Research: Top Retail Sales Associate Requirements

By | November 7, 2024
Retail Sales Associate Requirements
Employers usually give certain requirements to be met when screening candidates for a retail sales associate role.

The Jobdescriptionandresumeexamples, JDRE, team conducts a research to reveal the top employers’ requirements for the retail sales associate role in the United States.

This includes the major skills, abilities, knowledge, personality/physical attribute, minimum education, and experience that most employers want applicants for the retail sales associate position to meet to be hired.

The research involves a study of job postings on the major job boards by 135 U.S. companies for the retail sales associate position across a wide range of retail stores, including grocery, luxury goods, jewelry, fashion, pharmacy, shoes, hospitality, furniture, gold exchange, and hardware stores.

Research Data and Statistics

The findings from the study give the following data and statistics:

Employers’ Retail Sales Associate Skills Requirements:

The number and percentage of sampled employers requiring specific skills in their job postings are shown below:

SKILLS NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
Communication (written and oral) 92 68.15
Customer service 76 56.30
Interpersonal 50 37.04
Organizational 40 29.63
Problem solving 34 25.19
Multi-tasking 34 25.19
Basic computer 25 18.52
Basic math 20 14.81
Attention to detail 19 14.07
Sales 18 13.33
Prioritizing 15 11.11
Bi-lingual/Multilingual 9 6.67
Listening 6 4.44
Leadership 5 3.70
Negotiation 4 2.96
Time management 4 2.96
Manage, guide or supervise junior staff 2 1.48
Social Media 2 1.48
Proficient with peripherals, copier, fax, telephone and calculator 1 0.74
Persuasion 1 0.74
Phone etiquette 1 0.74
Planning skills 1 0.74
Phone etiquette 1 0.74

Employers’  Retail Sales Associate Abilities Requirements

ABILITIES NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
Work a flexible schedule 80 59.26
Working in a team 77 57.04
Accurately handle cash/Use Computerized cash register or point-of-sales system, calculator 70 51.85
Lift and/or move up to 15-50 pounds 47 34.81
Work in a fast-paced environment 45 33.33
Constantly stand, crawl, walk, squat, bend, kneel, twist, climb a ladder, reach, stoop 39 28.89
Maintain clean and safe sales floor or shop environment 37 27.41
Interaction with people in a professional manner 36 26.67
Provide information about products, e.g. advantages, benefits, and prices 35 25.93
Build rapport or relationship with customers 24 17.78
Follow specific instructions and procedures 14 10.37
Work independently 11 8.15
Willing to learn all facets of retail shop operation 11 8.15
Visual merchandising/Place and arrange items on all shelves and racks daily 11 8.15
Safely use office equipment and supplies, e.g. copy/printing machines, telephone, and photographic and video equipment 8 5.93
Utilize Microsoft Office products (i.e. Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). 8 5.93
Utilize retail tools and technological devices to foster sales 7 5.19
Easily adapt to organizational and environmental changes 7 5.19
Work in inclement weather conditions including but not limited to heat, cold, rain, dust, and noise. 4 2.96
Learn new products 4 2.96
Meet established sales, retention and customer experience targets. 3 2.22
Read, write 3 2.22
Identify trends through shopping the competition and other trend resources 3 2.22
Perform repetitive tasks with accuracy 2 1.48
Work in all areas of the shop 2 1.48
Obtain sales related licensure or registration 1 0.74
Work under pressure 1 0.74
Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information. 1 0.74
Utilize all company training tools to maximize results 1 0.74
Report HR issues to manager or supervisor 1 0.74
Engage in upselling techniques 1 0.74

Employers’  Retail Sales Associate Knowledge Requirements

KNOWLEDGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
Product knowledge 59 43.70
Basic knowledge of sales principle and techniques 9 6.67
Customer service standards and procedures 4 2.96
Inventory procedures 3 2.22
Knowledge of store layout and location of products 3 2.22
Basic Retail principles such as sales, stock and service delivery in stores 2 1.48
Role of merchandising in stores to drive results 2 1.48
Knowledge of Mobile Devices 2 1.48
Working knowledge of customer and market dynamics and requirements 1 0.74

Employers’  Retail Sales Associate  Personality/Physical Attribute  Requirements

PERSONALITY/PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTE NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
Positive attitude 37 27.41
Friendly/Helpful /Caring 33 24.44
Self- motivated 28 20.74
Energetic 24 17.78
Ambition and passion for achieving goals or Result-oriented 23 17.04
Outgoing/Confident 15 11.11
Honest/Integrity 9 6.67
Creative 6 4.44
18 years or older 6 4.44
16 years or older 5 3.70
Work ethic 4 2.96
Passion for brand 4 2.96
Drive to learn and develop 2 1.48
Fair 1 0.74
Adaptable personality 1 0.74
Professional demeanor and appearance 1 0.74
Competitive spirit 1 0.74

