Retail Consultant Job Description
At Ascent Professional Services we connect businesses with the best Retail Consultants. If you want to progress your career as a retail consultant, you can learn more about what a retail consultant does, the qualifications and skills required to be one and how they have a positive impact on businesses they work for.
What is a Retail Consultant?
A retail consultant devises strategies for retail businesses in order for them to improve their services. They will work primarily with retailers and manufacturers in a variety of areas such as sales, marketing and customer service and suggest ways in they can make their businesses more efficient and cost effective.
Retail Consultant Average Salary Expectations
In the UK on average, retail consultants can expect to earn an average of £50,000-£120,000, depending on previous experience and expertise.
Retail Consultant Job Overview
Retail consultants advise retailers on how they can improve their performance.
This can range from e-commerce, sales and marketing and also specific sectors such as hospitality and clothing retail.
Responsibilities for Retail Consultants
Undertake a preliminary audit of the retailer
Ensure an in-depth understanding of the business
Determine the customer’s needs and ambitions
Suggest and monitor improvements which can be made
Develop a strategy to achieve required goals
Provide first-class customer service when liaising with clients
Maximise prospects for the client by attending external events
Qualifications for a Retail Consultant
A degree is usually required to become a retail consultant, but extensive experience within the sector may also be considered. A master’s degree is also beneficial, as is being officially recognised as a Certified Management Consultant. Most retail consultants start out their careers as management consultants, before specialising in a specific field or industry in the retail sphere.
For anyone looking to pursue a career in Retail Consulting, we recommend the following subjects:
Business and management
Accounting and finance
Merchandising/buying
Experience and skills for a Retail Consultant
Excellent organisational skills
Ability to communicate effectively with clients
Strong business acumen
Ability to succinctly explain the subtleties of retail strategy
Great negotiation and persuasion skills
Lead teams to secure positive outcomes for organisations
Define problems and conceptualise solutions or alternative practises for improving performance
Outstanding improvisation, negotiation, and persuasion abilities.
Retail consultant interview questions
What value can you add to our organisation in addition to your knowledge and expertise?
Describe your most challenging project.
How would you improve performance in our business.
What is your most important leadership experience to date? What have you learned from that experience and how has it impacted your development as a leader?
How would you react if a business stakeholder told you they were unsure of your recommendations.
What is one of the first challenges you would like to tackle in this retail business? Why is that, and how would you address this?
Describe a time you overcame a challenging situation.
How would you make this business more profitable?
For more on information on Retail Consultant roles, read our blog on Consultancy CVs