What Does a Store Associate Do?

A store associate is responsible for assisting customers with the products they need and recommending alternative goods that would fit their budget. Sales associates also market promotional offers and provide product descriptions to the customer. They also monitor inventories, stock supplies on the appropriate shelves, and ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of the store. Store associates also perform other administrative tasks as needed, such as creating sales reports, assisting in the counter, and helping customers on carrying their items.

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Store Associate Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real store associate resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Manage the appearance of the store in conjunction with the store priorities to present a desirable image of Aldi.
Work on the cash register, used calculators, POS machines and mental math.
Ensure that all cash handling are accurate and work with Ross' point-of-sale systems.
Put out freight as well as restocking the stock room, carrying 50 pound boxes up ladders.
Operate POS register and provide exceptional customer service.
Regulate profit margins, payroll, loss-prevention control and inventory management.
Experience sales associate known for exemplary customer service, multitasking, team player mindset and exceptional cash-handling accuracy.
Assist with pet selection and sales.
Associate in lawn and garden and plumbing.
Highlight benefits of all dealership product lines to clients.
Climb ladders, lift 200 pound items such as furniture.
Provide care in a pet store or pet care business.
Assist in the training of center team members to ensure FedEx employee compliance.
Perform accounts receivable duties including invoicing, researching charge backs, discrepancies and reconciliations.
Call patients to confirm appointment dates and to give them follow ups from previous appointments.

Store Associate Job Description

Between the years 2018 and 2028, store associate jobs are expected to undergo a growth rate described as "decline" at -2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if the thought "should I become a store associate?" Has crossed your mind, maybe you should take the growth rate into account. In addition, the number of store associate opportunities that are projected to become available by 2028 is -105,200.

A store associate annual salary averages $29,543, which breaks down to $14.2 an hour. However, store associates can earn anywhere from upwards of $24,000 to $36,000 a year. This means that the top-earning store associates make $11,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

Once you've become a store associate, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include a retail sales associate/cashier, sales associate sporting goods, associate retailer, and sales associate and cashier.

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12 Store Associate Resume Examples

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Henry Sanchez Store Associate Contact Information Agawam Town, MA (910) 555-2764 hsanchez@example.com Skills Sales Floor Stock Shelves Customer Interaction Human Resources Store Management Emergency Customer Service Retail Sales New Merchandise Safety Protocols Employment History Store Associate 2019 - Present Six Flags Agawam Town, MA Suggest sells, restocking and organize display merchandise, maintain the cleanliness of gift shop, and loss prevention. Managed 10 locker clerks in accordance with company policies and procedures. Provided superior customer service Responsible for maintaining accurate sales records in the POS Established a high level of customer service with a wide range of clients from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Jewelry Associate 2017 - 2019 Six Flags Agawam Town, MA Perform POS transactions Interact with customers Rotate/replenish stock Balance till Basic maintenance Explain safety procedures to riders. Personify qualitative customer service, assist with price changes and shipment Replenish merchandise on sales floor. Ride Operator 2014 - 2017 Six Flags Agawam Town, MA Collaborated with 2-3 co-workers daily to ensure safety of patrons by checking on equipment and communicating riding guidelines. Operate ride equipment and machinery safely and quickly, preform all safety procedures, and provide excellent customer service. Assisted riders on and off of the rides, provide directions and general park directions Conducted presentations of Cutco products Seasonal employment Adhered to the Safety Procedures set up by the company. Explain safety rules and precautions and provide excellent customer service. Education High School Diploma 2014 - 2014


Diana Ferguson Store Associate Contact Info Bellingham, WA (600) 555-5192 dferguson@example.com Skills POSCommunicationLoss PreventionGreeting CustomersStorage AreasLesson PlansRetail SalesEnsure Patron SafetySafety RulesLearn-To-Swim Employment History Store Associate 2019 - Present Kohl's Bellingham, WA Assisted customers with POS transactions and credit card applications. Worked with store management to open a new Kohl's location. Processed daily cash deposits and submit daily reports to store management. Demonstrated exceptional product knowledge in assisting customers. Deliver a great-looking sales floor through signs, labels and training. Maintained active product knowledge in order to up sell and cross sell. Store Worker 2017 - 2019 Marshall's Bellingham, WA Helped maintain cleaned and organized sales floor. Restock shelves, assist customers in sales, maintain and organize sales floor. Provided customer service, unload truck, stock sales floor, planogram, cashier, price change and mark down. Lifeguard/Swim Instructor 2010 - 2017 CampCo Bellingham, WA Assisted training counselors on obtaining Water Safety Instructor, lifeguard, professional first aid, and CPR/AED certifications. Received CPR, First Aid and First Responder Certification> Supervised water park play area Provided water safety instruction and taught swim lessons to all campers. Performed water rescue, first-aid, and CPR when necessary. Monitored free swim to ensure safety of campers. Work with other instructor when co teaching classes, have effective communication with children, communicate well with children's parents. Education Some College Courses Criminal Justice 2010 - 2010 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA


