27 Retail Skills To Guide Your Store Staff to Success (2025)

From the moment a customer sees your retail store to the moment they purchase a product, your team’s retail skills will influence them.

They will notice your store’s layout, how they are greeted, the ease of making a purchase, and much more.

Skills in retail jobs are wider and more varied than many people outside of retail realize. Let’s look at 27 retail skills to guide your store staff to success.

What types of skills are needed in retail jobs?

The skills needed in a retail job are important, whether your store sells clothes, electronics, home goods, or banking services. No matter what area of retail you’re in, your staff will need a mixture of hard and soft skills. These skills are the basis for selling products to customers, ranging from empathy and persuasion to product knowledge and math. You’ll see more about each of them below.

27 retail skills to look for when hiring store staff

It’s important to remember that while many applicants will have some of the skills listed below, few will have them all. Teaching people how to stack shelves is easier than teaching empathy. 

The following skills are broken down into categories: 

1. Customer service
2. Sales and persuasion
3. Organizational and time management
4. Technical and POS skills
5. Visual merchandising
6. Teamwork and collaboration

Customer service

Customer service is dealing with complaints, refunds, and general feedback. Good customer service skills include listening, understanding your customers' needs, and finding a solution for them. Staff will also offer guidance, support, and occasionally even a refund.

1. A friendly attitude

Your staff doesn’t need to follow customers around the store, constantly asking, “How may I help you?” In fact, that can be quite off-putting. 

But they do need to have a friendly attitude. Friendliness is being approachable, naturally welcoming, and easy to get along with. Make sure whoever you hire can quickly make your customers feel comfortable.

2. Helpfulness

A staff member with a helpful attitude will have a certain way of thinking. When asked a question, their first thought will be, “Do I know the answer?” If they don’t, their second thought is, “Where can I find the answer?”

A helpful team member understands that effective retail personalization means providing tailored assistance whether customers are shopping in-store, picking up online orders, or asking about items they saw on your website. They can suggest complementary products based on purchase history, remember customer preferences, and create the kind of personalized shopping experience that builds loyalty.

3. Empathy

Put yourself in their shoes. It’s a lot easier said than done. A good sales associate can get a read on their customers quickly. They will determine what their customer is feeling and what’s motivating them. 

This is a great help when offering suggestions and making sales pitches. For example, an empathetic staff member in a tech store will see the difference between an excited early adopter, desperate to get the latest kit, and a technophobe who only buys a laptop because they can’t work without one. 

4. Patience and understanding

Not every customer will know what they want straight away. Some customers will want things explained to them in multiple ways, or even in the same way, multiple times.

A staff member with patience and understanding will match their pace to your customers. They’ll listen and wait for the right moment to offer advice.

5. Active listening

Active listening is as much about showing you’re listening as it is about the listening itself.

It’s about paying full attention to the person speaking. You will watch their body language, listen to every word closely, and catch their tone. The same sentence can mean two completely different things, so keep an ear out for how it’s said.

Active listening doesn’t end at the point of sale. Staff should also follow up with personalized thank-you emails, suggesting complementary products or services based on a customer's recent purchase. 

For example, after purchasing a dress, a customer might appreciate an email recommending shoes or accessories to complete their look.

Sales and persuasion

Sales is getting a potential customer to buy. Good sales skills are all about listening, understanding the needs of your customers, and finding a solution for them.

Most of the time, if they’re already in your store, the solution they need will be on your shelves. But sometimes it won’t be, so pointing your customer in the right direction and explaining how your products can help in other areas is much better for a longer-term relationship.

Retail sales is about knowing how to close a deal, and it’s also about knowing when to close a deal. Staff with strong sales skills should also use customer data, such as purchase history or browsing behavior, to recommend relevant products. 

These tailored recommendations improve the likelihood of closing a sale and build trust with the customer. For example, associates can suggest complementary products like accessories or add-ons based on recent purchases.

6. Resilience to handle all types of customers

Being able to adapt isn’t always easy. It takes more than quick thinking. It takes resilience. Your team will have to deal with customers who pose objections that make no sense. 

There will be customers who promise to buy but never do. There will be customers who buy something every week and return something a week later. There will be customers who are shocked by the unexpected.

Dealing with so many challenging situations can test the best of us. A resilient staff member isn’t someone who doesn’t feel frustrated. That person doesn’t exist. A resilient staff member can deal with the frustrations and come back stronger. 

7. An ease of persuasion

A huge skill in retail is persuasion. It’s all part of the sales process. Persuasion doesn’t mean your team convinces people to buy something they don’t need. Persuasion is about listening, overcoming objections, and explaining why a product is right. If your staff members understand the benefits of what you sell and can explain it to them clearly, they’ll be successful in sales.

