Focus on customer service seen for jobs in retail

Fierce competition and technological shifts in the shopping experience mean that Long Island's retail workers will take on a more proactive selling role, focused on creating and maintaining customer relationships, analysts said.

Long Island's retail sector has continued to show job growth through a shaky economic recovery and it is expected to generate 7,200 jobs between 2006 and 2016, according to the state Labor Department. But its share of the job market is expected to fall to 10.5 percent in 2035, from 13 percent today, the Long Island Regional Planning Council says.

Part-time, low-paying sales positions make up a large portion of the retail job market, often providing households with much-needed supplemental income and discretionary money to fuel the local economy, economists and retail analysts said. And entry-level sales jobs can lead to higher-paid managerial jobs.

Service will be key

The jobs being added now and in the future are mostly sales associates, for which service will be critical, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, a Port Washington market research firm.

Retail experts say an emphasis on customer service is one of the main ways small retail stores can compete with big-box stores and their online operations.

"The websites are getting so sophisticated these days that people actually dispense with going into the stores," said Adrian Miller, president of Adrian Miller Sales Training in Port Washington. "They think, 'If the human element isn't a value added, then I don't need the human element.' But there is a place for people within the retail world to be salespeople, and not to be reactive order takers, to almost see themselves as retail consultants so they can help facilitate buying decisions."

Simply instructing workers to answer customers' questions, work the cash register and watch for shoplifters isn't enough anymore, Miller said.

"When someone says, 'Can I help you,' most people answer, 'I am just looking,' " Miller explained. "They don't think the clerk is knowledgeable, so of course they say they're just looking. [The clerk] doesn't say, 'Over there are the items on sale, the bestsellers are straight ahead.' Most people like to buy. We can help them to buy."

The recession fundamentally altered Long Island's shopping behavior. Consumers with less credit and discretionary income now research and ponder potential purchases. New cell phone applications and comparison-shopping websites have emerged. That translates into a more competitive environment, where retailers will try to keep costs low by limiting jobs and looking for more productivity from their workers.

Eye on specialty retail

Retail experts don't expect the mix of retailers to shift significantly in the short run, but they anticipate growth to take place in the smaller shopping centers, where many of Long Island's retail shops exist now. And a movement toward localized and specialty retail, where stores offer a more personalized experience, has already begun, Cohen noted.

"Employers - the ones that are smart - are not hiring clerks anymore," said Robert Fishman, a partner at Sandler Training in Hauppauge. "They are looking for people, asking, 'Are they willing to be business partners or are they just looking to collect a check?' "

A strong customer relationship remains at the heart of success, said Shannon McComb of Love My Shoes, a local shoe chain. "You can have the right product, but if you don't have the right people to sell your product, you're in trouble," McComb said.