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Assistant merchandise buyer vs fashion buyer

The differences between assistant merchandise buyers and fashion buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an assistant merchandise buyer and a fashion buyer. Additionally, a fashion buyer has an average salary of $56,120, which is higher than the $52,001 average annual salary of an assistant merchandise buyer.

The top three skills for an assistant merchandise buyer include apparel, kids and purchase orders. The most important skills for a fashion buyer are vendor relations, gross margin, and market trends.

Assistant merchandise buyer vs fashion buyer overview

Assistant Merchandise BuyerFashion Buyer
Yearly salary$52,001$56,120
Hourly rate$25.00$26.98
Growth rate--
Number of jobs19,74015,688
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Assistant merchandise buyer vs fashion buyer salary

Assistant merchandise buyers and fashion buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant Merchandise BuyerFashion Buyer
Average salary$52,001$56,120
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $66,000Between $40,000 And $78,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateAlaska-
Best paying companyGap Inc.-
Best paying industryRetail-

Differences between assistant merchandise buyer and fashion buyer education

There are a few differences between an assistant merchandise buyer and a fashion buyer in terms of educational background:

Assistant Merchandise BuyerFashion Buyer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorSpecialized Sales And MerchandisingSpecialized Sales And Merchandising
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Assistant merchandise buyer vs fashion buyer demographics

Here are the differences between assistant merchandise buyers' and fashion buyers' demographics:

Assistant Merchandise BuyerFashion Buyer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 22.1% Female, 77.9%Male, 15.5% Female, 84.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 5.9% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.7% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between assistant merchandise buyer and fashion buyer duties and responsibilities

Assistant merchandise buyer example responsibilities.

  • Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
  • Partner with site merchandiser to execute sales and POS events.
  • Work closely with the logistics department and internal warehouse to coordinate just in time deliveries and maintain daily inventory reconciliation.
  • Verify store numbers, vendor files, UPCS, descriptions and size information against AS400 information.

Fashion buyer example responsibilities.

  • Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
  • React to update OTB, markdowns and other financial markers on a regular basis.
  • Evaluate sales records and inventory levels to determine appropriate product requirements for a wide variety of automotive and industrial commodities.
  • Originate BOM structure for production operations.

Assistant merchandise buyer vs fashion buyer skills

Common assistant merchandise buyer skills
  • Apparel, 9%
  • Kids, 6%
  • Purchase Orders, 6%
  • Math, 6%
  • Historical Data, 5%
  • Promotional Strategies, 4%
Common fashion buyer skills
  • Vendor Relations, 14%
  • Gross Margin, 11%
  • Market Trends, 11%
  • Vendor Communication, 10%
  • Product Selection, 9%
  • Payment Terms, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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