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The differences between sales specialists and retail specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $31,114 average annual salary of a retail specialist.
The top three skills for a sales specialist include building relationships, customer complaints and customer orders. The most important skills for a retail specialist are store management, retail environment, and store associates.
| Sales Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $53,004 | $31,114 |
| Hourly rate | $25.48 | $14.96 |
| Growth rate | 4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 324,069 | 269,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 47 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.
A retail specialist is primarily in charge of securing sales and assisting customers on a sales floor, ensuring to meet the daily sales targets and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include greeting clients and answering inquiries, locating products, offering recommendations and promotions, and processing payments. They may also address issues or concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, as a retail specialist, it is essential to maintain the cleanliness of the sales floor and arrange displays properly to attract customers.
Sales specialists and retail specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Average salary | $53,004 | $31,114 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $22,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Salem, NH |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | VMware | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales specialist and a retail specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | - |
Here are the differences between sales specialists' and retail specialists' demographics:
| Sales Specialist | Retail Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |