Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale Pay Data UK — 2025

Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale roles in the UK earn a median of £38,000 per year, equivalent to £18.14 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 18.3% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £32,500 in Scotland to £42,500 in London. Pay has remained broadly stable over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £36,304/yr (5% above our computed national average).

Labour Market

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Annual pay for Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale across UK regions. The bar shows the typical pay range (25th–75th percentile); the diamond marks the median.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +18.3% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot. Shaded band shows 25th–75th percentile range.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

About Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale

Shopkeepers and proprietors in this unit group co-ordinate, direct and undertake the activities in the running of small, independent retail and wholesale establishments.

Typical Tasks and Duties

• defines the market position for the business, decides what to sell, forecasts demand and develops the brand image of the business
• determines staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term requirements
• oversees staff training, rotas and the allocation of work
• provides information about merchandise to staff and customers and ensures customer complaints are appropriately dealt with
• ensures that adequate reserves of merchandise are held and orders new stock as required
• maintains financial and other shop records and controls security arrangements for the premises
• authorises payment for supplies received and decides on vending price and credit terms
• examines quality of merchandise and ensures that effective use is made of advertising and display facilities

Entry Routes and Qualifications

There are no formal academic entry requirements. A range of management and leadership courses in retail are available, in addition to NVQs/ SVQs in at levels 2, 3 and 4.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.