So you’ve got an interview coming up for a retail position. Whether you’ve worked in sales before and could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves, or you’re just starting out and want a flexible schedule, you may be wondering what to expect in your retail interview. You might be getting a lot of callbacks for retail jobs but not getting hired, and you think your interviewing skills could use some work.
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If that sounds like you, I worked for ten years as a hiring manager for stores like L Brands, Ann Taylor, and The Buckle, Inc. , and I learned a lot about what makes a candidate stand out to hiring managers and recruiters in retail during that time. I can help you answer the 10 most common questions asked in retail interviews. I can also give you insider information on the unwritten rules you should know about while you’re job hunting and some extra tips to help you ace your interview!
Getting hired at Bon Ton Stores requires impressing hiring managers with your relevant skills, experience and fit for the company’s fast-paced retail culture. With over 200 locations across the US, Bon Ton is focused on taking their customer service, store operations and omnichannel strategy to the next level.
This article provides an insider’s guide to frequently asked Bon Ton Stores interview questions. Learn what to expect across roles in sales marketing store management and more. Read on to get fully prepared for the key questions that Recruiting Coordinators and Supervisors will ask to assess your qualifications during the hiring process.
Background on Bon Ton Stores
Before we get to the interview questions, let’s quickly go over some important facts about this well-known department store chain:
- Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Operates over 200 stores across 23 states under brands like Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers
- Offers apparel, accessories, footwear, cosmetics, home furnishings and more
- Employs over 18,000 people
- Focuses on omnichannel integration of brick-and-mortar and digital shopping
- Revenue of approximately $2.6 billion (2016)
Bon Ton Stores Interview Questions & Answers
Now, let’s talk about the biggest questions that Bon Ton Stores asks during the different stages of the hiring process:
Sales Associate Interview Questions
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Why do you want to work for our company?
This question tests your understanding of the company and genuine interest. Show you’ve researched Bon Ton Stores and can articulate why you’re excited by their brand, culture, and values. Highlight aspects that align with your own skills, passions and career goals.
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How do you stay up-to-date on the latest fashion trends and brands?
As a sales associate, knowledge of evolving styles and designers is essential. Demonstrate proactively educating yourself through blogs, social media, magazines,window shopping and more. Convey genuine enthusiasm for fashion.
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How would you handle an unhappy customer?
Retail involves frequent encounters with disgruntled shoppers. Share your approach to empathizing, apologizing, fixing issues and retaining loyalty. Give an example of turning around a bad experience with excellent service recovery.
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This role requires being on your feet for hours. How will you adapt to the physical demands?
Show you are fully committed to the hands-on nature of the job. Mention any previous retail or restaurant experience where you’ve worked long shifts without issues. Emphasize willingness to be mobile and active throughout each workday.
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Tell me about a time you had to manage competing priorities. How did you handle this?
Daily retail juggling act. Give an example of balancing tasks like assisting customers, processing sales, merchandising, inventory, all while maintaining high service standards despite limited time.
Store Management Interview Questions
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What strategies would you implement to increase sales at an underperforming store location?
Opportunity to demonstrate analytical abilities and creative problem-solving. Discuss ideas like analyzing metrics to identify issues, localized marketing, improving merchandising, training staff in best practices, building community partnerships and more.
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How would you optimize the store layout to improve the overall customer experience?
Showcase retail design knowledge and customer-centric mindset. Discuss observing shopper behavior, soliciting feedback, ensuring logical flow between departments, leveraging visual merchandising best practices and coordinating with corporate teams on space planning.
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Tell me about a time you had to discipline or terminate a store employee. How did you handle it?
Share a specific example that highlights your direct but empathetic approach to performance management. Discuss steps taken like setting clear expectations, coaching, issuing warnings and involving HR appropriately.
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This role requires managing a diverse team. How would you ensure inclusion?
Demonstrate understanding of leading mixed teams. Discuss getting to know staff individually, promoting open dialogue, discouraging assumptions, celebrating holidays and events for different cultures, and setting the tone of mutual respect from the top-down.
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What experience do you have managing store budgets and controlling expenses?
Proven track record of fiscal responsibility is key. Share examples of analyzing sales data, forecasting, controlling costs through inventory optimization, loss prevention and cutting unnecessary spend while still supporting store operations.
Marketing Interview Questions
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How would you promote Bon Ton Stores on social media to attract new customers?
Discuss innovative but cost-effective tactics such as partnering with influencers, optimizing visual content for each platform, paid ads targeted to relevant demographics, localized store marketing, contests and coupons to drive engagement.
