The Retail Industry

The retail industry is comprised of companies engaged in selling final products to consumers.  Privately-held and publicly-traded organizations are included in the industry.  Individuals who sell to the end-user are also included; including those who sell on eBay and Etsy.  Retailing also includes store operations (online, and brick and mortar) and non-store retailers (in-home sales, vending machines, infomercials, and mobile food trucks).

Retail contributes $2.6 trillion to the U.S. annual GDP.  It is the nation’s largest private sector employer directly providing about 29 million American jobs and supporting 1 in 4 American jobs (42 million people) Pennsylvania ranks #5 in top ten retail states by total impact  (Source:  National Retail Federation). 

Connect to The National Retail Federation to find out more about careers in retail by visiting their Career Center website. 

The Sales Industry

The Sales Industry is comprised of individuals who educated potential customers and existing customers about their company’s products and services.  Salespeople build relationships to better understand the wants and needs of customers.  Other activities include negotiating, completing orders, and analyzing customer data.  According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 14.5 million people work in sales and sales-related industries.  While many sales people work in retail, sales people also work in business to business (B2B) selling.

One of the largest industry groups in sales is the National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP), learn more about this association by visiting the NASP website.