Retail Resume Template Example

Retail professionals bridge the gap between products or services and the end consumer. To prove to hiring managers you can excel in this role, your retail resume should highlight your ability to assist customers and drive sales. This guide provides tips and strategies to help you write a resume that effectively translates your hands-on experience and impressive customer service accomplishments.

How To Write a Retail Resume

To create a professional, well-organized resume, consider using a premade template. Your retail resume should include the following sections:

  • Contact information
  • Profile
  • Key skills
  • Professional experience
  • Education and certifications

Contact information

In the header of your resume, provide your full name, phone number, email address, location, and a link to your online professional profile. Include your most up-to-date contact information so potential employers can easily reach you to ask questions or schedule an interview.

Example

Your Name

(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation Zip Code
LinkedIn

Profile

Welcome hiring managers to your resume with an engaging profile or objective statement. Highlight your top skills, experiences, and qualifications. Think about what makes you an asset in a retail setting. Are you great at turning browsers into buyers? Do you have a knack for rallying the team together to increase sales? Include these strengths in your profile.

Example

Bilingual retail sales associate with over six years of experience in fast-paced environments. Adept at providing excellent customer service, engaging effectively with diverse clients, and demonstrating solid product knowledge. Focused on team collaboration and achieving departmental sales goals. Currently pursuing an associate in arts degree to further develop professional skills.

Key skills

Employers often use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter resumes based on specific keywords, many of which are skills listed in the job description. Including these key skills in your retail resume ensures your application reaches the hiring manager. Include a mix of hard and soft skills to show that you’re a well-rounded retail professional.

Common hard and soft skills for retail professionals

Hard Skills Soft Skills
Cash handling Active listening
Customer relationship management (CRM) software Coachability
E-commerce platforms Customer service
Electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems Helpfulness
Loss prevention strategies Leadership
Order processing Multitasking
Sales forecasting Patience
Supply chain management Persuasion
Visual merchandising Product styling
Workplace safety compliance Reliability

Resume writer’s tip: Use strong action verbs

Action verbs bring a dynamic element to your retail resume, transforming redundant first-person language (e.g., “I was responsible for…”) into impactful statements. They help describe your work history in fewer words while emphasizing what you’ve accomplished. Use action verbs like those we’ve listed below to communicate your proactive approach:

  • Achieved
  • Assisted
  • Demonstrated
  • Greeted
  • Increased
  • Managed
  • Merchandised
  • Negotiated
  • Organized
  • Persuaded
  • Processed
  • Recommended
  • Replenished
  • Resolved
  • Supervised

Professional experience

Put your past work on display in your professional experience section, highlighting responsibilities and achievements relevant to the retail job you’re applying for. Use bullet points for easy reading, starting each one with an action verb. Retail is a team effort, so be sure to mention how you collaborated with coworkers and management to accomplish goals.

Example

Retail Sales Associate, Lowes, Longmont, CO

October 2017 – present

  • Greet and engage customers to understand their project needs
  • Demonstrate expertise in various product categories and provide guidance for informed purchasing decisions
  • Lift and maneuver merchandise up to 50 pounds, adhering to safety protocols
  • Participate in store and garden center maintenance, including restocking, watering plants, and organizing displays
  • Conduct at least 10 monthly product knowledge sessions for new employees
  • Lead group sales meeting to increase departmental sales by 18% in the last six months

Seasonal Retail Sales Associate, Jack’s Sporting Goods, Longmont, CO

May 2017 – September 2017

  • Created a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all customers
  • Promoted private label credit card enrollment for an average of 18 sign-ups per month
  • Maintained company policies related to safety and loss prevention, ensuring a secure shopping environment
  • Achieved a consistent top 5% in sales among peers
  • Collaborated with the team to manage inventory, replenishment, and store layout

Resume writer’s tip: Quantify your experience

In your professional experience section, use numbers to show you can produce concrete results for retailers. Percentages, dollar amounts, and other concrete figures will demonstrate your achievements. Think about times you exceeded sales targets, reduced costs, or improved customer satisfaction scores. This will help convey the value you can bring to retailers.

Do
  • “Promoted private label credit card enrollment for an average of 18 sign-ups per month”
Don't
  • “Upsold the company’s private label credit card at every transaction to meet monthly store sign-up goals.”

Resume writer’s tip: Tailor your resume for each application

Over the next decade, employment for retail sales workers is projected to decline as people choose to shop online. However, there will be about 500,000 openings each year as professionals retire or change jobs. In a competitive job market, you’ll need a well-tailored resume to land a position with top retailers.

When applying for a new role, study the job description and pinpoint keywords listed as requirements and qualifications. Match them up with your own abilities, and incorporate those terms and phrases throughout the profile, skill, and professional experience sections of your retail resume. This will help hiring managers identify you as a good fit for the job.

What if you don’t have experience?

As an entry-level professional, your resume must show hiring managers you have the potential to succeed in the retail world. Soft skills like friendliness, patience, and adaptability are essential for providing excellent customer service. Even if you haven’t worked in retail, demonstrating these traits can be a big selling point.

Volunteer work, extracurricular activities, clubs, and school projects are all great experiences you can include on your resume. Potential employers know that these scenarios provide an opportunity to develop retail abilities. Regardless of how you earned them, transferable skills like cash handling, communication, and leadership will make you an excellent retail candidate.

Education and certifications

List your highest level of education and provide expected graduation dates if you’re currently enrolled in high school or college. You can also include completed coursework directly related to retail. In addition to education, mention any certifications you’ve earned to highlight specialized skills in things like service, safety, loss prevention, and product knowledge.

Example

Education

Associate of Arts (AA) General Studies, expected May 2024
Front Range Community College, Longmont, CO

Coursework: Accounting, Business communications, Statistics

Certifications

  • Forklift Safety Certified, Lowes, 2018

Retail Resume Template Text Example

Your Name

(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
City, State Abbreviation zip code
LinkedIn

Profile

Bilingual retail sales associate with over six years of experience in fast-paced environments. Adept at providing excellent customer service, engaging effectively with diverse clients, and demonstrating solid product knowledge. Focused on team collaboration and achieving departmental sales goals. Currently pursuing an AA degree to further develop professional skills.

Key Skills

  • Bilingual (English/Spanish)
  • Customer service
  • Forklift operation
  • Home improvement product knowledge
  • Inventory management
  • Merchandising
  • Sales techniques
  • Team player

Professional Experience

Retail Sales Associate, Lowes, Longmont, CO
October 2017 – present

  • Greet and engage customers to understand their project needs
  • Demonstrate expertise in various product categories and provide guidance for informed purchasing decisions
  • Lift and maneuver merchandise up to 50 pounds, adhering to safety protocols
  • Participate in store and garden center maintenance, including restocking, watering plants, and organizing displays
  • Conduct at least 10 monthly product knowledge sessions for new employees
  • Lead group sales meeting to increase departmental sales by 18% in the last six months

Seasonal Retail Sales Associate, Jack’s Sporting Goods, Longmont, CO
May 2017 – September 2017

  • Created a welcoming and inclusive shopping experience for all customers
  • Promoted private label credit card enrollment for an average of 18 sign-ups per month
  • Maintained company policies related to safety and loss prevention, ensuring a secure shopping environment
  • Achieved a consistent top 5% in sales among peers
  • Collaborated with the team to manage inventory, replenishment, and store layout

Education

Associate of Arts (AA) General Studies, expected May 2024
Front Range Community College, Longmont, CO

Coursework:

  • Accounting, Business communications, Statistics

Certifications

  • Forklift Safety Certified, Lowes, 2018
Andrew Stoner

Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach

A resume should be a forward-looking value proposition that showcases your most relevant accomplishments for a target role — not a rear view summary of your previous roles and responsibilities.

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