Retail Salespersons

High Risk
71%

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Vote Comments (13)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
69%
(High Risk)
POLLING
73%
(High Risk, Based on 332 votes)
Average: 71%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
0.1%
by year 2033
WAGES
$33,680
or $16.19 per hour
Volume
3,684,740
as of 2023
SUMMARY
What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
2.5/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

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Calculated automation risk

69% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): Jobs in this category face a significant threat from automation, as many of their tasks can be easily automated using current or near-future technologies.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Persuasion

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Negotiation

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

User poll

73% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 69% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Retail Salespersons will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Retail Salespersons' job openings is expected to rise 0.1% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Retail Salespersons' was $33,680, or $16 per hour

'Retail Salespersons' were paid 29.9% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 3,684,740 people employed as 'Retail Salespersons' within the United States.

This represents around 2.4% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 41 people are employed as 'Retail Salespersons'.

Job description

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

SOC Code: 41-2031.00

Comments (13)

Leave a comment
Tyler
07 Aug 2025 01:28
mmm it's been like this in certain areas for a long time. Like 2 sets of Managers and an Assistant (who just runs the floor (their support teams: GM, etc) for a small sized store. Bring on Seasonals/Temps for the holidays. One should spend only 2 years, 3 max at a level like this, there's no reason not to be attempting to move up into Management (or jump ship to a similar company) if you're not, well that's your choice.
jim (Low)
13 Jul 2025 18:07
self checkouts are frequently disparaged by customers who shop at my company for the exact reason that they do not want to see robots/ai replacing workers.
JC
23 Nov 2025 03:44
Stores have less cashiers on purpose to force you to use the machines. How long are you willing to wait?
Joon (Highly likely)
05 May 2023 15:41
Will this reflect or have separate section that is post ChatGPT?
What was originally seen as a roadblock is no longer valid, and the threat of replacement was already high even prior to the advent of ChatGPT
David (No chance)
12 Jan 2022 19:21
Not likely. People can't corner an automated system and force it to pay attention to them while they talk about irrelevant and inappropriate things, brag about their medical issues (in graphic detail), and list the types of antipsychotic medications they are currently prescribed.

In addition, the general public doesn't have the aptitude to operate technology which is the better part of a century old. We've all seen the threats, and they don't hold water because after utilizing automated systems for a few decades, retailers are ditching them in favor of employees. Walmart is a great example because they are actively removing these systems (don't try to argue, just look it up).
Nico (Highly likely)
03 Feb 2021 12:06
Because of the pandemic and all.
Richard
25 Jul 2020 01:50
The world is changing exponentially year over year. Things that took 20 years to be developed and brought to market now can be developed in just a fraction of the time. Society is driven by innovation and technology and the economy is vastly dominated by data driven statistics. AI is more advanced than the world actually realizes. The IOT is already in production and just standing by for the regulations to be incorporated, then that will pull out all the stops. I give it 2-3 years tops before automation disrupts every industry whether society is ready for it or not.
Richard Dumas (Highly likely)
25 Jul 2020 01:41
The entire retail industry is fallen by the waste side and being disrupted by eCommerce. Amazon has dominated the retail space over the last decade and is expanding exponentially year over year with no signs of slowing down. The retail industry will need to adapt to the new way that people want to do business.
Joel Vitug
14 May 2020 15:38
People will always need that human connection, there are plenty of us that needs to touch, see, and feel the product, sometimes even taste the product. There are going to be a place for AI and robotics, with this in some aspects will make our jobs more efficient and productive. We are social beings, we have learned that through this Covid-19 pandemic, people need people even in sales.
Ali (Highly likely)
27 Nov 2019 13:45
Well it depends what we're talking about here. If we're talking about people who stock shelves the whole times then absolutely but there're are some places where we cant really replace them yet.
Marge (Highly likely)
07 Aug 2019 01:56
Ease of online sales will surely doom retail storefronts, especially the sales reps. It already is. I work in cellular and literally sell the very devices people use to online shop and price check. Sorry 'bout that.
Viviane Paraschiv
28 Mar 2019 12:10
Because people still go in stores (talking here about fashion here) for a personal connection. Might be more automated for consumer goods but not that sure it will be 92% automated
Lee Springer
29 May 2019 18:37
Amazon Prime Wardrobe, Blackcart, Try.com and thousands of other companies represent the current projected 92%. You're correct in estimating that the 'current' population would prefer to shop in store. You must realize in 10 years the customer market will be completely different than it is now. Shopping malls are shutting down, New shopping stores launch online with only 4% hitting a store front. It's safe to say that retail shopping is doomed as a career/job.
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