You don’t have to take our word alone that a career in retailing is packed full of promise. We asked some of the nation’s leading educators in retailing, merchandising, marketing and fashion management for their opinions about retail as a career path.
Describe how retail fits into the business world.
Retail requires all the analytical acumen and problem solving skills of students studying business majors. It’s a great fit for our business students.
Douglas Cooper
Director, Career Services
Morehouse College
Division of Business and Economics
Retail touches virtually all elements within the world of business; including accounting, purchasing, marketing, customer services, entrepreneurism, management, logistics, and supply chain management. Retail careers offer both a challenging and rewarding career field for new college graduates.
Scott T. Williams
Executive Director,
The University of Georgia Career Center
To learn retail is to learn business. Understanding consumers, managing people, predicting demand, establishing prices, juggling competing priorities, acting with urgency, are all part of every retail day. These skills are the essence of business and the retail manager embarking on their career will engage in all of these activities almost immediately. No other industry offers the opportunity for immediate immersion in "doing business", instead of sitting in a cube talking about it.
John Talbott
Visiting Lecturer of Marketing
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Why would you recommend retail as a career?
Retail is exciting and fast-paced, and presents the opportunity to do many different things in a business environment, including forecasting and analyzing trends. Retail is also changing in many ways, from sourcing products overseas and domestically, to providing innovative customer service, to focusing on the consumers' self-image, making them feel positive about themselves.
Trudy Steinfeld, Executive Director
The Wasserman Center for Career Development
New York University
The retailing industry offers both breadth and depth as a career. There are an abundant variety of different career tracks to follow, from store operations and merchandising to human resources, advertising, ecommerce, supply chain management and logistics. Within each track one can find a challenging path that provides a very competitive compensation as well as plenty of opportunity for fast paced and rewarding career. Whether you want to work with people, data, technology, systems, software or websites; the diversity of careers in retailing means there is a career path to suit the talent of the graduate.
Melinda Burke, Director
Center for Retailing and Consumer Sciences Education and Research
University of Arizona
The Retail industry is the heart of our society. It has helped us become a world power and remain a highly advanced nation. Retail faces challenges in changing technology, world market expansion, and customer interface. Being part of the Retail team provides you the opportunity to influence the development of this critical industry. What could be more exciting and rewarding than working in the industry that “makes the world go around”? Succeeding in this industry requires strong fundamental management skills, solid leadership capabilities, and the passion for exceptional customer service.
Paula B. Moses
Director of Employment Services, Career Center
Texas A & M University
What is the biggest myth you have heard about retail, and what is the reality?
The most prevalent myth is that you can’t make any money – a completely unsubstantiated myth because retail can be very lucrative. Another myth is that there are horrible hours – that you can’t have a personal life and be in retail. Many employers are becoming much more cognizant of the benefits of more reasonable work weeks on employee motivation and health.
Janis Shaffer
Senior Lecturer
Apparel Merchandising
Indiana University
What are the most rewarding and challenging elements of retail?
Retail’s most rewarding element is that you get a report card every day (through sales and profits estimates). You see tangible results on a daily basis and you can often relate those results to your individual contributions. The most challenging element is that it is very busy and requires a lot of hard work.
Amanda Nicholson, Assistant Professor
Retailing Undergraduate Program Director
Whitman School of Business, Syracuse University
Most rewarding: immediate feedback on performance, opportunity for advancement, energy and excitement generated by the individuals who have a passion for the industry. Most challenging: time management.
Theresa Williams, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Education and Research in Retailing
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Retail involves the use of many hard and soft skills required to successfully predict trends, analyze data, and interact with colleagues, vendors, and consumers. Also, when you are dealing with customers, you can make an immediate impact.
Trudy Steinfeld, Executive Director
The Wasserman Center for Career Development
New York University
What advice would you give students wanting to pursue a retail career?
Like any career area, the more research you conduct, the more well informed you are to make a decision that is right for you. Consider researching retail from multiple perspectives – read about retail careers, research stores, conduct information interviews with those in the field, and consider an internship to test drive a career in retail.
Scott T. Williams
Executive Director,
The University of Georgia Career Center