U.S. retailing grew tremendously in the 1850s and 1860s, with the establishment of such chain organizations as the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, and firms like Macy's and Marshall Field's, which grew into sizable department stores. Mail-order firms such as Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward gained popularity due to the introduction of low postal rates. Self-service stores came about after World War I, enabling people to make their own shopping choices based on merchandise and displays as opposed to salespeople. The movement to the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s gave rise to one-stop shopping centers, which were smaller versions of today's malls. Large department stores and merchandisers also established branches in the suburbs to meet growing demand. Shoppers today can choose from a variety of merchandise in specialty stores, department stores, strip malls, mega malls, or discount warehouses, and in person, through catalogs, or on the Internet.
For as long as products and services have been sold, there has been a need for sales managers to manage staff, create sales strategies, oversee the distribution or delivery of goods and services, and establish training programs for sales workers. Sales managers are key players in businesses of all types and sizes.
- 3-D Printing Specialists
- Accountants
- Advertising Managers
- Antiques and Art Dealers
- Apparel Industry Workers
- Appliance Service Technicians
- Armored Truck Drivers
- Auctioneers
- Auditors
- Automobile Sales Workers
- Automotive Dealership Owners
- Automotive Dealership Sales Managers
- Barbers
- Beverage Industry Workers
- Billing Clerks
- Bindery Workers
- Biomedical Engineers
- Biomedical Equipment Technicians
- Biotechnology Patent Lawyers
- Biotechnology Production Workers
- Biotechnology Research Assistants
- Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerks
- Business Continuity Planners
- Business Development Managers and Directors
- Business Intelligence Analysts
- Business Managers
- Buyers
- Canning and Preserving Industry Workers
- Cashiers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemical Technicians
- Chemists
- Chief Customer Officers
- Chief Executive Officers
- Chief Financial Officers
- Chief Information Officers
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- Client Services Managers
- Clinical Applications Specialists
- Collection Workers
- Color Analysts
- Compliance Managers
- Computer-Aided Design Drafters and Technicians
- Conservators and Conservation Technicians
- Continuous Improvement Managers
- Corporate Climate Strategists
- Corporate Community Relations Directors
- Corporate Lawyers
- Corporate Librarians
- Cosmeticians
- Cosmetics Sales Representatives
- Cosmetics Shop Owners and Managers
- Cosmetologists
- Cost Estimators
- Counter and Retail Clerks
- Cultural Advisers
- Customer Service Directors
- Customer Service Representatives
- Customer Success Managers
- Customs Brokers
- Customs Officials
- Dairy Products Manufacturing Workers
- Data Entry Clerks
- Desktop Publishing Specialists
- Diesel Mechanics
- Directors of Corporate Sponsorship
- Directors of Security
- Document Management Specialists
- Drafters
- Economists
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
- Electrologists
- Electronics Engineering Technicians
- Electronics Engineers
- Energy Brokers
- Engineering Technicians
- Engineers
- Environmental Engineers
- Event Planners
- Executive Recruiters
- Export-Import Specialists
- Fabric Designers
- Farmers
- Fashion Designers
- Financial Services Brokers
- Florists
- Forensic Accountants and Auditors
- Foresters
- Forestry Technicians
- Franchise Owners
- Furniture Designers
- Furniture Manufacturing Workers
- Gallery Owners and Directors
- Graphic Designers
- Green Marketers
- Green Products Manufacturers
- Greeting Card Designers and Writers
- Ground Services Workers
- Hardware Engineers
- Household Movers
- Human Resources Managers
- Image Consultants
- Industrial Chemicals Workers
- Industrial Designers
- Industrial Engineering Technicians
- Industrial Engineers
- Industrial Safety and Health Technicians
- Industrial Traffic Managers
- Internet Consultants
- Internet Executives
- Internet Marketing and Advertising Consultants
- Internet Store Managers and Entrepreneurs
- Internet Transaction Specialists
- Jewelers and Jewelry Repairers
- Labor Union Business Agents
- Laboratory Testing Technicians
- Laser Technicians
- Leather Tanning and Finishing Workers
- Logging Industry Workers
- Logistics Analysts
- Logistics Engineers
- Loss Prevention Managers
- Mail Carriers
- Makeup Artists
- Management Analysts and Consultants
- Manufacturing Supervisors
- Market Research Analysts
- Marketing Managers
- Massage Therapists
- Mechanical Engineering Technicians
- Mechanical Engineers
- Merchandise Displayers
- Millwrights
- Nail Technicians
- Numerical Control Tool Programmers
- Office Administrators
- Optical Engineers
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Paper Processing Workers
- Payroll Directors
- Personal Shoppers
- Pet Shop Workers
- Photographic Equipment Technicians
- Photographic Laboratory Workers
- Pilots
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Postal Clerks
- Prepress Workers
- Printing Press Operators and Assistants
- Product Development Directors
- Product Management Directors
- Product Managers
- Professional Organizers
- Proposal Managers
- Purchasing Agents
- Quality Control Engineers
- Quality Control Technicians
- Real Estate Agents and Brokers
- Receptionists
- Regulatory Affairs Managers
- Regulatory Affairs Specialists
- Reservation and Ticket Agents
- Retail Business Owners
- Retail Loss Prevention Specialists
- Retail Managers
- Retail Sales Workers
- Robotics Engineers
- Robotics Technicians
- Rubber Goods Production Workers
- Sales Development Representatives
- Sales Engineers
- Sales Representatives
- Secretaries
- Silverware Artisans and Workers
- Software Engineers
- Sporting Goods Production Workers
- Statisticians
- Stenographers
- Stock Clerks
- Strategy Managers
- Supermarket Workers
- Supply Chain Managers
- Tailors and Dressmakers
- Temporary Workers
- Textile Manufacturing Workers
- Tire Technicians
- Tobacco Products Industry Workers
- Toy Industry Workers
- Traffic Managers
- Travel Agents
- Truck Dispatchers
- Truck Drivers
- Typists and Word Processors
- Watch and Clock Repairers
- Wood Science and Technology Workers