A staff member should also know when to share targeted discounts and offers effectively. For example, when a customer inquires about a product, an associate who can reference a personalized discount, based on their past purchases or wishlist items, adds value to the interaction.

8. Storytelling skills

A long time ago, in a land far away, a retail assistant shared a story with a potential customer. That customer turned out to be the undercover CEO. She loved the story so much that she promoted the retail assistant to CMO. 

That was an awful story, but storytelling skills are important in retail. A good storyteller will share success stories with future customers. They might entertain their listeners with the tale of how a product came to be, or the first time it was ever seen in a particular country. 

These kinds of stories are engaging. They take the customer away from the physical purchase to a dream of what it could be. Explaining benefits through story is almost always more powerful than reciting cold, hard facts. Get your staff to try it and see the difference. 

9. In-depth product knowledge

Even if you hire someone with a lot of experience in your industry, they’ll still need to learn about your product catalog. The deeper their understanding, the more questions they can answer from customers, and the more helpful they can be in the sales process. 

Being eager to learn will help with their development, but there are ways you can offer support too. Start by guiding them to your most important products. What makes them special?

Don’t just focus on the features. Think about the benefits for your customers. Why are your products better than the rest?

Regular training is also important. There will be new products coming out all the time and advances in the products you already have. Keep infographics and leaflets in the break room so staff can reference them to fill in knowledge gaps.

You could also hold “unboxing sessions” to see how the process would feel for customers. Have a list of the “top 10” products your store sells each month as a focus point for learning. Or you can ask your staff to use your products; doing is always the best way of learning. 

10. Strong communication skills

Active listening will help with this, as will many of the soft skills mentioned earlier, but strong communication can be taught. Certain techniques offer practical help and contribute to growing confidence. 

Your staff will need to clearly articulate their message when greeting customers, answering their questions, and selling to them. You can’t predict every situation, but role-playing possible scenarios will prepare your staff for most possibilities. Use real-life examples to get things started.

11. Understanding of unified commerce

Successful retailers know that customers expect consistent experiences whether they're shopping online or in store—and often both. Take Tecovas, a western-wear retail brand based in Austin, Texas. Known for its high-quality cowboy boots and dedication to "radical hospitality," Tecovas has embraced unified commerce to modernize in-store customer experiences.

Using custom UI extensions in Shopify POS, Tecovas surfaces customer details directly in the POS system, allowing associates to better understand their customers at critical moments, like during checkout.

This gave associates the opportunity to:

• Suggest items based on purchase history
• Recommend complementary products like boot care kits
• Track loyalty points so customers feel rewarded and valued in-store

Now, customers receive the same high level of service whether they're shopping online, in-store, or moving between channels. Staff who understand and embrace unified commerce principles can create more meaningful, personalized shopping experiences that drive customer satisfaction and sales.

Organizational and time management 

Successful retail businesses depend on more than just good service and sales skills. They also require a team of staff with excellent organizational and time management skills. 

12. Good time management skills

There’s been a lot of debate in recent times about the need for office staff to work 9-5, and whether arriving at work on time really matters. In retail, there’s no question. It does. Your customers will expect your team to be on the floor and ready to offer support as soon as the store opens. 

Their job often involves restocking merchandise, cleaning display cases, and calling suppliers. These tasks can be missed altogether if they are not completed at the right time. At the very least, uncompleted tasks will create a scattered and panicked atmosphere in-store.

You can help your staff manage their time better. For example, you could offer them insights into your store’s traffic fluctuations or teach them how to prioritize back-office tasks.

13. Ability to multitask

It isn’t uncommon for a staff member to scan your in-store computer for an item one customer has asked for when another customer approaches them to ask a question. Being able to multitask is an essential skill. They need to point their second customer in the right direction without losing focus on their first. 

A staff member on top of their game will also be able to gather new stock for the display when they pick up the item their first customer has requested. Customers must always take priority, but if your staff member can do two or three things at the same time, they’ll be worth their weight in gold.

14. Prioritization and multi-tasking skills

Retail staff must juggle multiple tasks, from helping customers to completing back-end activities like restocking or updating inventory. Strong prioritization skills ensure they focus on the most critical tasks first, especially during busy periods, to keep operations running smoothly.

15. Planning and scheduling abilities

Planning daily activities and scheduling tasks effectively is essential in retail. Staff should know how to allocate time for duties like prepping displays, arranging stock, and cleaning the store without letting customer service suffer.

