Salary of a Retail Buyer or Merchandise Assistant
The goal of a retail buyer is to obtain high-quality goods at a low cost for resale to the public. Retail buyers may be responsible for a single line of merchandise in a large establishment; in smaller stores, a retail buyer may purchase all of the store's inventory. The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that retail buyers often work more than 40 hours per week, including nights and weekends.
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Features
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According to the bureau's Occupational Employment Statistics survey, the mean annual wage for retail buyers was $56,300 as of May 2010. The bottom 10 percent earned $29,070 or less, and the top 10 percent made $89,970 or more. The median annual wage was $49,650. The bureau calculates mean annual wages by multiplying the mean hourly wage for an occupation by 2,080, or the standard number of hours worked by a full-time employee.
Industries
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In the industries with the highest employment levels for retail buyers salaries ranged from $41,660 (grocery stores) to $62,100 (wholesale electronic markets). The top-paying industries for retail buyers were: natural gas distribution; insurance carriers; electrical equipment manufacturing; computer systems design; and petroleum products. These industries paid mean annual wages that ranged from $70,150 to $86,350.
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Locations
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The states that employed the largest numbers of retail buyers -- California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey -- paid them mean annual wages that ranged from $55,470 to $68,430. The top-paying states for retail buyers were New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Maryland. Mean annual wages in those states ranged from $61,240 to $68,430. The 10 highest-paying metropolitan areas for retail buyers paid mean annual wages that ranged from $66,270 in Nassau, New York, to $73,600 in Trenton, New Jersey.
Considerations
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The bureau estimates that employment for retail buyers will decline slightly, by 2 percent, through the year 2018. This is the result of the consolidation of buying departments; more retail stores are eliminating local buying departments and centralizing this function at their headquarters. The best job opportunities for retail buyers will exist for applicants who hold bachelor's degrees in fields such as economics or business. In addition to salary, many retail buyers receive discounts on goods sold by their employers as well as performance-based bonuses.
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