Retail supervisors and part-time key managers both require similar skills like "pos," "product knowledge," and "cleanliness" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that retail supervisor responsibilities requires skills like "cash handling," "wine," "work ethic," and "retail sales." But a part-time key manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "quality customer service," "store associates," "necessary paperwork," and "store appearance."

Part-time key managers earn similar levels of education than retail supervisors in general. They're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Retail supervisor vs. Co-manager

A co-manager's role is to supervise business operations and perform administrative tasks as support to a manager. One of the primary functions of a co-manager is to delegate tasks of team members and arrange schedules. They also evaluate progress, produce the necessary documentation, maintain a record of data, identify issues and opportunities, and assist in coordinating with other employees. A co-manager may also have the task of hiring and training new workforce members, enforcing policies and regulations at all times.

An average co-manager eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of retail supervisors. The difference in salaries amounts to co-managers earning a $30,222 higher average salary than retail supervisors.retail supervisors and co-managers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "pos," "cash handling," and "product knowledge," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a retail supervisor is likely to be skilled in "wine," "work ethic," "retail sales," and "store management," while a typical co-manager is skilled in "perform routine maintenance," "store sales," "excellent interpersonal," and "drive sales."

Co-managers earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $64,497. Retail supervisors earn the highest pay from the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $33,344.Most co-managers achieve a similar degree level compared to retail supervisors. For example, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Retail supervisor vs. Sales associate/manager

As the name entails, sales associates or associate managers are responsible for helping the store manager organize and run the retail stores. Their roles and responsibilities include ensuring that the store's goals are met by the sales team, hiring and training sales staff, and monitoring inventory. They are also expected to analyze consumer behavior, look for competitive products in the market, and communicate and evaluate clients' needs. To be qualified for this position, you should have experience as an assistant manager, organizational and leadership skills, and proficiency in MS Office.

Sales associate/managers typically earn higher pay than retail supervisors. On average, sales associate/managers earn a $6,672 higher salary per year.While both retail supervisors and sales associate/managers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like pos, product knowledge, and sales floor, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between retail supervisors and sales associate/managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a retail supervisor might have more use for skills like "cash handling," "cleanliness," "wine," and "work ethic." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of sales associate/managers require skills like "strong customer service," "store sales," "stock room," and "sales transactions. "

In general, sales associate/managers earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $41,297. The highest-paying industry for a retail supervisor is the hospitality industry.In general, sales associate/managers hold similar degree levels compared to retail supervisors. Sales associate/managers are 0.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of retail supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.