A retail salesperson is employed by a retail store, providing basic customer service to that store’s clients and attempting to help sell the store’s products. Retail salespeople can be tasked with various duties on their jobs, such as arranging products, putting on price tags, cleaning up spills, as well as servicing customers and directing them to the appropriate section of the store. Additionally, retail salespeople may sometimes service customers at the checkout, working at the cash registers.
Becoming a retail salesperson isn’t challenging, as the job only requires a high school diploma from its candidates. Some important personal qualities include a friendly and helpful personality, the ability to address problems quickly and efficiently, as well as knowledge of the store’s operations in order to be able to provide a good service while being employed there. The job is mostly seen as a temporary source of income by most people who practice it, some of whom hope to climb higher in the store’s hierarchy.
Since the job of a retail salesperson is around the bottom of the hierarchy in the retail market, this also makes its salary relatively low – a salary of between $19,000 – $33,000 is the most common, and the job doesn’t have many benefits attached to it in general. On the other hand, it has good prospects for further career development, and a dedicated retail salesperson is able to climb the ladder very quickly and attain better employment relatively easily and secure a higher salary.