What does a stower do?
A stower is responsible for scanning a product and appropriately placing it to the right shelf for customer's consumption. Duties of a stower include inspecting the item for any defects and escalating damaged items to the supervisor ensuring adequately labeled products. Other responsibilities include operating essential store equipment, adhering to the sanitary standards of the working area, and assisting customers with their concerns and inquiries. A stower should have excellent time-management skills and the ability to multi-task, especially on working with a fast-paced environment.
Stower responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real stower resumes:
- Operate material handling equipment in safe and efficient manner; including forklifts, balers, and compactors.
- Itemize and total customer purchases at checkout counter, using POS terminal, and accept various forms of payment.
- Use all equipment in deli/bakery/bistro such as the refrigerators, freezers, slicers, and ovens according to company guidelines.
- Operate POS cash registers, closing/opening tills, balancing the cash drawer, and ensure customers are greeted and serve quickly.
- Operate heavy machinery including balers and forklifts.
- Maintain cleanliness of equipment and floor to ensure safety and sanitation regulations.
- Used computerized information system to enter incoming groceries into store inventory system.
- Pull groceries / material from dedicate storage location and distribute to appropriate department/ floor location.
- Maintain cleanliness of assign areas by organizing items place for display and cleaning/sanitizing areas when need.
- Work as fast as possible to meet ROSS optimal time.
- Stock and maintain grocery inventory of Safeway storefront.
Stower skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Stowers are proficient in PET, Pallets, and Basic Math. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Customer-service skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Stowers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PET, 23%
Provide excellent customer service by greeting our Pet Parents upon arrival and ensuring they had an outstanding shopping experience upon check-out.
- Pallets, 18%
Position included unloading commercial freight trucks that delivered dozens of pallets.
- Basic Math, 10%
Followed governmental and company policies on the sale of tobacco, liquor and lottery tickets Applied basic math skills.
- Cleanliness, 7%
Maintained cleanliness of assigned areas by organizing items placed for display and cleaning/sanitizing areas when needed.
- Math, 7%
Used shop math, read flow charts and kept records of items entering and leaving with identifying codes.
- Sales Floor, 5%
Assisted customers in dressing rooms and on sales floor Accomplishments Received multiple positive customer reviews Skills Used Money handling and customer service
"pet," "pallets," and "basic math" are among the most common skills that stowers use at work. You can find even more stower responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a stower to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "production, planning, and expediting clerks are frequently in contact with suppliers, vendors, and production managers and need to communicate the firm’s scheduling needs effectively." Additionally, a stower resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "stored and organized products for customer purchase constant communication with store customers on product information assisted customers purchase store products"
Customer-service skills. Many stower duties rely on customer-service skills. "stock clerks sometimes interact with customers in retail stores and may have to get the item the customer is looking for from the storeroom.," so a stower will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways stower responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "delivered customer service and assisted customers with store products. "
Detail oriented. stowers are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to stower responsibilities, because "material and product inspecting clerks check items for defects, some of which are small and difficult to spot." A stower resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "detailed memorization of all products and procedures. "
Math skills. stower responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "some material recording clerks use math to calculate shipping costs or take measurements." This resume example shows what stowers do with math skills on a typical day: "general math and cash handling using cash registers, point of sale (pos) machines and other payment equipment. "
The three companies that hire the most stowers are:
- Kroger5,335 stowers jobs
- PetSmart2,157 stowers jobs
- ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.
328 stowers jobs
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Compare different stowers
Stower vs. General merchandise clerk
This individual works in the GM section of a store. They interact with customers and assist them as they purchase merchandise. In this role, they are expected to place all special orders and to take stock of all products annually. Other responsibilities of this position include developing merchandise plans and ensuring they are compliant with quality standards. They may also have to evaluate merchandise and ensure credit payments are accurate.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between stowers and general merchandise clerk. For instance, stower responsibilities require skills such as "pet," "pallets," "cleanliness," and "english language." Whereas a general merchandise clerk is skilled in "strong customer service," "pallet jack," "meijer," and "product damages." This is part of what separates the two careers.
General merchandise clerks tend to reach similar levels of education than stowers. In fact, general merchandise clerks are 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Stower vs. Floor associate
A sales floor associate is an employee who is responsible for providing excellent service to customers who come to shop at the company's store. Sale floor associates must be well-informed about their products and locations within the store. When there is no customer help, sale floor associates should restock shelves and racks, clean the fitting rooms, and handle returns efficiently. They also should possess excellent abilities, especially in communication and selling techniques.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, stower responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "pet," "pallets," "basic math," and "cleanliness." Meanwhile, a floor associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "pallet jack," "loss prevention," "floor stock," and "customer transactions." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Floor associates earn similar levels of education than stowers in general. They're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Stower vs. Replenishment associate
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a stower is likely to be skilled in "pet," "pallets," "basic math," and "cleanliness," while a typical replenishment associate is skilled in "ladders," "pallet jack," "rf scanner," and "new planograms."
Replenishment associates earn the highest salary when working in the retail industry, where they receive an average salary of $30,031. Comparatively, stowers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $32,580.When it comes to education, replenishment associates tend to earn similar degree levels compared to stowers. In fact, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Stower vs. Dairy clerk
Types of stower
Updated January 8, 2025
