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Merchandise buyer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a merchandise buyer. Merchandise buyers usually study business, marketing, or specialized sales and merchandising. 70% of merchandise buyers hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,414 real merchandise buyer resumes to see exactly what merchandise buyer education sections show.
The most common colleges for merchandise buyers are the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
There are also many online merchandise buyer courses to help get the education required to be a merchandise buyer.
What education do you need to become a merchandise buyer?
What degree do you need to be a merchandise buyer?
- Bachelor's, 70%
- Associate, 19%
- Master's, 5%
- High School Diploma, 4%
- Other Degrees, 2%
What should I major in to become a merchandise buyer?
- Business, 31%
- Marketing, 14%
- Management, 5%
- Other Majors, 40%
Most common colleges for merchandise buyers
| Merchandise buyer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Fashion Institute of Technology | 11.85% |
| Arizona State University | 8.15% |
| Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-San Francisco | 5.93% |
| New York University | 5.19% |
| University of Washington | 5.19% |
Best majors for merchandise buyers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 31.0% |
| 2 | Marketing | 13.9% |
| 3 | Specialized Sales And Merchandising | 9.5% |
| 4 | Management | 5.2% |
| 5 | Graphic Design | 4.8% |
Best colleges for merchandise buyers
The best colleges for merchandise buyers are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Boston University.
A merchandise buyer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for merchandise buyers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become merchandise buyers.
1. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$15,094
Enrollment
32,974
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
4. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
6. University of Minnesota - Crookston
Crookston, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$11,822
Enrollment
1,834
7. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Enrollment
34,564
8. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE • Private
In-state tuition
$9,242
Enrollment
20,592
9. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
10. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
20 best online courses for merchandise buyers
Advertising disclosure
1. Inventory Management
Inventory is a strategic asset for organizations. The effective management of inventory can minimize a company’s spending while dramatically increasing its profit. In this course, we will explore how to use data science to manage inventory in uncertain environments, how to set inventory levels based on customer service requirements, and how to calculate inventory for products that have short sales cycles...
2. Financial Accounting-Inventory & Merchandising Transactions
Mastering Inventory Accounting: From Merchandising Transactions to Cost Flow Assumptions...
3. Inventory Management in Manufacturing
Complete course on Inventory Management...
4. Inventory Management A-Z: Supply Chain & Business Operations
Inventory Management Basics: MBA beginners course to your optimize your Purchasing, Logistics, EOQ and Safety Stock...
5. Supply Chain Management: Inventory Management and Control
Inventory Management in Supply Chain Management & Inventory Control in Warehouse Logistics & Supply chain Management...
6. Operations Management: Inventory Management
Operations Management Training Program (Course 4 of 8)...
7. Inventory Management: Safety Stock Calculation and Control
Optimize your Supply Chain Safety Stock. Simple to Advanced Methods. Reduce Costs and Risk in your Business Operations...
8. Open To buy- Retail Merchandising Planning
Merchandise Financial Planning...
9. Supply Chain: Inventory Control & Safety Stock Calculation
Reduce Operational Cost by Optimizing in Inventory Levels...
10. Fast Track Retail Buying and Merchandising
The essentials of merchandise management, buying, range planning, product development and many more...
11. Visual Merchandising Course For Retailers and Students
Learn the key principles of great Visual Merchandising & Window Dressing...
12. Amazon FBA as a Private Label Business Launching Platform
Learn how to sell on Amazon FBA. Find, launch and scale your own private label brands without touching inventory...
13. MBA: Retail business, Merchandising, and E-commerce
Build and grow your own retail business and e-commerce...
14. Supply Chain Management KPIs: Metrics Inventory Performance
Key Performance Indicators: Measure & Improve the Performance of your Supply Chain and Inventory Operations Management...
15. Product Marketing Launch Plan: Product GTM with Dekker, MBA
Product Management Marketing Strategy, Marketing Plan, Product Marketing Manager, Product Manager Marketing Plan...
16. Product Management Marketing: Dekker's Product Marketing MBA
Be a Product Marketing Manager - Product Management : Product Manager MBA : Product to Market : Product Owner Launch GTM...
17. Product and Service Management
Know the Work that is Involved in Getting a Product Onto the Shelf and a Service Ready for Effective Delivery...
18. PHP for Beginners to Inventory POS Sales Project - AdminLTE
Create Inventory POS System Project With Billing by use of Bootstrap Responsive Admin LTE Dashboard With PHP PHP7 MYSQL...
19. Operations Management: Supply Chains, Products and Services
Master Supply Chain Management and Product and Service Development in Manufacturing and Service Organizations...
20. Create POS System - Inventory & sales with PHP 7 & adminLTE
Learn how to create a POS system with inventory management and billing using PHP 7 and Admin LTE...
Top 10 most affordable universities for merchandise buyers
The most affordable schools for merchandise buyers are University of Florida, california state university - bakersfield, and suny farmingdale.
If the best universities for merchandise buyers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for merchandise buyers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
4. USF Sarasota-Manatee
Sarasota, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,587
Cost of attendance
13,043
5. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
6. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. California State University - Fresno
Fresno, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,587
Cost of attendance
16,915
9. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
10. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for merchandise buyers
The hardest universities for merchandise buyers to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Boston University.
Some great schools for merchandise buyers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for merchandise buyers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
3. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
6. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,407
7. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,338
8. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
9. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Admissions rate
40%
SAT average
1,376
10. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for merchandise buyers
The easiest schools for merchandise buyers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, holy names university, and notre dame college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a merchandise buyer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for merchandise buyers.
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
2. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
3. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
4. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
5. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
6. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
8. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
9. Grand View University
Des Moines, IA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,060
10. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
Average merchandise buyer salary by education level
| Merchandise buyer education level | Merchandise buyer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $57,374 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $45,954 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $53,815 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $46,362 |
Merchandise buyer education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025