Retail Cover Letter Examples and Templates

Use these tips to write your retail cover letter:

• Follow a business letter format with a header, salutation and closing.
• Open with a compelling introduction, including your interest in the role.
• Use storytelling in the body paragraphs to show how you’ve used your hard and soft skills.
• Close the letter by thanking the reader and presenting a call to action, i.e. Thanks for your time, looking forward to your reply.
• Send the retail cover letters as directed in the application description, for example, as a PDF attachment, as the body of an email, or using whichever option they provide.
• Use action verbs to empower your qualifications and keywords from the description to demonstrate your attention to detail.
• Build your letter in our Cover Letter Generator, which automatically formats your layouts and provides editable content suggestions according to your industry and career stage.

Retail jobs candidates must have a balance of skills: hard skills, which are job-specific abilities, and soft skills are about how you work and how you work with others.  These are the most common retail skills employers look for.

Hard skills

• Customer service
• Point-of-Sale (POS)
• Product knowledge
• Merchandising
• Cash handling
• Sales techniques
• Inventory management

Soft skills

• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving
• Conflict resolution
• Adaptability
• Flexibility

Interpersonal skills

• Teamwork
• Collaboration
• Excellent communication
• Relationship building
• Empathy
• Active listening

A retail cover letter completes your job application, whether required or not. 

When required, it is a critical component of your job application. Employers start by verifying every application is complete. If you’re missing a document, you could be immediately disqualified. 

When suggested, a retail cover letter can help you stand out. Think about it: potential candidates could have similar qualifications and careers. A retail cover letter gives your application a human touch, plus it allows you to use storytelling to narrate your retail career. You can show your professional persona and why you want to work for this employer.

The cover letter format is a business letter format. This means you should:

• Include the same header as your resume header.
• Use 1-inch margins and the same professional font as your resume or CV.
• Add a salutation using the name of the hiring manager. 
• Sign off with a simple: “Best regards,” “Regards,” “Respectfully,” or “Sincerely.”

For managerial roles, a degree is not only beneficial, it could be an employer requirement. For other roles, a high school diploma is often the minimum requirement. Always confirm through the employer if any degree is necessary for the role.

You can also pursue certifications to set you apart from other candidates, like:

• Certified Retail Sales Associate (CRSA)
• Retail Management Certificate (RMC)
• Certified Professional in Retail Management (CPRM)
• Certified Retail Executive (CRE)
• Certified Store Manager (CSM)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these are the median salaries for occupations in the retail industry: 

• Retail sales worker: $33,900 per year
• Retail stocker: $36,770 per year
• Buyers and purchasing agents: $77,180 per year

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a decline in retail sales workers and retail buyers. Even with this decline, there are 563,000 projected openings each year. 

For retail stockers, BLS projects 5% growth for this decade. The nationwide all occupation average is 4%