A career in retail is an ideal place for a person with a knack for sales and excellent customer service skills. The hours at a retail store allow for a flexible schedule for their employees. Most low level positions in this industry do not require a specific level of education to gain employment. Most higher level positions often require at least a high school diploma but prefer a college degree in any field.

The retail industry is an excellent industry for first-time job seekers. It is also an ideal for people who need a part-time second job or for seasonal work, to gain money during the holiday seasons. The higher level positions pay well and the employee generally receives excellent benefits in addition to the pay. For pretty much everyone, this is an excellent option for employment.

The industry always has available employment, and it seems sometimes that new store positions are always opening up. This is as a result as often times stores expand, making hiring more employees into the field. There also always seems to be more stores popping up all over the place, which is great for growth in this field.

Job Opportunities

Here are some opportunities that you can find in this industry:

Retail Sales Clerk/Cashier: In most stores, these positions are interchangeable. The sales clerk is found on the floor and assisting customers. They are there to answer questions, show customers where the items they are looking for are, and helping them decide on which product is best for their needs. The sales clerk is also responsible for maintaining the floor to ensure it always looks neat and aesthetically pleasing for the customers. This requires knowledge of products on the floor and excellent customer service skills. A cashier is responsible for receiving payment for the goods being purchased, as well as dealing with returns and exchanges. A cashier must know the company’s policies on returns and exchanges and other policies regarding payment. Neither position requires any particular education. The average hourly wage is $9-$10.

Retail Loss Prevention: This type of employment is solely responsible for exactly what it is named for: loss prevention. They work with other departments to minimize the store’s bottom line suffering a loss. This means that they do a lot with shoplifting, by trying to figure out ways to prevent it and training staff how to spot a shoplifter. They will also make suggestions to security about camera placement and other ways to prevent shoplifting. Their position is much more than that. They go over the store’s numbers to ensure there is no loss in profits. If there is, they must figure out ways to fix the problem. Whether it is someone ordered too much of a product on accident or if their store needs to lay off employees, the loss prevention specialist must be on top of all of this. The average hourly pay for this position is around $10. A high school education is all that is required, though some stores have special training for this job.

Human Resources: In the human resources department, they are the people in charge of other employees of their store. They will hire and train new employees, fire employees, and deal with things like promotions or reprimanding them. Human resources also do the store’s scheduling for the staff. They will deal with any problems that the staff has while working there. They usually also are in charge of paychecks and the employee benefits. The positions in this department usually require at least a high school degree; with a college degree in a related field is preferred. The yearly salary can be around $60,000.

Retail Stockers:  Whenever you need something brought to the front of the store, these are the people who are helping you. They are responsible for ensuring that the shelves are properly stocked at night. They’re also mainly in charge of the back room. They make sure that the shelves are always full and the oldest products get sold first. They also fill orders for delivery personnel, and must make sure the proper items are delivered out. A high school degree is fine for this position, but they might require you to have special certifications if you are have to work with machinery. The average yearly salary is $20,000.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this industry is at around 11%, which is the average for growth in the nation. This is as a result of the stores need for constant evolution and expansion. This career field is especially popular with younger people or first-time job seekers, which gives it an often high turnover rate.