Typical hourly pay for Temporary Sales Assistants ranges from £10.50–£12.50, with London rates often £11.50–£13.50+ depending on brand and shift premiums. Peak periods may offer overtime or enhanced weekend and late-night rates. Shifts commonly include early opens, late closes, and weekend work, with rotas published weekly. Many candidates progress from temp to permanent, then into Senior Sales Assistant, Key Holder or Supervisor roles, and onward to Assistant Store Manager and Store Manager. Others pivot into Visual Merchandising, E‑commerce Fulfilment, or Field Sales. jobwise insights highlight higher-paying employers and stores with frequent temp-to-perm conversions so you can target the best prospects.

• Customer service excellence: welcoming attitude, active listening, problem-solving, and complaint resolution.
• Sales and product knowledge: upselling, cross-selling, and advising on features, sizes, and alternatives.
• POS and cash handling: operating tills, contactless payments, refunds, and basic end-of-day procedures.
• Merchandising and stock: replenishment, pricing, ticketing, stock rotation, and tidy displays.
• Communication and teamwork: working with supervisors and colleagues to meet sales targets.
• Resilience and pace: thriving during busy periods and maintaining standards under pressure.
• Requirements: right to work in the UK; some roles may require basic DBS checks (e.g., pharmacy) or manual handling awareness.
• Useful certifications: Level 2 Certificate in Retail Knowledge, Food Hygiene (for food retail), First Aid at Work.
• Transferable skills: hospitality, call centre, and warehouse experience map well—jobwise surfaces these from your CV so you’re not overlooked.

Upload your CV and jobwise parses it instantly to highlight relevant retail skills like customer service, POS and merchandising. We match you to suitable temporary roles, enable precise filtering by pay, shifts and location, and send job alerts so you’re first to apply. Save searches, track applications, and apply in a few clicks from any device.

• Flexible, shift-based work that fits around studies, caring, or another job.
• Steady demand across supermarkets, fashion, and high-street brands—especially during seasonal peaks.
• jobwise’s AI reduces missed opportunities by matching your CV to roles the moment they appear.