Every year, CNN and Fortune magazine compile a list of the 100 best companies in the nation to work for. And every year, retail and sales organizations, including clothing companies, supermarkets, online retailers and restaurants, top the list. Why? One reason is that many of these companies seem to care about their workers, just as much – if not more – than their customers. Another reason? Professionals working in the retail and sales field know they have a career they can cash in on now and in the future. Whether you were born to shop, have a leader's drive or want to use your eye for style to boost sales with merchandising campaigns, one of the available retail and sales degrees could help you get started in this rewarding career field.
Retail and Sales Online Colleges
Those seeking online retail and sales degrees can find options ranging from design-based merchandising courses to management-based sales and management. These programs offer associate, bachelor's and even master's level retail and sales degrees in a safe, flexible online learning environment, which can be perfect for a professional managing school and a career. Some online retail and sales programs center around teaching students the skills they'll need to seal the deal while working the sales floor, while other programs focus on merchandising, marketing and retail buying. Post-graduate retail and sales programs often offers classes in accounting, human resources, management concepts and more. No matter which of the online retail and sales programs you're interested in pursuing, it might help to have a few ingrained traits: customer-service and decision-making skills as well as attention to detail all play a big part in many retail transactions.
Students in retail and sales programs will likely learn about what it takes to succeed in today's competitive business world as well as the strategic planning, execution, resourceful problem solving and consumer-centric product offering needed to excel in the retail market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects nearly 400,000 jobs to be added to the retail sales sector over the next decade. Jobs will likely be created for retail sales persons, purchasing managers, retail managers and more. BLS data suggests that a four-year degree is preferred for most advancement opportunities, as many manager training programs list a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite. Sales managers working in the U.S. earned mean annual wages of $114,100, according to 2010 BLS data. Related occupations that could be of interest to those in retail and sales programs include occupations for advertising sales agents, market and survey researchers, and wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives, the BLS indicated.