Retail, sales and customer service roles are the most widely advertised jobs in South Africa, and they are also the ones where job titles vary most. A sales assistant in one company is a retail assistant in the next and a store assistant in a third, while the duties barely change. This hub groups every retail, sales and customer service role covered on Duties.co.za so you can find the guide that matches the work.
Each role links to a dedicated page with full duties, daily tasks and CV wording. Use this page to choose the right guide, then read the detail there. For the framework behind all workplace roles, see the parent job duties guide.
Browse Retail, Sales & Customer Service Job Duties by Role
Browse by what you handle: the till, the floor, the display, the sale, or the customer after the sale.
Till and Cash Handling
Till roles carry direct cash accountability. Duties centre on accurate transactions, correct refunds and a clean cash-up at the end of every shift.
- Cashier duties and responsibilities
- Cashier in a Supermarket duties and responsibilities
Shop Floor and Retail Assistance
Floor roles combine customer service with stock replenishment, housekeeping and shrinkage awareness. These four titles are largely interchangeable between employers.
- Shop Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Retail Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Retail Sales Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Sales Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Store Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Retail duties and responsibilities
Merchandising and Promotions
Merchandising roles are measured on how product is presented and how well displays follow the planogram. Promotional roles are measured on activation and engagement.
- Merchandiser duties and responsibilities
- Visual Merchandiser duties and responsibilities
- Promoter duties and responsibilities
- Brand Ambassador duties and responsibilities
Sales Roles
Sales duties are defined by target, territory and product. The practical difference between titles is usually whether you close in store, in the field, or over the phone.
- Sales Consultant duties and responsibilities
- Sales Representative duties and responsibilities
- Sales Agent duties and responsibilities
- Salesperson duties and responsibilities
- Sales Associate duties and responsibilities
- Sales Executive duties and responsibilities
- Sales Advisor duties and responsibilities
- Junior Sales Consultant duties and responsibilities
- Telesales duties and responsibilities
- Sales duties and responsibilities
- Sales and Marketing duties and responsibilities
- Sales Manager duties and responsibilities
Customer Service and Call Centre
Service roles are measured on resolution rather than sale. Call centre duties add script adherence, call handling times and quality monitoring.
- Call Centre Agent duties and responsibilities
- Customer Service Consultant duties and responsibilities
- Customer Service duties and responsibilities
- Customer Service Agent duties and responsibilities
- Customer Service Representative duties and responsibilities
- Customer Service Advisor duties and responsibilities
Common Duties Across Retail, Sales & Customer Service Roles
Titles differ, but almost every role in this cluster is built from the same six accountabilities.
- Customer interaction: greeting, advising, handling complaints and leaving the customer able to complete their purchase.
- Transaction accuracy: processing sales, refunds and exchanges correctly, and reconciling at the end of shift.
- Product knowledge: knowing the range well enough to advise honestly and to handle returns and warranty questions.
- Stock and display: replenishing shelves, rotating stock, following the planogram and reporting shortages.
- Loss prevention: following till, refund and stock procedures that exist specifically to control shrinkage.
- Targets and reporting: working to a sales, call or service target and recording activity accurately.
How Duties Change by Seniority and Workplace
Seniority Moves You From Sale to Store
A sales assistant is accountable for their own service and their own till. A supervisor is accountable for the floor during a shift. A store manager is accountable for trading targets, stock loss, staffing and the customer experience across the whole outlet. The customer interaction looks similar at every level; the consequence of a bad day does not.
Channel Changes the Routine
In-store selling is reactive and depends on footfall. Field sales is territory-driven and depends on a call cycle. Telesales and call centre work is queue-driven and measured in handling time and quality scores. All three are “sales”, and a CV that does not say which one leaves the recruiter guessing.
Sector Changes the Compliance Load
Selling financial products, insurance or credit adds regulatory duties, record keeping and disclosure requirements that general retail does not carry. Pharmacy and liquor retail add their own restrictions. Read the role guide alongside the rules that apply to what you sell.
Popular Role Guides
- Cashier duties and responsibilities: point of sale operation, cash accountability, refunds and shift reconciliation.
- Sales Consultant duties and responsibilities: needs analysis, product advice, closing and after-sales follow-up.
- Call Centre Agent duties and responsibilities: inbound and outbound call handling, logging and escalation.
- Merchandiser duties and responsibilities: display execution, stock rotation, planogram compliance and store reporting.
- Sales Representative duties and responsibilities: territory management, call cycles, orders and account growth.
Duties for CVs
Retail and sales CVs are read for numbers: transaction volume, target achievement, basket size, call volume. Give the figure and the period. Use the duties for a CV guide for the method, then adapt wording like this.
- Processed an average of 320 till transactions per shift with no cash variances over 14 months.
- Achieved 112% of a monthly sales target across a portfolio of 40 active accounts.
- Handled 70 to 90 inbound service calls a day, maintaining a quality assurance score above 90%.
- Executed weekly planogram resets across six stores and reported out-of-stock lines to the account manager.
Job Description and Employer Guidance
Retail and sales job descriptions should state the target the role carries, whether it involves cash handling, the shift pattern, and whether weekend and public holiday work is expected. Where the role sells a regulated product, name the accreditation required. Vague adverts in this cluster produce high application volume and high early turnover.
Use the job description duties and responsibilities guide for structure, then take role-specific content from the pages above. Duties vary by employer and store format.
Related Work Areas
- General work, warehouse and logistics duties: for receiving, stockroom and shelf-packing roles.
- Management and leadership duties: for supervisor, store manager and branch manager positions.
- Admin and office duties: for sales administration and customer administration roles.
- Job duties: the parent guide to duties, responsibilities and job descriptions.
How to Use These Duties Guides
Find your area above and read the role page in full. If your title is not listed, choose the closest role by what you handle day to day. Titles in this cluster are especially interchangeable, so match on duties and accountability rather than wording.
Duties vary by employer, store format and sector. Where you sell a regulated product, the applicable regulation and your employer’s procedures take precedence over a general guide.
Last reviewed: 1 September 2026