Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
Marketing, Sales and ServiceO*NET 13-1022.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $76,563
- Projected change
- +9%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 514.87K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
34.7% of the workforce
Growing to 561.41K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Buy merchandise or commodities for resale to wholesale or retail consumers.
- Negotiate prices, discount terms, or transportation arrangements with suppliers.
- Examine, select, order, or purchase merchandise consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements, or other factors, such as environmental soundness.
- Recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, or merchandise selling prices.
- Obtain information about customer needs or preferences by conferring with sales or purchasing personnel.
- Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.
- Monitor and analyze sales records, trends, or economic conditions to anticipate consumer buying patterns, company sales, and needed inventory.
- Collaborate with vendors to obtain or develop desired products.
- Inspect merchandise or products to determine quality, value, or yield.
- Conduct sales meetings to introduce new merchandise.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $47,111
- 25th percentile
- $59,500
- 50th percentile
- $76,563
- 75th percentile
- $100,470
- 90th percentile
- $132,336
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $76,563 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9%faster than average
2025514,873 jobs
2035 projected561,410 jobs
46,537 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 34.7%
- High school diploma or less
- 34.2%
- Associate degree
- 11.4%
- Certificate
- 10.3%
- Some college
- 8.2%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 1.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- 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.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Buyers9,982 postings
- 02Sourcing Specialists1,261 postings
- 03Strategic Sourcing Specialists925 postings
- 04Buyers/Planners900 postings
- 05Sourcing Analysts629 postings
- 06Procurement Officers428 postings
- 07Energy Advisors396 postings
- 08Category Specialists392 postings
- 09Purchasing Buyers371 postings
- 10Procurement Buyers361 postings
- 11Commodity Buyers351 postings
- 12Strategic Sourcing Analysts348 postings
- 13Energy Consultants336 postings
- 14Associate Buyers322 postings
- 15Procurement Interns301 postings
- 16Procurement Assistants294 postings
- 17Sales Representatives236 postings
- 18MRO Buyers233 postings
- 19Energy Specialists226 postings
- 20Category Buyers213 postings
Top employers
- 01Aston Carter516 postings
- 02Intermountain Health402 postings
- 03Honeywell International390 postings
- 04Robert Half348 postings
- 05JLL173 postings
- 06GE Aerospace171 postings
- 07Anduril Industries162 postings
- 08Insight Global153 postings
- 09Lee Hecht Harrison142 postings
- 10Stellantis141 postings
- 11Kelly Services130 postings
- 12ManpowerGroup119 postings
- 13Randstad115 postings
- 14Ryder110 postings
- 15Accenture108 postings
- 16GE Vernova106 postings
- 17Premier Roofing Company105 postings
- 18Adecco104 postings
- 19Ford104 postings
- 20Lotus Sales101 postings
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