Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sales assistants and sales clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales assistant has an average salary of $35,258, which is higher than the $25,739 average annual salary of a sales clerk.
The top three skills for a sales assistant include customer service, powerpoint and account executives. The most important skills for a sales clerk are customer service, stock shelves, and sales floor.
| Sales Assistant | Sales Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $35,258 | $25,739 |
| Hourly rate | $16.95 | $12.37 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 347,034 | 372,651 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees who are assigned to help out in the sales department. They are responsible for any administrative or clerical activities needed in the department. They may also work on the operations floor to assist with the selling of company products or services. They help complete company sales by approaching potential buyers and answering any questions about items. They should be familiar with what the company offers to identify the products that would best fit the needs of the customer.
A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business. They also check inventories, request supplies as needed, and organize product displays on the appropriate shelves. A sales clerk must have strong verbal communication skills to manage customer concerns and excellent time-management skills to perform tasks within the fast-paced work environment.
Sales assistants and sales clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Assistant | Sales Clerk | |
| Average salary | $35,258 | $25,739 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $16,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | IBM | Hawaii Pacific Health |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Energy |
There are a few differences between a sales assistant and a sales clerk in terms of educational background:
| Sales Assistant | Sales Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales assistants' and sales clerks' demographics:
| Sales Assistant | Sales Clerk | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |