Official pay data
Updated 15 October 2026
Salary guide
Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United Kingdom · gross annual earnings estimate
25th percentile
£21,970
Median
£25,056
75th percentile
£29,846
This ASHE benchmark covers full-time employee jobs, not self-employed income or part-time jobs. ASHE gross earnings include basic pay, overtime, incentive pay such as bonuses and commissions, shift premiums, and other cash pay. They are before deductions, exclude payments in kind, and are not take-home pay or the whole benefits package. Compare the benchmark with an offer on the same working-hours and annual-pay basis.
This is a country-level occupation benchmark, not a local offer estimate. Pay can differ by location, employer, duties, and working pattern.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. Mapped to Sales and retail assistants; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
Retail Assistant is covered here through the broader UK occupation "Sales and retail assistants". That is a useful comparison for retail sales associate work centred on customers, tills, stock and displays. It is not a promise that every Retail Assistant job includes the same duties or pays the same way.
Benchmark fit
The benchmark fits Retail Assistant roles that match the approved Retail Sales Associate identity. The mapped occupation is broad enough to cover customer service, till work and stock-related retail duties, but it does not make every retail job interchangeable.
Nearby titles: Sales Assistant is an approved alias for Retail Sales Associate in this guide..
A national profile lists possible ordinary tasks; an individual employer may divide those tasks differently. The occupation benchmark should therefore be compared with the actual duties and working pattern in the offer.
Role scope
A Retail Assistant helps customers and supports day-to-day store work across retail categories such as clothing, electronics, garden supplies, pet supplies, and food and drink.
Answer customer questions about products. · Serve customers at tills and handle returns or refunds where assigned. · Unpack deliveries, stock shelves and arrange displays. · Price and rotate stock. · Take part in store promotional events or help keep the store clean and tidy.
Customers receive help with product questions and transactions. · Stock can be put away, priced, rotated and displayed for sale.
Retail settings can include clothing and footwear, electronics and household goods, garden and pet supplies, and food and drink.
This guide treats Sales Assistant as the approved alias for the Retail Sales Associate audience; the benchmark still covers the broader Sales and retail assistants occupation.
Read the range
Use the benchmark as a comparison for a Retail Assistant offer when the job combines customer help with shop-floor work such as tills, returns, deliveries, shelves or displays. A role may include only some of those assignments, so compare the written job duties before treating it as a close match.
One quarter of employees earn below this figure.
Half of employees earn below this figure and half above it; it is not the arithmetic midpoint of the displayed range.
One quarter of employees earn above this figure.
Location
Supplementary regional medians are available for eleven UK regions, alongside the national occupation benchmark.
| Region | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Not published | £25,292 | Not published |
| East Midlands | Not published | £23,940 | Not published |
| London | Not published | £27,637 | Not published |
| North East | Not published | £25,013 | Not published |
| North West | Not published | £24,486 | Not published |
| Scotland | Not published | £25,245 | Not published |
| South East | Not published | £25,250 | Not published |
| South West | Not published | £24,691 | Not published |
| Wales | Not published | £24,480 | Not published |
| West Midlands | Not published | £24,935 | Not published |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | Not published | £24,682 | Not published |
Regional figures are supplementary. The national benchmark is not a local offer estimate, and pay can differ by location, employer, duties and working pattern.
Beyond salary
Compare the offer's annual cash pay on the same hours basis as the benchmark. Then separate fixed pay from overtime, commission, bonuses, shift premiums and other conditional cash, and ask what benefits are offered in addition.
Check the contracted hours and annual pay together before comparing the offer with the benchmark.
Ask whether overtime, commission, bonuses or shift premiums are available, and what rules determine payment.
Ask separately about pension, health cover, leave and any other benefits, because payments in kind are outside gross earnings.
Offer review
Questions
Source
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. The figures cover Sales and retail assistants (7111) and full time employee jobs. Updated 15 October 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every Retail Assistant vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.
