Career Overview
Retail salespersons sell, rent or lease goods and services directly to consumers.
People in this occupation:
- Prepare sales, rental or leasing contracts and/or take payment for services or goods using a cash register
- Can be responsible for maintaining sales records and tidying the store, creating display counters and stocking shelves
- Work in small, medium and large organizations, including stores and other retail businesses and wholesale businesses
- Are polite, friendly and patient
- Should be self starters who can interact well with customers
- Need to be able to explain and answer questions about the products or services they are selling
Duties
Retail salespersons and sales clerks perform some or all of the following duties:
- Greet customers and discuss the goods or services offered for purchase, rental or lease
- Tell customers about the use and care of merchandise, and provide advice concerning specialized products or services
- Explain merchandise in detail to customers (i.e., distinctions between models, manufacturers' specifications, available financing options, details of associated warranties, etc.)
- Describe sales promotions or policies regarding payment and exchanges
- Estimate or quote prices, credit terms, trade-in allowances, warranties and delivery dates
- Prepare merchandise for purchase, rental or lease
- Set up sales, rental or leasing contracts
- Take cash, cheque, credit card or automatic debit payments and operate a cash register
- Create displays and stock shelves
- Keep sales records for inventory control
- Run computerized inventory record keeping and re-ordering systems
- Bag, wrap and/or package purchases
- Order or ship goods
- May do sales transactions through internet-based electronic commerce
- May specialize and give expert advice on interior decorating, home entertainment systems, computers and other products and services
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
90,800% Employed Full Time
31%Retail salespersons and sales clerks typically work indoors, though some sales (i.e. car sales) involve working outdoors. Hours tend to be irregular but flexible. Employees often work weekends, evenings and holidays.
Workers typically stand for long periods and may need permission to leave the sales floor. They spend most of the day working directly with the public, answering questions and selling goods and/or services.
Staff may have to stay after closing to clean and organize the sales floor for the next day. Some workers may lift and package or bag heavy products.
Career Pathways
With additional training or experience, progression to a store manager or retail supervisor is possible. Depending on the size of the company, progression to a regional/provincial manager is possible. In some retail companies it is also possible to move into team training positions.
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
It’s important to understand what kinds of occupations align with your interests.
For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Job Titles
Education, Training and Skills
Some positions require little or no prior knowledge (i.e. salesperson in a toy store), while others (i.e. car salesperson) require a lot of training to make sure staff are knowledgeable about the product(s) they are selling. Other training may include:
- Secondary school graduation
- On-the-job training, which can range from one-on-one instruction in small stores to official training programs in large chain stores
- Additional training may be provided for products that are expensive and/or specialized (i.e. car sales, computer sales)
Education programs in B.C.
The following program areas are related to this occupation:
- Adult Special Education
- Esthetics/Skin Care
Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Convincing others to change their mind or behaviour.
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Keeping track of and assessing your performance, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
90,800Employment by Region
Region | Employment (2022) | % Employment of this Occupation |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 2,460 | 3.1% |
Kootenay | 2,430 | 2.9% |
Mainland/Southwest | 57,280 | 62.8% |
North Coast and Nechako | 1,120 | 1.4% |
Northeast | 1,180 | 1.2% |
Thompson-Okanagan | 9,270 | 11.7% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 13,890 | 16.9% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2022-2032)
25,860Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2022-2032)
Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
---|---|---|
Cariboo | 400 | 0.2% |
Kootenay | 560 | 0.5% |
Mainland/Southwest | 16,830 | 1.3% |
North Coast and Nechako | 260 | 0.8% |
Northeast | 170 | 0.0% |
Thompson-Okanagan | 3,470 | 1.6% |
Vancouver Island/Coast | 4,180 | 1.3% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
Industry | Job Openings (2022-2032) |
---|---|
Retail Trade | 115,500 |
Manufacturing | 49,200 |
Wholesale Trade | 33,100 |
Information, Culture and Recreation | 57,300 |
Finance, insurance and real estate | 50,900 |
Resources
Resource information is currently not available.