Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between retail buyers and buyers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a retail buyer, becoming a buyer takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, a buyer has an average salary of $54,049, which is higher than the $52,720 average annual salary of a retail buyer.
The top three skills for a retail buyer include gross margin, vendor relations and customer service. The most important skills for a buyer are purchase orders, customer service, and logistics.
| Retail Buyer | Buyer | |
| Yearly salary | $52,720 | $54,049 |
| Hourly rate | $25.35 | $25.99 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 74,254 | 23,589 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A retail buyer keeps accurate stock records so that they can purchase only necessary items for resale. They work within a specific budget and solve all the issues that arise with the supplier or merchandise. Besides determining contract terms and conditions, retail buyers also modify purchase orders as per the demand, availability, and season. Moreover, retail buyers choose the perfect merchandise to purchase by reviewing the catalogs. Furthermore, they locate, select, and procure merchandise for resale.
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.
Retail buyers and buyers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Buyer | Buyer | |
| Average salary | $52,720 | $54,049 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $72,000 | Between $37,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Edison, NJ | Englewood, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | VF | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a retail buyer and a buyer in terms of educational background:
| Retail Buyer | Buyer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Akron | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between retail buyers' and buyers' demographics:
| Retail Buyer | Buyer | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.5% Female, 68.5% | Male, 43.9% Female, 56.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 9% | 15% |