Dylan Berry Store Associate Goodlettsville, TN (530) 555-6100 dberry@example.com Experience Store Associate2018 - Present Dollar General•Goodlettsville, TN Counted cash drawers and made bank deposits, stocked shelves and supplies and organized displays according to company policies and procedures. Designed displays to make the stores experience interacting and engaging Handle all customer transactions in a fast-paced setting. Store Attendant2016 - 2018 Dollar General•Goodlettsville, TN greeted guests, directed guests to products, and provided product knowledge. Prepare bank deposits, count down drawers and pick ups, count change funds. Opened & closed store Deposit & bank runs Cleaned Set planograms Set end caps Change prices Check in vendors Seasonal Associate2015 - 2016 Walmart•Atlanta, GA Calculated and Processed bills, invoices and account statements according to established procedures. Created and mailed out custom jewelry orders, as well as special item orders. Restock and organize jewelry cases. Push carts, work customer service desk, and stock shelves Skills Solid KnowledgeBank DepositsStore ManagementLoss PreventionCompany PoliciesProduct KnowledgePositive AttitudeRetail SalesNew MerchandiseSecurity Practices Education Bachelor's Degree Accounting2012 - 2015 Georgia State University•Atlanta, GA

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Store Associate Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 25% of Store Associates are proficient in Sales Floor, Retail Store, and Inventory Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Math skills, and Selling skills.

We break down the percentage of Store Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Sales Floor, 25%
Conducted inventory management, ensuring proper merchandise levels for sales floor.
Retail Store, 12%
Addressed customer concerns and provided support for customer dissatisfaction with Microsoft retail store experiences.
Inventory Management, 9%
Operated point of sale register, restocked shelves and assisted visually impaired associates with inventory management logistics.
Cleanliness, 7%
Maintained proper pharmacy and general safety procedures and standards, including department cleanliness.
Math, 5%
Provided instruction to individual students to improve academic performance in math and reading comprehension.
Strong Customer Service, 5%
Delivered strong customer service including advising customers on project needs, helping them select appropriate products and troubleshooting errors.

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Most store associates list "sales floor," "retail store," and "inventory management" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important store associate responsibilities here:

The most important skills for a store associate to have in this position are interpersonal skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a store associate resume, you'll understand why: "a friendly and outgoing personality is important for these workers because the job requires almost constant interaction with people." According to resumes we found, interpersonal skills can be used by a store associate in order to "utilized attention to detail and interpersonal communication skills to successfully stock and organize store products. "

While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many store associate duties rely on math skills. This example from a store associate explains why: "retail sales workers must have the ability to calculate price totals, discounts, and change owed to customers." This resume example is just one of many ways store associates are able to utilize math skills: "cashier, money handling, cleaning, customer service, restocking, problem saving, basic math and computer skills. "

Store associates are also known for selling skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a store associate resume: "retail sales workers must be persuasive when interacting with customers" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "managed all store operations when manager was out of store on sales calls which consisted over 50% of the time. "

A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "customer-service skills" is important to completing store associate responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way store associates use this skill: "retail sales workers must be responsive to the wants and needs of customers" Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical store associate tasks: "detected suspicious activity that could compromise customers or store operations by using methods to deter incidents from happening. "

See the full list of store associate skills.

After discovering the most helpful skills, we moved onto what kind of education might be helpful in becoming a store associate. We found that 32.3% of store associates have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 1.9% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While some store associates have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every three store associates were not college graduates.

The store associates who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and general studies, while a small population of store associates studied psychology and criminal justice.

When you're ready to become a store associate, you might wonder which companies hire store associates. According to our research through store associate resumes, store associates are mostly hired by CVS Health, ALDI USA, and Sherwin-Williams. Now is a good time to apply as CVS Health has 8,450 store associates job openings, and there are 4,434 at ALDI USA and 2,117 at Sherwin-Williams.

If you're interested in companies where store associates make the most money, you'll want to apply for positions at Pro Football Hall of Fame, Mars, and Wayfair. We found that at Pro Football Hall of Fame, the average store associate salary is $40,399. Whereas at Mars, store associates earn roughly $36,361. And at Wayfair, they make an average salary of $35,678.

View more details on store associate salaries across the United States.

We also looked into companies who hire store associates from the top 100 educational institutions in the U.S. The top three companies that hire the most from these institutions include Macy's, Ross Stores, and Kohl's.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious store associates are:

CVS Health8,450 Store Associates Jobs
ALDI USA4,434 Store Associates Jobs
Sherwin-Williams2,117 Store Associates Jobs

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What Retail Sales Associate/Cashiers Do

A cashier is responsible for ensuring all the products and goods sold are well recorded and paid for as well as answering customer inquiries and recommending products. They also help the other sales team when needed and process payment for all goods bought. Their duties and responsibilities include processing payments, ensuring all goods bought are accurately scanned and recorded, and bagging purchases.

In this section, we compare the average store associate annual salary with that of a retail sales associate/cashier. Typically, retail sales associate/cashiers earn a $3,582 lower salary than store associates earn annually.

While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both store associates and retail sales associate/cashiers positions are skilled in sales floor, retail store, and math.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A store associate responsibility is more likely to require skills like "compassion," "inventory management," "cleanliness," and "strong customer service." Whereas a retail sales associate/cashier requires skills like "retail sales," "loss prevention," "credit card payments," and "store sales." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

Retail sales associate/cashiers tend to make the most money in the retail industry by averaging a salary of $27,103. In contrast, store associates make the biggest average salary of $29,472 in the retail industry.

Retail sales associate/cashiers tend to reach similar levels of education than store associates. In fact, retail sales associate/cashiers are 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Sales Associate Sporting Goods?

An Associate Retailer is responsible for keeping the sales area up to standard and assisting customers while inside the store's premises. Most of the tasks revolve around keeping items on shelves clean and well-organized, greeting and offering assistance to customers, responding to inquiries and locating products, and even providing suggestions or recommendations when necessary and in adherence to the store's policies and regulations. In other stores and retail outlets, the Associate Retailer may also process payments and returns while still putting importance to customer satisfaction.

Next up, we have the sales associate sporting goods profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a store associate annual salary. In fact, sales associates sporting goods salary difference is $1,953 lower than the salary of store associates per year.

Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Store associates and sales associates sporting goods both include similar skills like "sales floor," "inventory management," and "cleanliness" on their resumes.

But both careers also use different skills, according to real store associate resumes. While store associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "compassion," "retail store," "math," and "strong customer service," some sales associates sporting goods use skills like "background checks," "pallets," "loss prevention," and "goods sales."

In general, sales associates sporting goods study at similar levels of education than store associates. They're 0.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How an Associate Retailer Compares

A sales associate and cashier is an employee who takes on the dual role of helping customers with their product inquiries and facilitating the purchase of the customer. As a sales associate, the employee must be familiar with the different products offered by the company and should be able to direct customers to the product that best suits their needs. As a cashier, the employee must be familiar with the cash register and the system that the company uses to manage sales and facilitate payment. He/She or she must be able to work the equipment needed for a smooth checkout process.

The associate retailer profession generally makes a lower amount of money when compared to the average salary of store associates. The difference in salaries is associate retailers making $780 lower than store associates.

While looking through the resumes of several store associates and associate retailers we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "sales floor," "retail store," and "cleanliness," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from store associates resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "compassion," "inventory management," "strong customer service," and "patients." But a associate retailer might have skills like "loss prevention," "pet," "work ethic," and "good time management."

Additionally, associate retailers earn a higher salary in the hospitality industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $29,543. Additionally, store associates earn an average salary of $29,472 in the retail industry.

When it comes to education, associate retailers tend to earn similar education levels than store associates. In fact, they're 0.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Sales Associate And Cashier

The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than store associates. On average, sales associate and cashiers earn a difference of $3,404 lower per year.

While both store associates and sales associate and cashiers complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like sales floor, credit card transactions, and front end, the two careers also vary in other skills.

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "compassion," "retail store," "inventory management," and "cleanliness" are skills that have shown up on store associates resumes. Additionally, sales associate and cashier uses skills like sales associates, mathematics, credit card payments, and loss prevention on their resumes.

Sales associate and cashiers earn a higher salary in the retail industry with an average of $27,492. Whereas, store associates earn the highest salary in the retail industry.

The average resume of sales associate and cashiers showed that they earn similar levels of education to store associates. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 0.7% less. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.

What a Store Associate Does FAQs

How Can I Be A Good Store Associate?

To be a good store sales associate, you'll need skills and competencies that will help sales associates sell products and services to customers.

These skills, such as personality, attitude, and experience, can help sales associates build relationships with customers while increasing store revenue. They're also valuable skills and characteristics to have for other jobs and opportunities later in life.

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

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Updated October 2, 2020