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The differences between sales associates and key holders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales associate has an average salary of $32,167, which is higher than the $31,779 average annual salary of a key holder.
The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a key holder are sales floor, product knowledge, and visual standards.
| Sales Associate | Key Holder | |
| Yearly salary | $32,167 | $31,779 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $15.28 |
| Growth rate | - | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 579,849 | 431,956 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 35% |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
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.
A keyholder is responsible for ensuring the store's daily security before and after the operation. Keyholders' duties include assisting with administrative tasks, handling customers' inquiries, managing and escalating customers' complaints, monitoring the alarm system, keeping track of the deliveries, supporting staff training, cooperating in company's events, and recommending operational strategies to meet business goals and objectives. A keyholder must have excellent customer service and time-management skills, as well as the ability to multi-task, especially during high customer volume.
Sales associates and key holders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate | Key Holder | |
| Average salary | $32,167 | $31,779 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | Wisconsin |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Connecticut Children's Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and a key holder in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate | Key Holder | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between sales associates' and key holders' demographics:
| Sales Associate | Key Holder | |
| Average age | 41 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 9% |