Retail
Generally people who work in retail are either Sales Assistants in shops, or Checkout Operators or Shelf Fillers in supermarkets. However, there are other types of work in Retail.
Customer Service is about keeping people who buy goods or services happy. That means dealing with enquiries and complaints and making sure customers remain loyal. You could find yourself working as part of a team for a large company, in a shop or in a Call Centre specialising in dealing with telephone enquires from the general public.
Working in a warehouse involves storing, finding and moving things around to make up orders. Some warehouses have enormous storage areas the size of several football pitches.
Links
Connexions Direct: Retail Sales and Customer Services
The Connexions-Direct Jobs4U Careers Database is a list of job families. You will commonly find the word Sectors used instead of job families. This link will take you to the Retail Sales and Customer Services sector or family of jobs.
Its often a good idea to check a company website to get an idea of the types of jobs available, qualifications, required, duties expected and an idea of starting salaries and promotion prospects. All of the major stores have websites and most, like M&S, deal with job and training opportunities.
SkillSmart is the Sector Skills Council for Retail. They advertise their website as "providing everything you need to know about working in retail" including case studies, career paths, course searches and jobs.