Merchandise buyer vs retail buyer

The differences between merchandise buyers and retail buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a merchandise buyer, becoming a retail buyer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a retail buyer has an average salary of $52,720, 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 retail buyer are gross margin, vendor relations, and customer service.

Merchandise buyer vs retail buyer overview

	Merchandise Buyer	Retail Buyer
Yearly salary	$49,264	$52,720
Hourly rate	$23.68	$25.35
Growth rate	19%	-
Number of jobs	22,291	74,254
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	47	44
Years of experience	-	4

Merchandise buyer vs retail buyer salary

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Retail Buyer
Average salary	$49,264	$52,720
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $64,000	Between $38,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Fairview, NJ	Edison, NJ
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New Jersey
Best paying company	Bob's Discount Furniture	VF
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Start-up

Differences between merchandise buyer and retail buyer education

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Retail Buyer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Akron

Merchandise buyer vs retail buyer demographics

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

	Merchandise Buyer	Retail Buyer
Average age	47	44
Gender ratio	Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8%	Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5%
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, 8.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	15%	9%

Differences between merchandise buyer and retail 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.

Retail buyer example responsibilities.

Manage the open-to-buy (OTB) process by monitoring stock levels
Lead team of content support/merchandisers to achieve and consistently hit KPI goals.
Manage set up of new items as well as integration into POS system.
Manage open-to-buy to ensure continual flow of merchandise to stores and warehouses with careful attention to advertise events and promotions.
Key member of development team that implement JDA MMS software.
Maintain inventory and displays for jewelry and bath/body products.

Merchandise buyer vs retail buyer skills

Common merchandise buyer skills

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

Common retail buyer skills

Gross Margin, 8%
Vendor Relations, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Retail Management, 7%
Retail Store, 6%
Market Trends, 6%