3 answers
Sam
Student
Schaumburg, Illinois
9
Questions
Asked
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What are some job tacks that a retail associate does?
The reason why I want to become a retail associate is that I am in work program and I get work experience by learning how to work at different retail places like T.j.maxx
and Home Goods . #retail #retail associate
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3 answers
Nicole Kirksey
Editor
19
Answers
Muskegon, Michigan
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
I actually worked in the retail setting while in high school and college and learned a lot from this experience that I was able to take into other career fields in the future, so entering the retail field is certainly a great experience for you.
The tasks you will have to complete will vary by which employer you work for, yet here are some of the tasks I completed when I worked retail.
-Assisted customers with understanding the benefits and features of products they were interested in buying
-Rang customers up on the register and would take payment from them which sometimes meant making change for them if they paid in cash
-Counted and determined accurate inventory when inventory was off for my department in the computer system
-Worked with management to ensure enough inventory was ordered based on our past sales
-Met with coworkers at the beginning of my shift to debrief and plan out next steps for my shift
-Restocked merchandise on the floor and put floor models together when needed
-Kept my department clean and clutter free so customers did not trip over things or complain about messes
-Since I was on commission, I also did a lot of strategic planning on how I could ensure sales in the future and would send thank you cards to my customers who purchased from me
The tasks you will have to complete will vary by which employer you work for, yet here are some of the tasks I completed when I worked retail.
-Assisted customers with understanding the benefits and features of products they were interested in buying
-Rang customers up on the register and would take payment from them which sometimes meant making change for them if they paid in cash
-Counted and determined accurate inventory when inventory was off for my department in the computer system
-Worked with management to ensure enough inventory was ordered based on our past sales
-Met with coworkers at the beginning of my shift to debrief and plan out next steps for my shift
-Restocked merchandise on the floor and put floor models together when needed
-Kept my department clean and clutter free so customers did not trip over things or complain about messes
-Since I was on commission, I also did a lot of strategic planning on how I could ensure sales in the future and would send thank you cards to my customers who purchased from me
Awesome answer, Nicole! +1.
Zach Miller
Kailee Wheaton-Schmidt
Sales Associate
1
Answer
College Place, Washington
Updated
Kailee’s Answer
Depending on what company and what type of retail you work for will determine what your task are.
For example if you work in a commission type of retail each company has a little bit different way they structure those commissions check. Some companies may do a team selling style of commission where what each individual person sells get put towards the commission check totals and then at the end of the month that's what you get paid out as well as your hourly rate. Some companies also do a self focused commission structure where what you sell by yourself is the only thing that goes towards your commission check. Both of these style require you to be able to drive your sales without being pushy. Everyone has their own individual style of approaching customers to get those sales. The key thing to remember is don't try and copy what works for someone else. You must be yourself and fid your own way of selling and getting to know each customer.
In a non-commission type of environment there is still pressure to drive sales but your paycheck does not depend o how much you can sell. So your daily task will look different. For example you might only be a cashier or might only work on the floor in a specific department. If you're a cashier you need to be personable but also fast. One word of advice is do not ask people if they found everything okay. I guarantee most customer will not have and this question will just make them angry. The easiest way to be good at whatever job you end up going into in retail is to always stay busy. Whether its asking for more tasks or learning from a supervisor or cleaning up your area.
For example if you work in a commission type of retail each company has a little bit different way they structure those commissions check. Some companies may do a team selling style of commission where what each individual person sells get put towards the commission check totals and then at the end of the month that's what you get paid out as well as your hourly rate. Some companies also do a self focused commission structure where what you sell by yourself is the only thing that goes towards your commission check. Both of these style require you to be able to drive your sales without being pushy. Everyone has their own individual style of approaching customers to get those sales. The key thing to remember is don't try and copy what works for someone else. You must be yourself and fid your own way of selling and getting to know each customer.
In a non-commission type of environment there is still pressure to drive sales but your paycheck does not depend o how much you can sell. So your daily task will look different. For example you might only be a cashier or might only work on the floor in a specific department. If you're a cashier you need to be personable but also fast. One word of advice is do not ask people if they found everything okay. I guarantee most customer will not have and this question will just make them angry. The easiest way to be good at whatever job you end up going into in retail is to always stay busy. Whether its asking for more tasks or learning from a supervisor or cleaning up your area.
Stephanie Moulard
Business Planning
1
Answer
San Jose, California
Updated
Stephanie’s Answer
There are a lot of different roles in a store and each area has specific tasks.
Salesfloor - keeping merchandise neat and organized, helping customer find products or make recommendations, keeping the store clean
Stockroom - unboxing merchandise and taking it to the sales floor to fill, keeping stockroom organized so it is easy to find the products, handling returns or damaged merchandise
Cashier - ringing up merchandise for payment, potentially returning merchandise also
Depending on the store, there may also be people you tend to the fitting room, letting people in rooms to try on clothes and putting clothes back that were not wanted.
What I love about retail is there are so many different ways everyone works together to keep the store running and helping the customers. You find the area you enjoy the most - it might be helping the customer face to face or behind the scenes in the stockroom.
If you are able to, you might observe people working in a store to see how they interact and what keeps them busy.
Salesfloor - keeping merchandise neat and organized, helping customer find products or make recommendations, keeping the store clean
Stockroom - unboxing merchandise and taking it to the sales floor to fill, keeping stockroom organized so it is easy to find the products, handling returns or damaged merchandise
Cashier - ringing up merchandise for payment, potentially returning merchandise also
Depending on the store, there may also be people you tend to the fitting room, letting people in rooms to try on clothes and putting clothes back that were not wanted.
What I love about retail is there are so many different ways everyone works together to keep the store running and helping the customers. You find the area you enjoy the most - it might be helping the customer face to face or behind the scenes in the stockroom.
Stephanie recommends the following next steps: