Sales and retail assistants
£22,943
Average salary
39 hours
Average weekly hours
3.18%
Unemployment rate
Definition: Sales and retail assistants
*SOC Code (Standard Occupational Classification): 7111
Sales and retail assistants demonstrate and sell a variety of goods and services in shops, stores, showrooms and similar establishments.
Common tasks include:
- discusses customer requirements, including type and price range of goods/services desired
- advises customer on selection, purchase, use and care of merchandise and quotes prices, discounts and delivery times
- advises customer making major purchase on credit terms and arranges finance as appropriate
- receives full or partial payment, checks validity of form of payment, writes or prints bill, receipt or docket and packages merchandise for customer
- arranges and replenishes goods on display stands, undertakes stock checks and assists with the receipt of deliveries from suppliers into the stock room
- handles returns and deals with customer complaints
Qualifications
No minimum academic qualifications are required although some employers may require GCSEs/S grades. Training is typically provided on-the-job. Vocational qualifications in Retail Operations and relevant apprenticeships are available at various levels.
*Introduced in 1990, SOC is a multi-purpose common classification of occupations in UK. Jobs are defined in terms of skill level and skill content, including qualifications, training and work experience.
Employment status: Sales and retail assistants
Regional employment: Sales and retail assistants
Future employment: Sales and retail assistants
Top 12 industries: Sales and retail assistants
Alternative & related job titles: Sales and retail assistants
Retail assistant Sales adviser Sales assistant Sales consultant (retail trade) Shop assistant
Equality focus: Sales and retail assistants
Breaking down the official government big data sources by gender, age and region. Hours and pay data based on full time equlivalent roles.
Breakdown by gender
£20,336
Female average annual salary
£25,029
Male average annual salary
37
Female average weekly hours
41
Male average weekly hours
Average pay per hour: Sales and retail assistants
Workforce gender: Sales and retail assistants
Breakdown by region
£26,593
South East (England) - highest annual average salary
£19,814
North East (England) - lowest annual average salary
42
Wales - Highest average weekly hours
24
Northern Ireland - Lowest average weekly hours
Average pay per week (£): Sales and retail assistants
Average weekly hours by UK region/nation: Sales and retail assistants
Breakdown by age
20 years
Lowest annual salary (£7,821)
years
Highest annual salary (£0) at this age