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Wholesale and retail buyers purchase products like clothing and electronics for stores and organizations to sell or use. They have two major goals: to buy goods their company can sell at a profit, and to increase their customer base by offering products that consumers want. Buyers are successful if they choose merchandise that sells, and fail when warehouses and store racks are left with unwanted goods. That makes for a lot of pressure in this position! The most challenging part of the job is predicting which items will be popular. To do this, buyers must understand both their product and their customers. They visit trade shows and showrooms for ideas, and research trends in their product area. They analyze economic conditions, study past sales records, and listen to customer feedback to identify buying patterns. Wholesale and retail buyers often specialize in one or two types of products when working for a large organization, and must be familiar with a larger variety of products when working for a smaller business. They carefully select product suppliers that will meet the quality, cost, and delivery date promised. Extensive retail experience is required to become a buyer, along with a high school diploma, or for some positions, a bachelor’s degree in a retail or business related field. This career depends on good planning skills, decisiveness, and the willingness to trust your intuition.