Retail Buyer
What the work is
Selects and buys goods for resale in a retail establishment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Sources and evaluates potential suppliers, and negotiates contracts and terms of trade
- Reviews and assesses supplier performance and reports any issues or disputes
- Monitors inventory levels, pricing and delivery times using business-relevant software or systems, and adjusts purchasing decisions accordingly
- Develops and maintains relationships with suppliers, and attends trade shows and industry events
- Collaborates with marketing and sales teams to develop promotional strategies and campaigns
- Reviews and evaluates product quality, and ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations
- Prepares and presents reports on purchasing activities and performance to management
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional community theatre with a box office, plus the buying office of a regional department store. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A sold-out show starts on time and the audience leaves smiling
- A booking that looked impossible finally clicks into place for a family
- Ranging the new season's products and watching them sell out
Hard days
- A noisy audience member who is spoiling the evening for everyone else
- Standing for hours on a night when the crowd is big and the doors are busy
- Choosing what to buy months ahead, and finding out later you guessed wrong
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 619935, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.