Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between associate buyers and merchandise planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an associate buyer and a merchandise planner. Additionally, a merchandise planner has an average salary of $69,460, which is higher than the $49,963 average annual salary of an associate buyer.
The top three skills for an associate buyer include customer service, purchase orders and math. The most important skills for a merchandise planner are gross margin, strong analytical, and math.
| Associate Buyer | Merchandise Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $49,963 | $69,460 |
| Hourly rate | $24.02 | $33.39 |
| Growth rate | - | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 14,942 | 32,301 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An Associate Buyer maintains and keeps records of the inventory and disburses the different materials as required by the departments or personnel. The Associate Buyer reports to the Buyer or Senior Buyer.
A merchandise planner is responsible for monitoring the adequacy of stock inventories and requesting purchase orders by researching current market trends to meet customer demands. Merchandise planners assist with marketing campaigns and promotional offers of the business, selling goods and services to the customers based on their needs and budget requirements. They also write sales reports, inspect the validity of merchandise, and maintain an attractive visual display of items. A merchandise planner resolves and escalates customer complaints timely, processes replacements, and issues refunds as needed.
Associate buyers and merchandise planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Buyer | Merchandise Planner | |
| Average salary | $49,963 | $69,460 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $68,000 | Between $46,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | VF | Pandora |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between an associate buyer and a merchandise planner in terms of educational background:
| Associate Buyer | Merchandise Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 82% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between associate buyers' and merchandise planners' demographics:
| Associate Buyer | Merchandise Planner | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% | Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 6.0% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |