What is a store leader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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Store leaders are staff in an organization's retail outlet. As a store leader, you will handle everything connected to the store and even handle store workers. You are required to develop business ideas to bring in new clients, enlarge store trade, and improve profitability. Also, you are responsible for employing, teaching, and firing staff and supervising store functioning. In addition, you must make sure that the store's sales meet the organization's goals. You must also organize comprehensive documents on procuring trends.

To fulfill this role, you must ensure the store adheres to safety and health standards and create advertising materials. The advertising or promotional materials are created to give recognition to the company and the product and services they offer. Your job also demands that you examine the gathered data and make sure it is accurate.

As a store leader, you must have great leadership, communication, and management skills. You must also have excellent organizational skills. Furthermore, you need to have either a bachelor's degree or a master's degree in marketing or business. In the United States, a store leader earns an average of $33,302 per year or $16.01 per hour.

ScoreStore LeaderUS Average
Salary
2.9

Avg. Salary $36,979

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
9.4

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
8.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 6.93%

Black or African American 8.42%

Hispanic or Latino 17.80%

Unknown 4.64%

White 61.55%

Gender

female 53.47%

male 46.53%

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

Store Leader career paths

Key steps to become a store leader

  1. Explore store leader education requirements

    Most common store leader degrees

    Bachelor's

    47.9 %

    High School Diploma

    21.0 %

    Associate

    20.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific store leader skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    POS11.88%
    Sales Floor8.65%
    Product Knowledge6.95%
    Excellent Guest5.38%
    Bank Deposits5.08%
  3. Complete relevant store leader training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New store leaders 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 leader based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real store leader resumes.
  4. Research store leader duties and responsibilities

    • Lead peers in troubleshooting replenishment processes and achieving KPI improvements.
    • Achieve YTD payroll by $15,250 FY 2013.
    • Partner with STL (store team leader) to increase sales, manage margins and review annual budget.
    • Achieve the number one spot in the district for YTD payroll, RedCard conversion, and improvements on gross margin.
  5. Get store leader experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a store leader. The most common roles before becoming a store leader include store manager, sales associate team lead and assistant manager.
  6. Prepare your store leader resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your store leader 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 leader 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 Leader Resume templates

    Build a professional Store Leader 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 Leader resume.
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    Store Leader Resume
  7. Apply for store leader jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a store leader 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 Leader Job

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Average store leader salary

The average Store Leader salary in the United States is $36,979 per year or $18 per hour. Store leader salaries range between $28,000 and $48,000 per year.

Average Store Leader Salary
$36,979 Yearly
$17.78 hourly

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How do store leaders rate their job?

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Store Leader reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

Ability to resolve issues, timely delivery on goals and mantainance of inter personal relationship and organizing.

Cons

Insurbordination, failure to deliver on tasks and targets.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

The people that you meet! Interactive with a diverse group of individuals from every walk of life.

Cons

The employees with all no calls and no shows!!!!! Poor upper management not taking up for the staff. Also the rude individual’s that comes in gripping about everything


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020
Pros

Safety of the employees and opportunities to learn and leadership


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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.