Employers’  Retail Sales Associate Minimum Education Requirements

MINIMUM EDUCATION NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
High school diploma or GED 42 31.11
BS degree 3 2.22
Certification 1 0.74

Employers’ Retail Sales Associate Experience Requirements

EXPERIENCE NUMBER OF EMPLOYERS PERCENTAGE %
Retail sales experience 77 57.04
Customer service experience 27 20.00
store operations experience 1 0.74
Cashier 1 0.74
Management 1 0.74

Employers’ Top Requirements for Retail Sales Associates

Here are the top requirements that employers want job seekers to meet to be employed for the retail sales associate job, according to our research finding:

REQUIREMENT PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYERS
Communication skill (written and oral) 68.15
Customer service skill 56.30
Interpersonal  skill 37.04
Organizational skill 29.63
Problem solving skill 25.19
Multi-tasking skill 25.19
Basic computer skill 18.52
Basic math skill 14.81
Attention to detail skill 14.07
Sales skill 13.33
Prioritizing skill 11.11
Ability to work a flexible schedule 59.26
Ability to work in a team 57.04
Ability to accurately handle cash 51.85
Ability to lift and/or move up to 15-50 pounds 34.81
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment 33.33
Ability to constantly stand, crawl, walk, squat, bend, kneel, twist, climb a ladder, reach, stoop 28.89
Ability to maintain clean and safe sales floor or shop environment 27.41
Ability to interaction with people in a professional manner 26.67
Ability to provide information about products, e.g. advantages, benefits, and prices 25.93
Ability to build rapport or relationship with customers 17.78
Ability to follow specific instructions and procedures 10.37
Product knowledge 43.70
Positive attitude 27.41
Friendly/Helpful /Caring 24.44
Self- motivated 20.74
Energetic 17.78
Ambition and passion for achieving goals or Result-oriented 17.04
Outgoing/Confident 11.11
High school diploma or GED 31.11
Retail sales experience 57.04
Customer service experience 20.00
  • Communication Skill

About 68% of employers sampled require applicants for retail sales associate role to have strong communication skill.

Sales associates need to be able to effectively communicate the features and benefits of their products to potential customers.

  • Customer Service Skill

56% of employers require applicants to have customer service skill to be hired for the retail sales associate job.

Provision of top-notch customer service is important to retail stores. Sales associates need to be able to give their customers the best service possible to keep their patronage for their company.

  • Interpersonal  Skill

37% of employers require individuals seeking the retail sales associate job to have good interpersonal skill.

Sales associates mostly work with people of diverse backgrounds and so need to be able to effectively interact and relate with them and close deals.

  • Organizational Skill

About 30% of employers want the sales associates they are hiring to have a good organizational skill.

Retail sales associates are expected to be able to keep the sales floor clean and organized.

  • Problem Solving Skill

25% of retail stores require their sales associates to have good problem solving skill.

The job of the sales associate requires them to help customers resolve issues that may occur.

  • Multi-tasking Skill

Also, 25% of employers require candidates for the retail sales associate position to have multi-tasking skill.

The sales associate needs to be able to perform multiple functions simultaneously to be effective in their job.

  • Basic Computer Skill

About 19% of employers sampled say they want their sales associates to have basic computer skill.

The role of a retail sales associate involves working on computers, including imputing data into computers and using Microsoft Office package.

  • Basic Math Skill

About 15% of employers require candidates for retail sales associate position to have basic math skill.

Math skill is necessary for sales associates to be able to effectively handle cash, including calculating change.

  • Attention to Detail Skill

14% of retail stores require individuals seeking the role of sales associate to have attention to detail skill.

Sales associates need to be detailed oriented to be effective in their job, including arranging items on shelves.

  • Sales Skill

13% of sampled employers require candidates to have sales skills to get the retail sales associate job.

A sales associate needs some sales skills to be successful in achieving sales target.

  • Prioritizing Skill

11% of retail stores sampled require having prioritizing skill to be hired for the sales associate position.

Sales associates need to be able to prioritize their duties so they can get more important things done and achieve better result.

5 Top Retail Sales Associate Skills

What Does a Retail Sales Associate Do?

A retail sales associate is responsible for helping a store meet and exceed its sales goals and ensure customers continue to patronize their store.

See detailed retail sales associate job description.

Conclusion

The above research has revealed the important requirements, including skills, abilities, knowledge, personality/physical attributes, and experience that employers typically want candidates for the retail sales associate position to meet to be hired.

The data and statistics that have been generated are useful to both employers and job seekers.

Employers looking to hire for the retail sales associate role can apply the above data and statistics in preparing the job requirements for candidates to meet to be hired.

Also, individuals seeking to work as a sales associate can learn the common requirements to be hired for the position and improve themselves on them.

They can also apply these requirements in making their resumes or CVs.