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The differences between shop assistants 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 $31,216 average annual salary of a shop assistant.
The top three skills for a shop assistant include customer vehicles, CNC and customer service. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Shop Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $31,216 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $15.01 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | 4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 11,156 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A shop assistant is primarily responsible for handling customers and maintaining the upkeep of a sales floor in a retail store. They are in charge of greeting customers, answering inquiries, offering assistance, recommending products, and handling complaints. A shop assistant also has duties that involve receiving, verifying, processing, and sorting shipments from suppliers, managing inventory, and re-stocking shelves while keeping them presentable. To maintain the sales floor's cleanliness, a shop assistant may also perform light chores and keep all equipment organized. Furthermore, it is essential to accomplish tasks while adhering to the policies and regulations of the company.
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.
Shop assistants and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $31,216 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $38,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Spokane, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New York |
| Best paying company | Steel Dynamics | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a shop assistant and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Shop Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shop assistants' and sales associates' demographics:
| Shop Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 39 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | 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 | 4% | 7% |