What do they do?
Buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods. Analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield. Select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products. May negotiate contracts. Includes assistant wholesale and retail buyers of nonfarm products.
Also known as:
Bakery Buyer, Buyer, Deli Buyer, Frozen Food Buyer, Gourmet Food Buyer, Grocery Buyer, Purchaser, Retail Buyer, Wine Buyer
No Data Available
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4.2%
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Ranks #41 in job growth rate2,120Job Openings
Ranks #7 in net job growth
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Most Popular Majors that prepare Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
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#1
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Degrees Granted
2,705
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Female Students
1,590
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Male Students
1,115
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Median Starting Salary
$48,168
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#2
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Degrees Granted
2,526
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Female Students
2,229
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Male Students
297
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Median Starting Salary
$41,200
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#3
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Degrees Granted
485
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Female Students
415
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Male Students
70
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Median Starting Salary
$35,825
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#4
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Degrees Granted
68
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Female Students
51
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Male Students
17
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Median Starting Salary
$41,200
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#5
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Degrees Granted
66
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Female Students
28
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Male Students
38
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Median Starting Salary
$48,168
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.
- Determine the value of goods or services.
- Advise others on business or operational matters.
- Confer with personnel to coordinate business operations.
- Purchase stocks of merchandise or supplies.
- Obtain information about goods or services.
- Authorize financial actions.
- Disburse funds from clients accounts to creditors.
- Discuss business strategies, practices, or policies with managers.
- Analyze market conditions or trends.
- Analyze consumer trends.
- Purchase products or services.
- Provide information to coworkers.
- Research issues related to the environment or sustainable business practices.
- Create marketing materials.
- Train personnel to enhance job skills.
- Supervise employees.
This page includes data from:
Career data:
O*NET 31.0 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos:
CareerOneStop
, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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