5 Steps to Help You Grow Your Retail Career

Over the past three years, the retail landscape has changed dramatically. During the pandemic, several retailers were deemed “essential retail,” allowing these businesses to remain open and serving their local communities. During this time, the retail experience changed significantly with the advent of social distancing, managing the number of customers in-store, and the wearing of facemasks. While these practices have largely been phased-out, several other changes have remained, such as BOPIS (buy online pick-up in store), curbside pickup, and self-checkout. With the large-scale adoption of these advancements, the retail brick-and-mortar location is more connected to the digital retail experience than ever before, offering consumers several options in how they shop, purchase, and interact with brands and in-store employees.

With all this in-mind, how can in-store employees thrive and grow their careers in this new brick-and-mortar environment? The good news is that despite constant change, many tried and true methods can be leveraged to move forward. Here are five steps to help you on your way:

1.  Develop and continuously improve your soft skills.

There are several soft skills, or people skills, that can help you advance your career in the retail environment. Here we will focus on four.

Start by strengthening your customer service skills. We’ve all heard the old adages “the customer is always right” and “the customer comes first.” These sayings are based on the premise that the customer is critical to the growth of the business. As a result, customer service skills are by far the most important skills you can develop and continuously improve upon to excel in an in-person retail setting. To improve these skills, put yourself in the customer’s shoes. When interacting, demonstrate active listening and empathy. By better understanding the customer's needs, requests, or problems, you will be best positioned to deliver the service they seek.

Be a team player. While customer service is critical, in-store retail is a collaborative environment. You must focus on how you interact, support, and execute as part of your retailer’s team. It is important to work well with others, support your team members when needed, and help to drive and achieve team objectives. Career growth in retail often includes people management roles, and building strong team relationships will help you thrive in leadership positions.

In addition to building strong team relationships, maintaining a positive attitude is important. This attitude demonstrates to your team and manager that you are motivated and driven. Not only will it benefit your team morale, it will also enable you to deliver positive customer experiences. This is a skill that needs to be developed and practiced as it can be difficult to uphold when faced with challenging customer interactions. Maintaining a positive attitude when dealing with difficult customers and difficult/complex situations and problems can help turn a challenge into a success and demonstrate your problem-solving capabilities.

Finally, keep an open mind and be ready to adapt. Over the past three years, retail has gone through more change and innovation than over the past few decades. The introduction of the customer omnichannel experience coupled with accelerated technology advances provides customers with the flexibility to browse, purchase and receive customer support across several digital and in-person channels. To grow in this type of environment, where change continues to be on the horizon, it is important to be open to trying and learning new things and be willing to adapt.

2.  Set clear career goals.

To grow your retail career, you need to define your career aspirations. Where do you want to go next? Do you want to manage a large retail location? Do you seek to advance your career from a brick-and-mortar location to a regional leadership role where you're responsible for a footprint of locations? Do you want to someday become an executive within the corporate environment? Creating a career roadmap will help define and determine the path required to achieve your career advancement goals.

While you’re formulating your career path, don’t be afraid to take risks. If an opportunity comes your way and you feel you aren’t ready yet, take it! The most growth you will experience in your career will happen from doing things outside of your comfort zone, not within it. If your risk takes you in a new direction, make sure to pivot your goals to align with your new path.

3.  Seek accreditation and outside education. 

Bolster your experience and resume through educational programs such as certificate programs designed for retail professionals or industry agnostic programs that focus on building specific skills like leadership or people management. Accreditations such as these will help you grow within the retail field and support career advancement.

4.  Network. Network. Network.

Sometimes when growing your career, it’s not what you know but who you know. Attending industry events, connecting with other retail professionals through LinkedIn and joining retail professional organizations will help you grow your network, and that network could hold the key to helping you advance your career over time. Your connections from outside your coworker pool can help broaden your view of what’s possible within the retail field and even direct you to new opportunities you may not have considered.

5.  Explore mentorship opportunities.

Find a mentor within your company or within the retail industry to learn from and gain critical advice and guidance. Mentors are invaluable as they can share their expertise, learnings from both successes and failures, and offer insights into the industry from their years of experience. Mentors can also help navigate challenges, provide career advice, and help you grow professionally.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Growing and advancing your career in retail will take time. If you focus on the five steps above, however, you will have a clearer path forward towards achieving your retail career aspirations. 

Are you challenged with navigating the complexities of the retail landscape, delivering exceptional customer experiences, and driving sustainable growth? Contact us today to discuss how you can achieve retail customer excellence and set your brand apart from the competition. Together, let's elevate your retail experience.

About the Author: Rich Bongiorno is Managing Director of the Customer Service Advisory Practice at J.D. Power and is responsible for the Retail Experience Certification and Performance Improvement programs and insights.

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