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Shop assistants

How to become a Department Store Sales Assistant

Also called: Department store salesperson, Department store clerk

Works on the shop floor of a department store, listening to what customers want, explaining products and giving advice as they sell.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university or high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but qualifications such as retail sales specialist, interior coordinator, colour coordinator, shoe fitter and sommelier are useful when you look after related products. The basic product knowledge, sales skills, job knowledge and wrapping skills you need are mainly learned through on-the-job training, that is, hands-on training while selling on the shop floor, usually following a personal development plan. To recommend products to customers with confidence and give them sound advice, you need wide-ranging product knowledge: not only basic knowledge such as materials, manufacturing methods and processing techniques, but also information on safety and value for money, and a feel for design, style and fashion. This is a customer service job, so it suits people who enjoy dealing with others. The knowledge needed depends on the products you handle, but it is important to keep taking in product information such as materials, performance and safety.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Department Store Sales Assistant?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but qualifications such as retail sales specialist, interior coordinator, colour coordinator, shoe fitter and sommelier are useful when you look after related products. The basic product knowledge, sales skills, job knowledge and wrapping skills you need are mainly learned through on-the-job training, that is, hands-on training while selling on the shop floor, usually following a personal development plan. To recommend products to customers with confidence and give them sound advice, you need wide-ranging product knowledge: not only basic knowledge such as materials, manufacturing methods and processing techniques, but also information on safety and value for money, and a feel for design, style and fashion. This is a customer service job, so it suits people who enjoy dealing with others. The knowledge needed depends on the products you handle, but it is important to keep taking in product information such as materials, performance and safety.

How much does a Department Store Sales Assistant earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,847,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Shop assistants, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Department Store Sales Assistant?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 21% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme.

Will AI change the work of a Department Store Sales Assistant?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026