Retail sales supervisors
Career Overview
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 retail salespersons and visual merchandisers, cashiers, greeters, shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers and other sales related occupations. Due to an increase in online sales, retail sales supervisors may also be involved with a company’s e-commerce site.
Job Titles
Duties
Retail sales supervisors:
- Oversee and co-ordinate sales staff and cashiers
- Assign duties and prepare work schedules for full-time, part-time and contract workers
- Approve payments by cheque and the return of merchandise
- Sell products or services to customers
- Solve problems, such as customer complaints and product shortages
- Maintain inventory and order merchandise
- Prepare reports regarding sales volumes, product supply and human resources
- Assist with areas of a company’s online sales, such as scheduling workers to fulfil orders for pick up or delivery
- Hire, train or arrange training of new sales staff
- Conduct employee performance reviews
- Address problems with an employee
- Maintain the visual standards and image of the store are maintained, such as store displays, signage and cleanliness
- May perform the same duties as workers supervised
- May perform key holding and managerial duties if required, such as opening and closing the store, managing escalated complaints, developing and implementing marketing strategies, and signing for deliveries
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
8,685% Employed Full Time
64%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.
Career Pathways
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.
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:
Education, Training and Skills
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.
Education programs in B.C.
Top 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!
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.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Actively looking for ways to help people.
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
8,685Employment by Region
| Region | Employment | % Employment of this Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 240 | 2.8% |
| Kootenay | 335 | 3.9% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 5,225 | 60.1% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 125 | 1.4% |
| Northeast | 135 | 1.6% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 935 | 10.8% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 1,690 | 19.4% |
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 (2024-2034)
4,120Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2024-2034)
| Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 70 | 0.2% |
| Kootenay | 110 | 0.4% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 2,860 | 1.7% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 50 | 1.6% |
| Northeast | 60 | 0.8% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 390 | 0.6% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 590 | 0.3% |
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 (2024-2034) |
|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 3,560 |
| Wholesale Trade | 140 |
| Information, Culture and Recreation | 70 |
| Finance, Insurance and Real Estate | 50 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 50 |
Insights from Industry
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.
Resources
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Canadian Professional Sales Association (CPSA)www.cpsa.com
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Retail Council of Canadawww.retailcouncil.org
Career Videos
Watch the video below to see what a day in the life of a retail sales supervisor is like.
Watch the video below to see what a day in the life of a retail sales supervisor is like.
