I haven't really got much retail experience as prior to my business most my jobs were in web development however:-
1999 -Worked in a computer repair shop for a few days 'cash in hand' as a 17 year old. I got £60 a day when my mates were lucky to get £20, but it only lasted a week it got no customers.
2006-2007 - When my business was in its infancy I took a part time job in Currys in the Trafford Centre. I got asked a question:-
"What would you sell with an MP3 player" I answered a pair of Senhieser PX100s, we was very impressed with the answer and despite his concerns of lack of experience gave me the job

. I left a few months later as I was coming out with £35 a day while loosing a £30 45 minute job so it just made no sense.
I remember a few catch phases:-
1) We sell them but they are £25.00 here, Maplin do do them for £2.99.
Customer: Where is that:
Me: Gives detailed directions to about 10 different maplin stores.
I used always chat up the pensioners (the old men) and talked about the good old days, I would chat about the merits of chain drive engines.
This had a very strange effect, two days later these 80 year olds would come in asking for Ian as they wanted to buy a flat screen tv. My manager desperatly wanted to keep me because although I was 'the worst sales man' he has ever seen, I was very good at getting the customers to really love the shop and they would always come in asking for me, because I only worked one day a week the other sales team got chatted to them and sold them that 42" plasma TV
To be fair though I rarely tet customers walk with an Ipod unless they spent at least £40 on a pair of headphones

.
I was very good at selling things I was passionate about, I was crap at selling in my humble opinion (for the laywers reading) expensive warranties.