Sales clerk vs store sales associate

The differences between sales clerks and store sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a store sales associate has an average salary of $30,284, 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 store sales associate are sales floor, POS, and product knowledge.

Sales clerk vs store sales associate overview

	Sales Clerk	Store Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$25,739	$30,284
Hourly rate	$12.37	$14.56
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	372,651	524,877
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	43
Years of experience	-	6

What does a sales clerk do?

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.

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 clerk vs store sales associate salary

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

	Sales Clerk	Store Sales Associate
Average salary	$25,739	$30,284
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $39,000	Between $23,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Elizabeth, NJ
Highest paying state	New York	New Jersey
Best paying company	Hawaii Pacific Health	Rooms To Go
Best paying industry	Energy	Hospitality

Differences between sales clerk and store sales associate education

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

	Sales Clerk	Store Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Sales clerk vs store sales associate demographics

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

	Sales Clerk	Store Sales Associate
Average age	41	43
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
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, 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 clerk and store sales associate duties and responsibilities

Sales clerk example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Process monetary transactions POS system.
Follow POS procedures daily and complete appropriate paperwork.
Prepare quality food products, process accurate register transactions, maintain general appearance and cleanliness of store premises.
Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.

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 clerk vs store sales associate skills

Common sales clerk skills

Customer Service, 26%
Stock Shelves, 9%
Sales Floor, 8%
Retail Sales, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%
POS, 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 Clerk vs Store Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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