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How would you measure the success of a Bon Ton Stores marketing campaign?
Demonstrate setting clear KPIs and measuring ROI across channels like website traffic, social engagement, online/in-store sales tied to campaign promotions, customer sentiment/feedback, and brand awareness surveys pre- and post-campaign.
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Tell me about a marketing campaign you led from concept to execution. What were the results?
Recap a previous campaign highlighting strategic planning, audience targeting, budget management, collaboration with creative teams, adapting to challenges, and metrics showing tangible impact on business goals. Quantify results.
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How do you stay on top of retail marketing best practices and trends?
Explain your go-to sources for continuing education like industry events, publications, blogs, courses, peers/networking groups and more. Tailor these specifically to the retail marketing niche. Show proactive lifelong learning.
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How would you incorporate omnichannel marketing strategies across in-store, online, mobile and social channels?
Showcase expertise unifying experiences across channels to align with evolving shopper behaviors. Discuss tactics like consistent branding/messaging, leveraging in-store events to drive online traffic, coordinating promotions, enabling cross-channel fulfillment etc. that connect channels rather than siloing efforts.
Corporate Roles Interview Questions
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Why do you want to work in the retail industry? What interests you about this field?
Convey a genuine passion and fit for the industry. Discuss aspects you find exciting and rewarding like fast-paced environment, high customer interaction, creativity, problem-solving challenges, trends analysis, blending traditional and emerging commerce etc.
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Tell me about a time you uncovered an opportunity for improvement at a previous employer. How did you identify it, propose a solution and drive adoption?
Demonstrate analytical abilities to spot issues/inefficiencies, strategic thinking to develop solutions and change management skills to influence implementation. Quantify results achieved.
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Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with various departments to achieve a company-wide goal. How did you ensure alignment?
Collaboration is critical across retail. Recount an example that highlights teamwork, communication, understanding dependencies, overcoming silos and fostering shared motivation across merchandising, marketing, store ops, finance etc. to accomplish an initiative.
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How do you stay on top of industry news and competitive developments in the retail space?
Being informed is key in the fast-changing commerce landscape. Discuss sources like industry publications, events, professional networks, benchmarking initiatives and more. Tailor these specifically to retail. Show voracious curiosity to learn.
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Tell me about a previous project where you had to manage multiple priorities with tight deadlines. How did you prioritize tasks and stay organized?
Juggling is the norm in retail. Demonstrate strategies like creating detailed project plans, optimizing time, seeking input on priority conflicts, delegating appropriately, setting milestones, contingency planning and maintaining clear communication on progress. Don’t lose sight of end goals.
What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
This question is also pretty common in any field. In retail, it’s used to see how self-aware you are.
This question is tough because you need to be honest about your flaws while also basing your answer on what you’ve learned about them as you work to improve them. The easiest way to do this is to tell a story demonstrating the lesson you learned.
Here’s an example of how that might sound:
“It used to be hard for me to ask for help, even when I needed it. I once lost a big client at Acme Telecom because they wanted service in more than one place and I didn’t know how to make a quote for a company that big. Instead of reaching out to my supervisor for help with the quote, I tried to wing it. The customer could see I was way over my head, so they chose a different service provider. I used to think that asking for help meant I was failing, but that experience taught me that it could be the key to my success. After I lost that customer, I asked my boss how I should handle a quote that big. The next time it happened, I made sure to show her my work before sending the numbers to the customer. ”.
Can You Cashier/Manage a Shift/Recruit/Work Stock/Run a POS Register?
This question asks the same thing in different ways: “how versatile are you?” In retail, not many days are the same. Sometimes, a big shipment comes in and the stockroom could use an extra hand. Sometimes, cashiers call in sick during the back-to-school rush. Someone in charge of hiring may want to hire you even more if they know you can help out in other departments if they need to.
Be honest and specific about your skill set. Tell your potential employer right away if you have trouble with POS registers but are great at handling freight or running a store. An awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses shows maturity and integrity. If you don’t have a lot of experience or versatility, don’t fret. Impress your interviewer by focusing on your willingness to learn new skills.
You might reply:
“I’m an expert at merchandising. In my previous job, I was always in charge of floor sets. I can also work as a cashier if needed, but it’s not my strong suit and I would probably need more training to get good at it. But I’m always ready and willing to learn new skills. ”.
Store Manager — The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
FAQ
Why should we hire you?
What is the best answer for “Tell me about yourself”?
Why should we hire you as a store keeper?
