Sales assistant

Sales assistants serve customers at checkouts, re-stock shelves and price products in stores.


Typical Salary

£19,000 – £27,000

per year

Working Hours

37–42

hours per week

Career Area

Sales and retail assistants

View related courses

Day-to-day tasks

As a sales assistant you would:

  • answer customer questions about products
  •  serve customers at tills and handle returned good and refunds
  •  unpack deliveries, stock shelves and arrange displays
  •  price up and rotate stock
  •  take part in promotional events in store
  •  keep the store clean and tidy

Skills needed

  • customer service skills
  • the ability to work well with others
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to sell products and services
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • maths knowledge
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

How to get into this role

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • volunteering
  • applying directly

Career progression

With experience and training you could:

  • become a retail supervisor, departmental manager or store manager
  •  specialise in after-sales customer service, visual merchandising or retail buying
  •  start your own independent shop or stall