What is a store assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

Store Assistants are known as shop, retail sales, or sales assistants. They are responsible for attending to customers and processing sales transactions. Their duties include merchandising the floor, resolving customer complaints, processing inventory, and maintaining the sales floor. They work with stock clerks to restock items on the floor when the need arises. Likewise, they help process and receive shipments. Additionally, they perform tasks related to opening and closing the store. Furthermore, they use their knowledge of the store items to provide advice and recommendations to customers.

There are no strict educational requirements for this position. Being an entry-level role, some employers require a high school diploma or GED. However, candidates may need previous retail sales experience to get the job. To succeed in this role, you need organization, multitasking, basic computer, customer service, and communication skills. Store assistants make $36,747 on average per annum. Their salary varies from $22,000 to $63,000.

ScoreStore AssistantUS Average
Salary
2.5

Avg. Salary $32,372

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity
8.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 6.92%

Black or African American 8.42%

Hispanic or Latino 17.79%

Unknown 4.64%

White 61.57%

Gender

female 52.98%

male 47.02%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress Level
9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
5.2

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Store Assistant in Columbus, OH

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Store Assistant career paths

Key steps to become a store assistant

  1. Explore store assistant education requirements

    Most common store assistant degrees

    Bachelor's

    45.0 %

    High School Diploma

    22.8 %

    Associate

    19.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific store assistant skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Payroll51.63%
    Retail Sales46.78%
    Customer Service0.34%
    PET0.17%
    Food Handling0.14%
  3. Complete relevant store assistant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New store assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a store assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real store assistant resumes.
  4. Research store assistant duties and responsibilities

    • Team leadership duties including managing store employees, provide training regarding store policy, procedure, and various product education.
    • Monitor and manage inventory with excel and QuickBooks.
    • Operate POS machine, make delicious drinks, and offer great service to customers.
    • Count drawer and balance it, count money to cash out and fill out the POS system.
  5. Prepare your store assistant resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your store assistant resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a store assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Store Assistant Resume templates

    Build a professional Store Assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Store Assistant resume.
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
    Store Assistant Resume
  6. Apply for store assistant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a store assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Store Assistant Job

Zippi

Are you a Store Assistant?

Share your story for a free salary report.

Average store assistant salary

The average Store Assistant salary in the United States is $32,372 per year or $16 per hour. Store assistant salaries range between $25,000 and $41,000 per year.

Average Store Assistant Salary
$32,372 Yearly
$15.56 hourly

What Am I Worth?

Loading...
Loading...
salary-calculator

How do store assistants rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Store Assistant reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022
Pros

A cashier I get to count, hold conversations, clean my area,stock my area


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2021
Pros

Learn usefully ways to improve health with food viewed as medicine.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021
Pros

I like mostly that I work with team oriented people. Some people that care and will help and that help others whether it's work related or not. That have good employee morale amongst each other not necessarily management but amongst each other.

Cons

Double standards extra work extra tasks that aren't in the job description you're doing assumptions that you know everything you're doing and you know the right way of everything that you're doing even though no one's ever trained you to do what you're doing and what you're doing isn't necessarily in the jobs description for the title for lack of a better word that you actually have


Working as a Store Assistant? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.