Retail buyer
Retail buyers find products for shops to sell at the right time and the right price, like clothing, toys, electricals and food.
Also known as: Wholesale buyer, food buyer, retail merchandiser
- Starter salary£26,000 a year
- Experienced£50,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 40 a week
What you'll do
As a retail buyer, you could
- attend trade fairs to find new products and services
- negotiate prices, orders and delivery dates with suppliers
- work with a quality team to meet standards
- obtain and analyse customer feedback
- forecast trends based on consumer data
- present collections to senior retail managers
- track sales figures, manage stock levels and keep to budgets
- check and react to competitor activities
- adapt quickly to meet changing consumer behaviour and trends
Working environment
You could work in an office or at a store.
Your working environment may be you'll travel often.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- persuading and negotiating skills
- the ability to work well with others
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to use your judgement and make decisions
- maths knowledge
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- excellent verbal communication skills
- customer service skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a retail buyer
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- completing private industry-recognised training
University
You can do a degree before joining a retail company graduate scheme. Employers recruit from a range of degree subjects, including:
- fashion buying and merchandising
- retail business management
- supply chain management
- marketing
You could choose a course that includes a year's work placement to get relevant experience alongside your qualification. Or you could gain experience from a part-time job or a summer internship.
Your university careers service can help you to find part-time roles, placements and internships.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do an apprenticeship with a company, for example:
- Buying and Merchandising Assistant Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
- Retail Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
- Assistant Buyer and Assistant Merchandiser Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Work
You can start as an assistant buyer and go on to become a junior buyer and work your way up. To go straight into a buying role, you'll usually need a qualification in retail or business.
It's possible to get experience in retail on the shop floor, in visual merchandising, or as an admin assistant in a buyer's office. You can then spend time learning, training and getting qualifications on the job.
Other routes
Some companies in fashion retail offer training schemes specifically for buyers. These tend to be aimed at graduates. Other types of retailers offer general store management training schemes with the option to specialise in buying or merchandising later on.
You can also take procurement and supply qualifications through the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply .
Career path and progression
With experience and training, you could become a senior buyer, with responsibility for developing retail strategies.
You could also progress to become:
- head of buying and merchandising
- a retail business analyst
- a self-employed retail consultant
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job rolePurchasing manager
- Job roleRetail manager
- Job roleSupply chain manager
- Job roleVisual merchandiser
- Job roleManagement consultant
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