Retail buyers purchase wholesale merchandise for stores or online sales. They may be responsible for the entire store or just a department. Buyers attend trade shows to select merchandise and study sales trends to choose the right quantities. They may also visit suppliers directly.
Retail buyers are professionals who are trained to purchase merchandise at a wholesale price to be sold in stores or online at a retail price. Depending on the size of the store the buyer works in, they may be responsible for purchasing merchandise for the entire store or just for a department. Small boutiques, for example, may have only one retail buyer, or the owner may be responsible for all purchases. Large department stores and retail chains, on the other hand, may have multiple retail buyers who oversee the purchase of specific types of merchandise.
A women’s department store may employ over a dozen different shoppers. Some would be responsible for footwear and lingerie, while others would be responsible for business attire and evening wear. Depending on the size of the store, there may also be shoppers who buy merchandise for departments that sell jewelry, coats and outerwear, cosmetics, sportswear, and fragrances. A sporting goods store, on the other hand, would have a completely different range of departments.
To purchase goods for their companies, retail buyers often attend bi-annual or quarterly trade shows where vendors display their wares and take orders from buyers. These fairs are often held in large cities and may even be hosted in a hotel where buyers can rent rooms at a discount. Each vendor usually displays a variety of products that are intended to interest many different buyers. Every year there are thousands of fairs during which a wide variety of products are displayed, from yachts to children’s toys, from hair care products to gaming equipment.
Retail shoppers are responsible not only for selecting merchandise that will sell well in their stores, but also for choosing the right quantities. These choices are usually made after studying the sales trends and sales history of the store or stores in which they work. Furthermore, studying upcoming industry trends is also an important part of a buyer’s job.
In some cases, buyers will go directly to the supplier’s showroom or warehouse, rather than purchasing them at a trade show. This is useful for shoppers who want to buy specialty or private label products and need to spend time reviewing product specifications and detailed pricing information with suppliers. Additionally, there are some retail buyers who simply buy surplus from suppliers to sell in discount chain stores.
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