Store sales associate vs apparel sales associate

The differences between store sales associates and apparel 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 $29,897 average annual salary of an apparel sales associate.

The top three skills for a store sales associate include sales floor, POS and product knowledge. The most important skills for an apparel sales associate are cash handling, customer engagement, and retail sales.

Store sales associate vs apparel sales associate overview

	Store Sales Associate	Apparel Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$30,284	$29,897
Hourly rate	$14.56	$14.37
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	524,877	438,252
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	43	41
Years of experience	6	-

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.

What does an apparel sales associate do?

An apparel sales associate works with customers and makes sales. A sales associate's primary responsibility is to communicate with customers, answer their inquiries about the products, and promote its benefits to encourage a purchase. The apparel sales associate is expected to be knowledgeable about the company's products or services. The associate's other responsibilities are to develop sales techniques to encourage purchases, make a store inventory of products, and receive feedback and comments from customers. They will also work with the sales and marketing department.

Store sales associate vs apparel sales associate salary

Store sales associates and apparel sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Store Sales Associate	Apparel Sales Associate
Average salary	$30,284	$29,897
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $39,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Elizabeth, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Rooms To Go	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between store sales associate and apparel sales associate education

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

	Store Sales Associate	Apparel Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	-

Store sales associate vs apparel sales associate demographics

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

	Store Sales Associate	Apparel Sales Associate
Average age	43	41
Gender ratio	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%	Male, 18.6% Female, 81.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between store sales associate and apparel sales associate duties and responsibilities

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.

Apparel sales associate example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Operate POS station to smoothly process cash and credit transactions.
Prepare quality food products, process accurate register transactions, maintain general appearance and cleanliness of store premises.
Perform minor repairs on Kohl's jewelry like changing watch batteries and removing watch links.

Store sales associate vs apparel sales associate skills

Common store sales associate skills

Sales Floor, 20%
POS, 10%
Product Knowledge, 10%
Store Sales, 8%
Customer Service, 6%
Stock Room, 5%

Common apparel sales associate skills

Cash Handling, 27%
Customer Engagement, 25%
Retail Sales, 23%
Merchandise Presentation, 15%
Customer Service, 3%
Product Knowledge, 2%

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Store Sales Associate
Store Sales Associate vs Apparel Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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