Whether you’re looking for your first job or planning out the next steps of your career, there are plenty of exciting opportunities for career growth in the retail industry. You might be thinking, “Isn’t retail career progression just getting promoted from cashier to supervisor?” But that’s just one small step at the start of many potential retail career paths!
There is so much more to do outside of retail part-time jobs. Retail is a massive industry that includes marketing, logistics, graphic design, and many other careers that can be greatly fulfilling.
Let’s explore 4 of the most popular retail career paths you can dive into and grow!
Retail Career Path #1: Retail Operations
Retail operations are what most people think of as normal retail jobs in the field. It’s working the “front-of-the-house” in a physical store, often assisting shoppers, managing inventory, and overseeing the frontline employees who serve customers.
If you love working with customers face-to-face, you’ll be most interested in this retail career path.
Sales Associate
- Job Description:
As a Sales Associate, you would be responsible for helping customers who visit the store. Your goal would be to provide amazing customer service to ensure your customers have the best shopping experience, find what they’re looking for, and make a purchase. - Salary Range:
Sales Associates tend to earn between $1,600 to $2,400 per month. Depending on the payment structure offered by the company, some Sales Associates may also earn commission.
Sales Supervisor
- Job Description:
As a Sales Supervisor, you would be required to ensure sales targets for the store are met. You would also supervise Sales Associates to ensure they are performing their best. This includes training new team members, supporting employees with challenging situations, and assisting the Store Manager with tasks like staff scheduling. - Salary Range:
Sales Supervisors tend to earn between $2,200 and $3,300 per month.
Store Manager
- Job Description:
As a Store Manager, you would be responsible for the end-to-end operations of the store. This means organizing the store’s sales and operations to ensure everything is in place to fulfill customers’ needs. - Salary Range:
Store Managers tend to earn between $3,000 and $5,500 per month.
Retail Manager
- Job Description:
Retail Managers handle the “backroom” operations of a retail business. The Retail Manager career path often requires a mix of people skills and business sense. The role includes cooperating with various stakeholders and establishing policies to ensure the whole store operates efficiently. - Salary Range:
Retail Managers tend to earn between $6,000 and $9,000 per month.
Retail Career Path #2: Brand Management
The retail careers we’ll look at in the rest of this article are all “back-of-house” or “behind-the-scenes” positions that work with the operational aspects of a retail business, rather than interacting directly with customers.
Brand Management is a role that ensures a retail company’s brand is well-represented and customers have a connection with the brand. Brand Management is related to marketing and the goal is to help drive sales.
Brand Associate
- Job Description:
As a Brand Associate, you would support customer experience and loyalty plans with the objective of driving brand equity. You would also be involved in market research to gain market insights for the brand. - Salary Range:
Brand Associates tend to earn between $2,000 and $3,300 per month.
Brand Executive
- Job Description:
As a Brand Executive, you would focus on establishing brand equity by ensuring customer experience and loyalty to generate more brand awareness. - Salary Range:
Brand Executives tend to earn between $2,900 and $4,100 per month.
Brand Manager
- Job Description:
As a Brand Manager, you would create and execute marketing plans to increase customer loyalty. You would also be responsible for formulating strategies for the brand, while following established brand guidelines. - Salary Range:
Brand Managers tend to earn between $5,800 and $8,300 per month.
Brand Director
- Job Description:
As a Brand Director, you would lead the development of marketing strategies and guide your team in building proper brand awareness. Brand Directors set targets for growing brand awareness and define the objectives and key results that measure success on an annual or quarterly basis. - Salary Range:
Brand Directors tend to earn between $10,000 and $12,000 per month.
Retail Career Path #3: Merchandising
In a merchandising role, you would be responsible for developing marketing strategies while making sure retail stock is properly maintained and ordered.
Merchandising Associate
- Job Description:
A Merchandising Associate is responsible for tracking and managing product sales and stock turnover rate. This role also involves monitoring customer feedback and stock levels. - Salary Range:
Merchandising Associates tend to earn between $2,100 and $2,900 per month.
Merchandising Executive
- Job Description:
As a Merchandising Executive, you would implement merchandising plans and manage partner relationships. - Salary Range:
Merchandising Executives tend to earn between $3,000 and $4,900 per month.
Merchandising Manager
- Job Description:
As a Merchandising Manager, you would be responsible for developing partnerships, managing stock assortment, and driving the development of house brand products. - Salary Range:
Merchandising Managers tend to earn between $5,000 and $8,100 per month.
Merchandising Director
- Job Description:
As Merchandising Director, you would spearhead all merchandising efforts for a retail brand. This could include developing merchandise pricing and strategies, managing private/house label products, and building strong partnerships with fellow brands. - Salary Range:
Merchandising Directors tend to earn between $11,000 and $13,000 per month.
Retail Career Path #4: E-Commerce
A career in E-Commerce sits at the intersection where new technologies meet traditional retail. Any products that are ordered online and shipped to customers fall under the category of E-Commerce. Working in E-Commerce can also involve marketing, branding, and designing how a retail company is represented online.
E-Commerce Associate
- Job Description:
As an E-Commerce Associate, you would support the plans and technology that ensure the fulfillment of customer orders from online portals. - Salary Range:
E-Commerce Associates tend to earn between $1,800 and $2,300 per month.
E-Commerce Executive
- Job Description:
As an E-Commerce Executive, you would focus on tracking and analyzing sales data and channel performance, with the goal of optimizing how sales are generated to increase purchase volume and revenue. - Salary Range:
E-Commerce Executives tend to earn between $2,900 and $5,600 per month.
E-Commerce Manager
- Job Description:
As an E-Commerce Manager, you would generate commercial insights from the online portal and manage relationships with any third-party vendors or companies that help run the E-Commerce portion of the business. - Salary Range:
E-Commerce Managers typically earn between $6,500 and $12,000 per month.
E-Commerce Director
- Job Description:
As an E-Commerce Director, you would be required to oversee the whole operation of online sales, from overseeing the technology used for the retail site to creating strategies to support the e-commerce business. - Salary Range:
E-Commerce Directors tend to earn between $12,500 and $20,000 per month.
The Path to Retail Top Management
In terms of retail career paths, you can’t aim higher than the role of a C-level executive. This is the top job in any retail business—and a lofty position to shoot for when it comes to plotting your retail career progression. There are a few limited positions for those who have great experience in business management as these people control the overall retail business of the company they work for.
These leadership roles are well-rewarded in both pay and prestige.
Chief Executive Officer, C-Level or Managing Directors
- Job Description:
This is the highest level of the retail career progression. As a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), you would be responsible for the overall direction of the company. This includes everything from defining the brand vision and company policies to ensuring the organization’s growth meets stockholder exceptions. - Salary Range:
A CEO’s salary can vary depending on the industry, size of the business, and profits. However, in many cases, CEOs tend to earn between $23,500 and $41,300 per month.
Take the Next Step on Your Retail Career Path
Whether you’re interested in operations, branding, merchandising, or E-Commerce, there are lots of opportunities available. Even if you’re not sure exactly where you want to end up in your career, getting some experience in a retail position can prepare you for a range of different job titles in various industries.
Ready to take the next step in your retail career? Begin your search with these job listings on GrabJobs today!
