Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ECR

Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

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 called: Bakery Buyer, Buyer, Frozen Food Buyer, Grocery Buyer, Deli Buyer, Gourmet Food Buyer, Purchaser, Retail Buyer.

O*NET 13-1022.00

At a glance

Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Negotiate prices, discount terms, or transportation arrangements with suppliers.
Inspect merchandise or products to determine quality, value, or yield.
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.
Buy merchandise or commodities for resale to wholesale or retail consumers.
Collaborate with vendors to obtain or develop desired products.
Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.
Consult with store or merchandise managers about budgets or goods to be purchased.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5
Monitoring3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

Administration and Management4.2 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.8 / 5
Production and Processing3.7 / 5
Mathematics3.5 / 5
Administrative3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic40
Investigative15
Artistic9
Social24
Enterprising71
Conventional70

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Buyers and procurement officers (3551)64,100 employed
Merchandisers (3553)23,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.82. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1022).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test