Sales associate vs store sales associate

The differences between sales associates and store sales associates 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 $30,284 average annual salary of a store sales associate.

The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a store sales associate are sales floor, POS, and product knowledge.

Sales associate vs store sales associate overview

	Sales Associate	Store Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$32,167	$30,284
Hourly rate	$15.46	$14.56
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	579,849	524,877
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	43
Years of experience	-	6

What does a sales associate do?

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.

What does a store sales associate do?

A store sales associate is responsible for assisting store customers, directing them to the correct area of their needs, and responding to their inquiries and concerns regarding a product. Store sales associates also support the store's promotional campaigns, selling goods and services to the customers by demonstrating the product and its benefits. They keep the store premises clean and tidy to avoid any potential hazards during operations. A store sales associate must have excellent communication skills, especially on resolving customer complaints, processing replacements, and issuing refunds.

Sales associate vs store sales associate salary

Sales associates and store sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Sales Associate	Store Sales Associate
Average salary	$32,167	$30,284
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $47,000	Between $23,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Elizabeth, NJ
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Barclays	Rooms To Go
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Hospitality

Differences between sales associate and store sales associate education

There are a few differences between a sales associate and a store sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Sales Associate	Store Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Sales associate vs store sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between sales associates' and store sales associates' demographics:

	Sales Associate	Store Sales Associate
Average age	41	43
Gender ratio	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	7%	9%

Differences between sales associate and store sales associate duties and responsibilities

Sales associate example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Gain experience with credit cards, mathematics, as well as customer service.
Utilize forklift, order picker reach truck, electric ladder, or roll ladders to transfer merchandise to the sales floor.
Create Facebook page for Ohco Import/Export division.
Increase sales by upselling products and follow up sales calls.
Assist customers with the purchase of the perfect piece of jewelry

Store sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage to sales KPI's (including sales and expense budget numbers), assuring efficient and effective use of resources.
Earn management trust by serving as keyholder, responsibly opening and closing the store.
Audit all jewelry counts daily, banking deposit log, cashier logs, sales logs.
Utilize the company's POS system to cash customers out or administer returns to the store.
Work as a sales associate and keyholder throughout the summer and a bit of the school year.
Help customers choose jewelry, pierce ears, open and close out register, set up displays.

Sales associate vs store sales associate skills

Common sales associate skills

Customer Service, 15%
Sales Floor, 13%
Cash Handling, 9%
Retail Sales, 9%
Loss Prevention, 7%
Basic Math, 5%

Common store sales associate skills

Sales Floor, 20%
POS, 10%
Product Knowledge, 10%
Store Sales, 8%
Customer Service, 6%
Stock Room, 5%

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Sales Associate
Sales Associate vs Store Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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