Merchandise buyer vs buyer

The differences between merchandise buyers and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes More than 10 years to become both a merchandise buyer and a buyer. Additionally, a buyer has an average salary of $54,049, which is higher than the $49,264 average annual salary of a merchandise buyer.

The top three skills for a merchandise buyer include vendor relations, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.

Merchandise buyer vs buyer overview

	Merchandise Buyer	Buyer
Yearly salary	$49,264	$54,049
Hourly rate	$23.68	$25.99
Growth rate	19%	-
Number of jobs	22,291	23,589
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

Merchandise buyer vs buyer salary

Merchandise buyers and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Merchandise Buyer	Buyer
Average salary	$49,264	$54,049
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $64,000	Between $37,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	Fairview, NJ	Englewood, NJ
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Bob's Discount Furniture	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Automotive

Differences between merchandise buyer and buyer education

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	California State University - Bakersfield

Merchandise buyer vs buyer demographics

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Buyer
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%	Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 6.7% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 75.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between merchandise buyer and buyer duties and responsibilities

Merchandise buyer example responsibilities.

Prepare the merchandise assortment plan for the company, manage the OTB and purchase the merchandise.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Perform allocations pulls in JDA program on inbound shipments and back-stock merchandise from distribution centers.
Assist in implementing the POS system and develop pricing policies.
Enter data into the appropriate POS systems and create new identifications for new product purchases.
Create open to buy, allocation buying, pricing, and direct the visual presentation of all apparel.

Buyer example responsibilities.

Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
Manage business relationship with Japanese OEM of wide-format printer engines.
Manage MRB and IQA escalations to facilitate defective material resolutions.

Merchandise buyer vs buyer skills

Common merchandise buyer skills

Vendor Relations, 14%
Purchase Orders, 11%
Customer Service, 10%
Apparel, 6%
Trade Shows, 5%
Product Categories, 4%

Common buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 22%
Customer Service, 11%
Logistics, 5%
Supplier Performance, 4%
MRP, 4%
Commodities, 3%