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The differences between sales clerks and apparel sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an apparel sales associate has an average salary of $29,897, which is higher than the $25,739 average annual salary of a sales clerk.
The top three skills for a sales clerk include customer service, stock shelves and sales floor. The most important skills for an apparel sales associate are cash handling, customer engagement, and retail sales.
| Sales Clerk | Apparel Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $25,739 | $29,897 |
| Hourly rate | $12.37 | $14.37 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 372,651 | 438,252 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
An apparel sales associate works with customers and makes sales. A sales associate's primary responsibility is to communicate with customers, answer their inquiries about the products, and promote its benefits to encourage a purchase. The apparel sales associate is expected to be knowledgeable about the company's products or services. The associate's other responsibilities are to develop sales techniques to encourage purchases, make a store inventory of products, and receive feedback and comments from customers. They will also work with the sales and marketing department.
Sales clerks and apparel sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Clerk | Apparel Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $25,739 | $29,897 |
| Salary range | Between $16,000 And $39,000 | Between $23,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | - |
| Highest paying state | New York | - |
| Best paying company | Hawaii Pacific Health | - |
| Best paying industry | Energy | - |
There are a few differences between a sales clerk and an apparel sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Clerk | Apparel Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales clerks' and apparel sales associates' demographics:
| Sales Clerk | Apparel Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% | Male, 18.6% Female, 81.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |