Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Sales and Related

Retail Salespersons

Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers.

Also called: Car Salesman, Customer Assistant, Retail Salesperson, Sales Associate, Sales Clerk, Sales Consultant

Compare with my current job (Real Estate Sales Agents)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$36,850
$17.72/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
64,150
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+2.0%
13,060 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$34,000$35,410$36,850$42,180$48,260

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
  • Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
  • Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
  • Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
  • Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
  • Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure54 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 49
  • Language-model AIOE 56
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 57

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for retail sales is moderate, and AI tools are already used in this work in a substantial way. Tools can help with price totals, payments, and answers to common questions about products or the store. Greeting shoppers, learning what they need, and helping them find and try items still depend on people in the store.

Likely to change

  • Computing prices and processing payments
  • Answering common store and product questions

Still relies on people

  • Greeting customers and sensing what they need
  • Helping shoppers find and choose items in person

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Stockers and Order Fillers

    Your product knowledge and customer questions carry over, and this job adds inventory work with lower AI exposure, 13.7% projected growth, and short on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$850 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +13.7%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers

    Knowing what appeals to shoppers helps you plan displays and arrange merchandise, with a median pay of $44,070 and short on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$7,220 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +1.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

    Handling customer concerns and helping others learn carry over to supervising food service teams, which pays a median of $47,090.

    Pay difference
    +$10,240 median
    AI exposure
    Moderate
    MA growth
    +5.7%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

Talk to a career coach