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The differences between sales clerks and 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 $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 a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Sales Clerk | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $25,739 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $12.37 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 372,651 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| 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.
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.
Sales clerks and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Clerk | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $25,739 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $16,000 And $39,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Hawaii Pacific Health | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales clerk and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Clerk | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales clerks' and sales associates' demographics:
| Sales Clerk | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| 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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |