Merchandise buyer vs produce buyer

The differences between merchandise buyers and produce 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 produce buyer. Additionally, a produce buyer has an average salary of $55,778, 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 produce buyer are purchase orders, logistics, and inventory control.

Merchandise buyer vs produce buyer overview

	Merchandise Buyer	Produce Buyer
Yearly salary	$49,264	$55,778
Hourly rate	$23.68	$26.82
Growth rate	19%	-
Number of jobs	22,291	17,664
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

Merchandise buyer vs produce buyer salary

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Produce Buyer
Average salary	$49,264	$55,778
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $64,000	Between $40,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Fairview, NJ	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Bob's Discount Furniture	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between merchandise buyer and produce buyer education

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Produce Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	California State University - Bakersfield

Merchandise buyer vs produce buyer demographics

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Produce Buyer
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%
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, 3.7% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 6.6% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between merchandise buyer and produce 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.

Produce buyer example responsibilities.

Analyze and manage goals for increasing sales, profit margins, turns, fill rate and manage logistics.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Coordinate with transportation department to ensure efficiency in logistics of transporting employees and products using company vehicles.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Track all incoming requests for quote (RFQ) from customers, sales managers, and outside sales representatives.
Review purchase requisitions and engineering specifications to determine which suppliers to RFQ.

Merchandise buyer vs produce buyer skills

Common merchandise buyer skills

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

Common produce buyer skills

Purchase Orders, 12%
Logistics, 11%
Inventory Control, 10%
Quality Standards, 10%
Manage Inventory, 8%
Product Knowledge, 8%