Retail sales supervisors work in stores, shops and other retail outlets. They may work for businesses that offer rentals for home renovation or landscaping, automotive parts outlets and car and truck rental companies. They could work for wholesale firms that sell direct to the public or for telemarketing or door-to-door sales agencies.
Retail sales supervisors are responsible for overseeing and co-ordinating the activities of cashiers, greeters, salespeople, shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers. As a result of an increase in online sales, retail sales supervisors may also be involved with a company’s e-commerce site.
Watch the video below to see what a day in the life of a retail sales supervisor is like.
Source: Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Source: 2021 Job Bank Wage Report
Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook
10 year expected job openings: 13,230
Retail sales supervisors:
People with this job may be expected to work nights and weekends. Typically, they work in a store or other retail environment. If the business is online, they may work in an office or in a fulfilment warehouse. For those who work in a service rental business such as car or truck rentals, they may work at one of the rental agency’s storefront outlets or if the company has multiple locations, they could be located at a centralized head office.
There are often busy periods in retail, depending on the product or service sold. This can include summer months if the service or product relates to landscaping, vacations or other warm weather activities. Other busy times throughout the year may be Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and the December holiday season. Busy times such as these may mean that the person with this job will be asked to work overtime, which can lead to additional stress.
Source: 2016 Census
To work in this job, some companies may require a secondary school diploma. Previous retail experience as a salesperson, salesclerk, cashier, telemarketer, door-to-door salesperson or rental agent is required.
For more information about programs offered specifically for this career, visit EducationPlannerBC.
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 35 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. You’ll also find the skill strength needed, letting you know how capable you must be in that skill.
Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
In order to support workplace safety, many retail companies provide first aid training to their retail sales supervisors.
Good communication skills are important for those in this career as there may be a need to speak with customers who are upset or frustrated. In addition, during busy times, there is added pressure for those on the front lines in dealing with customers and they may turn to the retail sales supervisor for help with a difficult customer or a problem that they do not know how to solve.
A retail sales supervisor also needs to be flexible and may be required to make changes, such as when workers call in sick or how to handle confidential human resources challenges.
The growth of online sales has created opportunities for people with this job because it has increased their area of responsibility. From online options such as instore pick up or same day delivery service, a retail sales supervisor who understands the specifics about this area of sales can open doors for themselves within the company as online sales continue to grow.
Career paths
Progression to management positions in retail trade is possible with additional training or experience. As a result of improvements in and more widespread use of technology, online shopping continues to grow in popularity. Experience or additional training in this area can be useful for people who would like to move to more senior positions with this career path.
Additional resources