Pros
Discount, being surrounded by beautiful fancy products, and within 3 days, managers are considering to train me for a higher position! I think retail and sales associate jobs are good if you like interacting with people, like a fast paced environment, and are an extravert. Especially at jobs where sales are emphasized. I also like how outfits are provided. All the girls at my store are friendly too. Can't say if this is for all stores since generalizability isn't really possible with this kind of matter. I love the Tory brand so just being surrounded by the handbags etc make me feel good. And personally I sought this job out (even tho I should be looking for corporate jobs) because I was depressed, wanted to occupy my mind while still doing school, and wanted to meet more people since I was at home doing my studies. And it worked!
Cons
I think it's kind of sad that the associates are so motivated to make sales because there is really no individual benefit (only a team bonus of at most a few hundred dollars). It almost seems like followers in a pyramid scheme where the workers at the bottom of the hierarchy work their butt off but higher ups get the bonuses too (and don't have to do any sales). also personally coming from a research background in this field, firing employees for not making their sales goals in 3 months is not the best way to motivate. Motivation by fear no bueno. And maybe it's just me being arrogant, but since I'm an academic especially related to this field, it's hard to be trained and told what to do in this setting when it feels like I should be the one doing the training.