Technical and POS skills 

16. Basic computer skills

Your retail team should know the basics of how to use a computer. With the diverse array of technologies and tools in the retail environment, it’s important that your retail workers at least have a base level of understanding. This will make it easier for you to onboard and train them on new-to-them technologies, like your POS or CRM. They should know how to write and send emails, at the very least.

17. Retail industry knowledge or expertise

Understanding your industry will give any staff member a significant head start. Being able to answer questions about your products is fantastic, but how do your products compare to your competitors? 

Are there industry regulations to follow? Do your customers expect a minimum standard or maximum price point? Are you offering those things? If not, why not? It’s great to stand out, but your staff must know why you do things differently.

18. Math and money skills

This is slightly less important than it once was. Before credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets, when cash was the only currency, math skills and mental arithmetic were vital. A simple 0 in the wrong place could annoy your customer or lose you a lot of money.

A lot can now be done with automatic shop tills and calculators, but math skills are still important, and understanding things like percentages matter. If you’re offering 35% off all items, what will the final price be? Being able to do quick calculations and not making your customers wait will greatly benefit any sale.

Cash still exists, too, so counting money, checking for counterfeits, and working the cash register are important retail skills.

19. Retail tech experience

Today's retail technology goes beyond basic card machines. Staff need to be proficient with integrated systems that connect online and offline operations, including:

• Point of sale (POS) devices for seamless checkout
• Digital catalogs and inventory management tools
• Mobile payment processing
• Omnichannel returns and exchanges
• Real-time inventory checking across locations
• Customer history access across all channels

The key is having user-friendly technology backed by proper training. When your team can confidently use these tools, they're better equipped to provide fast, accurate service while maintaining a complete view of your business operations.

Visual merchandising

20. Product styling and display skills

What do your customers see the first time they look through your window or at an outdoor display? How your staff makes your store look is as important as anything they say. 

They will know which items go well together, what trends are worth following, and which products will likely catch a customer’s eye. Once a customer enters your store, a staff member who knows their stuff can also advise on the best looks for when the customer gets home.

This isn’t just about clothes. A furniture store might recommend chairs with a particular table or home color scheme. A tech store might recommend the best smart-watch and smart-phone combination. A cafe might suggest the best cakes to go with a chai latte.

21. Creative

Visual merchandising relies heavily on creativity to design eye-catching displays that draw customers into the store. An aesthetic sense helps staff create arrangements highlighting product features while adhering to brand guidelines and appealing to the target market. Look out for careful attention to detail, too. 

22. Basic understanding of consumer psychology

Knowing how customers shop and what attracts them can significantly improve visual merchandising. For instance, understanding the psychology behind colors, lighting, and product placement helps create displays that encourage purchases.

23. Data-driven 

The ability to analyze sales performance data and adjust displays based on top-performing products, customer preferences, or seasonal trends ensures the store maximizes its visual merchandising efforts to boost sales.

Teamwork and collaboration

24. Honesty and reliability

When working as a team, each member relies on the others. That’s why it’s important to look for dependable and trustworthy staff. This will contribute to an overall positive team morale. You’re only as strong as your weakest link! 

Not to mention, you’ll need to trust the staff who are handling your cash and inventory. No retailer wants to set itself up for employee theft. 

25. Eagerness to learn at pace

There’s always something new on the retail store floor: new products, new processes, new technology, and new company policies, to name but a few. Your staff will find it much easier to be helpful when they have the knowledge to do so. If they’re eager to learn, they’ll gain that knowledge faster. 

26. A willingness to adapt

“Expect the unexpected.” Oscar Wilde must have been thinking about a career in retail when he said that. Every day, there’s a new challenge. Even the greatest staff member can’t know what will happen every minute of every day. 

Every customer who interacts with your staff will have a different expectation. A change in the weather might make fewer people visit your store. A late delivery could cause some customers to miss out on a product they’ve been desperate for. 

Whatever the situation, a good staff member will adapt and deal with it in the most appropriate manner. Look for candidates who take the time to think before answering a question. They’re more likely to be willing to adapt than those who don’t.

27. Physical fitness

Working in retail isn’t manual labor or lifting weights, but in most retail jobs, there‘s a certain requirement for physical fitness. Restocking shelves, moving from place to place, and carrying heavy boxes to and from the warehouse are all tiring tasks.

You can help reduce the physical work needed by using automation and technology where possible, but the typical retail job is physically demanding. Make sure whoever you hire can cope.

Hire staff with the right retail skills

What makes a great retail staff member? It’s the combination of soft and hard skills that we’ve guided you through in this article. Remember when you’re hiring that most people won’t have all the required skills, but some retail skills are easier to teach than others. 

Whether you run a lifestyle business, a growing boutique, or have multiple retail locations, use this article as a guide to help you find staff with the right retail skills for success.