Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sales associates and commissioned sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a commissioned sales associate has an average salary of $36,949, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a commissioned sales associate are excellent organizational, customer service, and customer relationships.
| Sales Associate | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $32,167 | $36,949 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $17.76 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 579,849 | 377,430 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Commissioned sales associates are professionals who conduct sale transactions that can generate additional compensation by increasing selling operations. These associates are must collaborate successfully with fellow associates in regard to sales and commission distribution. They must provide excellent customer service so that they can establish long term relationships with customers and ensure high satisfaction. Commissioned sales associates must also assist the department managers with visual merchandising to arrange racks so that they can place and stock new merchandise.
Sales associates and commissioned sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $32,167 | $36,949 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $47,000 | Between $23,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Newton, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Jacobs Engineering Group |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and a commissioned sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales associates' and commissioned sales associates' demographics:
| Sales Associate | Commissioned Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |