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The differences between merchandising managers and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a merchandising manager, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a merchandising manager has an average salary of $86,346, which is higher than the $54,049 average annual salary of a buyer.
The top three skills for a merchandising manager include sales floor, POS and apparel. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.
| Merchandising Manager | Buyer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,346 | $54,049 |
| Hourly rate | $41.51 | $25.99 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 268,577 | 23,589 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 10 | - |
A merchandising manager is responsible for supervising stock inventories, retail pricing, and managing product displays by analyzing customer preferences through researching the current market trends that would improve the store's sales condition and achieve profitability goals. Merchandising managers negotiate with reliable third-party vendors, minimizing costs without compromising the quality of the products. They also assist with planning floor layouts for store visuals that would attract customers and marketing promotional offers and special discounts to increase more revenues.
A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products. They also conduct extensive research for market and price trends while considering the highest quality standards. Buyers should also possess strong analytical skills to create purchase orders and statistical analysis.
Merchandising managers and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Manager | Buyer | |
| Average salary | $86,346 | $54,049 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $116,000 | Between $37,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woonsocket, RI | Englewood, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Roku | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a merchandising manager and a buyer in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Manager | Buyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between merchandising managers' and buyers' demographics:
| Merchandising Manager | Buyer | |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% | Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 10% | 15% |