10 Most Common Retail Interview Questions
Prepare for a job interview in retail by learning about the most common questions you can expect, as well as how to prepare your answers.
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 20 Nov 2020
Do you love meeting different people and being helpful? If so, a job in retail could be perfect for you.
No two days will be the same. Depending on where you work, you could be helping customers to choose the right product, packing items for deliveries or you could be managing a team. There’s something for certain, you’ll never be bored in retail.
If this is tempting you, we look at the 10 most common retail interview questions as well as who may conduct the interview and what it’ll involve.
What to expect in a retail interview
The style of retail interviews reflects the varied nature of jobs in retail. You could be asked to attend a phone interview. This could be followed by a face-to-face or virtual interview. You may even be asked to complete a task or make a presentation as part of the interview process. This is so they can get a sense of your experience and test your communication skills.
Most likely though the style of questions you’ll be asked will be situational type questions. Situational type questions focus on how you react and handle real-life situations. For example, you could be asked ‘How would you handle an angry customer?’
Situational interview questions give the interviewer a glimpse of your thought processes, problem-solving and communication skills. All of which is important when working in retail.
Who leads a retail interview?
Working in retail you’re the face of the business - how you interact and communicate with the public impacts the view they have of the company. The retailer will therefore want to hire people who they think will be the best at representing their business.
The interview will be held by someone who knows the company and who understands what the job involves. You’ll likely be interviewed by the department manager - for junior level roles like a cashier or a stockroom assistant. For senior-level jobs the store manager or regional manager may conduct the interview.
10 most common retail interview questions
Knowing what type of questions you may be asked in a retail interview could give you the edge over other candidates. We’ve identified 10 of the most common questions you’ll be asked when interviewing for a job in retail. We’ve split these by occupation-based and employer-based questions.
Occupation-based questions:
Here are the top 10 retail questions according to Glassdoor’s Interview submissions:
- Do you have any previous customer service experience
- How would you sell X to me?
- Are you happy to work weekends and evenings?
- How you would manage a large team?
- Do you like working in a fast-paced environment?
- What is your biggest success?
- Tell us about a time you overcame a challenge?
- What are the main qualities of a selling assistant?
- When have you had to work as a team?
- Tell me about a time when you disagreed with someone?
- Cashier
‘Do you have any previous customer service experience?’ is a common cashier interview question. Cashiers are usually the first point of contact for customers. So, it’s important that you can show that you’re capable of handling all sorts of enquiries and complaints.
See our cashier interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Sales associate
A question you’ll likely be asked during a sales associate interview is ‘How would you sell X to me?’ While sales associates are there to assist customers their main responsibility is closing sales. This takes skill and experience and the interviewer will be looking to see what your persuasion techniques are like.
See our sales associate interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Delivery driver
As the demand for online shopping increases, retailers are having to offer delivery slots that span from early morning to late at night. The hours you work as a delivery may therefore be unsociable. The interviewer will want to know if you’re OK with this by asking ‘Are you happy to work weekends and evenings?’
See our delivery driver interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Department manager
Depending on the size of the store, department managers can be in charge of a lot of employees. People management, organisation and communications skills are incredibly important. During the interview, it’s likely you’ll be asked ‘How you would manage a large team?’
See our department manager interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Store manager
Store managers hold a lot of responsibility. They’re in charge of the welfare of staff, keeping on top of stock levels and deliveries, making sure sales targets are being met etc. A question like ‘Do you like working in a fast-paced environment?’ will help the interview see if you’ve what it takes to handle the pressure.
See our store manager interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Regional manager
Regional managers oversee a particular geographical region. They set the sales target for that area and for each store. A retailer hiring for a regional manager will be looking for people who are forward-thinkers, ambitious and who can motivate others. They’ll be able to judge if you have these qualities from a question like ‘What is your biggest success?’
See our regional manager interview section for examples of other questions you may be asked.
Employer-led questions
- Boots
Boots employ around 63,000 and have approximately 2,300 stores. They hire for a range of jobs including pharmacists, assistant managers and customer service assistants. Reviews on Boots Glassdoor interview page show that an interview question they frequently ask is ‘Tell us about a time you overcame a challenge?’
See Boots interview page for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- John Lewis
John Lewis employs around 80,000 people. The majority of these people work in-store as sales associates. Reviews left on the John Lewis Glassdoor interview page show that during an interview sales associates are often asked ‘What are the main qualities of a selling assistant?’
See John Lewis’ interview page for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer have around 900 stores in the UK employing over 80,000 people. Jobs they regularly hire for include cashiers, warehouse managers and head-office staff. A common question asked during an interview with Marks & Spencer is ‘When have you had to work as a team?’
See Marks & Spencer’s interview page for examples of other questions you may be asked.
- Amazon
One of the largest online retailers, Amazon UK employees more than 27,000 people in jobs like IT, customer service and operations. Reviews left on Amazon’s Glassdoor interview page show that Amazon focuses heavily on situational style interview questions. One example is ‘Tell me about a time when you disagreed with someone?’
See Amazon’s interview page for examples of other questions you may be asked.
Glassdoor Team
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