Shopper education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a shopper. Shoppers usually study business, criminal justice, or general studies. 34% of shoppers hold a bachelor's degree, and 31% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 2,123 real shopper resumes to see exactly what shopper education sections show.

The most common colleges for shoppers are the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

There are also many online shopper courses to help get the education required to be a shopper.

What education do you need to become a shopper?

What degree do you need to be a shopper?

The most common degree for shoppers is bachelor's degree, with 34% of shoppers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 31% and high school diploma degree at 19%.

Bachelor's, 34%

High School Diploma, 31%

Associate, 19%

Diploma, 7%

Other Degrees, 9%

What should I major in to become a shopper?

You should major in business to become a shopper. 21% of shoppers major in business. Other common majors for a shopper include criminal justice and general studies.

Business, 21%

Criminal Justice, 9%

General Studies, 9%

Psychology, 7%

Other Majors, 54%

Most common colleges for shoppers

Shoppers often get their degrees at University of Alabama at Birmingham, DeVry University, and University of Florida. Here are the most common colleges for shoppers in the US based on their resumes.

Shopper common college	Percentages
University of Alabama at Birmingham	6.25%
DeVry University	6.25%
University of Florida	5.00%
Johnson & Wales University	5.00%
University of Central Florida	5.00%

Show more common shopper colleges

Best majors for shoppers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	20.8%
2	Criminal Justice	8.7%
3	General Studies	8.7%
4	Psychology	6.7%
5	Marketing	6.5%

Show more common shopper majors

Best colleges for shoppers

The best colleges for shoppers are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

A shopper with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for shoppers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become shoppers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

3. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

4. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

5. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Delhi, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,360

Enrollment

3,142

6. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

7. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

9. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

10. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-state tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

20 best online courses for shoppers

Advertising disclosure

1. Customer Service & Support For Customer Service Executives

4.5

(941)

Learn Customer Service Skills & Provide Excellent Customer Support, Customer Experience & How To Manage Upset Customers...

2. SAP Customer Service (CS/SM) - Service Management module

4.4

(960)

Real World SAP CS and SD, Repair Orders, Service Orders, Service Contracts...

3. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

4.6

(2,666)

Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

4. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

4.7

(18,204)

Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

5. Customer Service: 6 Keys To Exceptional Customer Service

4.6

(601)

Master Customer Satisfaction & Astonish Your Customers With A+ Customer Service...

6. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service

4.5

(3,822)

Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...

7. Customer Service

4.6

(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

8. Customer Service: Keep 'em coming back!

4.5

(3,150)

How to give the best customer service in your industry and keep those customers raving about your business...

9. The Customer: Build a Customer Service Strategy (BITE SIZE)

4.5

(10,168)

For you and your team to be successful in providing great customer service, start by putting your customer first...

10. [2023] Customer Service 2.0: Learn Digital Customer Service

4.5

(3,956)

Used by Chase®, Intel®, & more! Learn soft skills, social media customer service, diagnosing user problems, & more...

11. Customer Service Success: Take Your Skills to the Next Level

4.5

(2,276)

3-in-1 Customer Service Training: Levels 1, 2, 3 Improve Your Soft Communication Skills, Customer Support & Experience...

12. Brilliant Customer Service: How to Impress your Customers!

4.7

(12,891)

Enhance your customer support and truly differentiate yourself from your competition!...

13. Customer Service Training: Dealing with Difficult Customers

4.5

(1,035)

Learn how to deal with difficult customers Master customer relationship management Gain conflict management skills...

14. Business Communication Skills: Handling Clients & Customers

4.4

(1,161)

Soft Skills Training Social Skills Business Etiquette Business English Customer Service Training...

15. Master the Shopper Experience to build your retail business.

4.5

(1,848)

Grow your retail business by mastering the 3 key steps that build a great shopper experience to delight your customers...

16. Customer Retention: Maximise Your Profits

4.6

(481)

How CRM, Customer Care, Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Experience will 10X your profits...

17. The Customer: Develop Customer Centric Metrics (BITE SIZE)

(422)

To inspire good customer service behaviour, we must be able to measure customer experiences meaningfully...

18. Your Customer Service Toolbox: Best Practices for Beginners

4.5

(4,101)

Excel as a front-line customer service agent using problem-solving & relationship-building skills, etiquette, and more...

19. Shopify Theme Development: Online Store 2.0 + TailwindCSS

4.6

(757)

Learn how to create Shopify themes for Online Store 2.0 (JSON Templates) using Shopify CLI, Liquid, & Tailwind CSS...

20. Omnichannel Customer Experience Management (CX)

4.5

(3,263)

How To Create A Seamless Customer Experience In An Omnichannel Ecosystem...

Top 10 most affordable universities for shoppers

The most affordable schools for shoppers are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and fashion institute of technology.

If the best universities for shoppers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for shoppers.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. Fashion Institute of Technology

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$5,740

Cost of attendance

17,864

4. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

7. California State University - Fresno

Fresno, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,587

Cost of attendance

16,915

8. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

9. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

10. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for shoppers

The hardest universities for shoppers to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for shoppers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for shoppers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

5. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

6. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

8. Fordham University

Bronx, NY • Private

Admissions rate

46%

SAT average

1,354

9. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

10. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for shoppers

The easiest schools for shoppers to get into are Barry University, oklahoma wesleyan university, and lim college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a shopper without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for shoppers.

1. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

2. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

3. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

4. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

5. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

8. William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

994

9. Ursuline College

Pepper Pike, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,102

10. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

Average shopper salary by education level

According to our data, shoppers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $43,057 annually. Shoppers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $41,852.

Shopper education level	Shopper salary
Master's Degree	$43,057
High School Diploma or Less	$33,939
Bachelor's Degree	$41,852
Some College/ Associate Degree	$34,559

Shopper education FAQs

What is the best college for Shoppers?

Have more questions? See all answers to common sales questions.

Search for shopper jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse sales jobs