Interested in becoming a fashion buyer? Becoming a fashion buyer is a great career choice if you have strong trend awareness and have excellent analytic skills. This role truly marries creativity and commerce and is a great fit for anyone passionate about both. We’ve highlighted some of the key skills you’ll need to excel in this role.

1. Trend Awareness

Having strong trend awareness is essential. It’s not only important that the clothing you order is on-trend but that you’re in tune with what your niche customer is looking for. Have you always been complimented on your style? Told you’re always ahead of the fashion curve or even that you have a keen eye for fashion? Then you might be an excellent candidate for a fashion buyer.

However, having trend awareness as a fashion buyer goes a step further than just your natural creative intuition. As a buyer, you’ll be analyzing the store’s trends, determining what products are flying off the shelves, and what items seem not to be making the impact you intended. Beyond the store, it’s important that your industry knowledge is sharp and always update as well all know fashion is fast-paced and waits for no one. By researching the right distributors, new brands, and industry publications, knowing where to look for the latest trends will come with time.

2. Analysis Skills

From reviewing trend reports from managers, budgets, and creating orders, you’ll have a lot on the go, which is why honing your ability to analyze reports is so important. Your analysis of trends will start with market research. Market research can be scrolling through influencers’ Instagram feeds that best embody the store’s vibe and seeing the clothing they’re wearing as well as reading industry news and niche fashion blogs that touch on the season’s hottest trends. The most important thing to keep in mind is who your target consumer is—would they buy this product?

Another important skill to have is analyzing financial trends. Tracking consumer trends via sales reports means determining if the store got their return on investment and then some. From there, determine which products met this standard and which fell short. Each season gives you the opportunity to grow and hone your purchasing decisions, and analyzing financial and sales reports and turning that information into smart buying decisions is a critical skill.

3. Exceptional Communication

Being a clear and concise communicator is a must-have in the role as there are a lot of moving parts from vendors, managers, and the commerce team. The lines of communication must always be open so you can work together to make informed buying decisions and ensure that your inventory is on the sales floor at the peak time. The world of fashion is fast-paced and is always changing. Trends come and go so it’s important to always be in close communication with your sales team as they’re working with consumers first hand on the sales floor and are the first line of knowing what customers are looking for.

4. Budgeting Knowledge

Being financially savvy is key in this role. You must be able to deliver what customers are looking for within your store’s budget. Staying aligned with your allocated buying funds is non-negotiable, especially if you’re a buyer for a smaller business where there may not be any wiggle room. Knowing where to strategically allocate funds is key as you don’t want to make a daring buy with a large portion of your budget that you don’t know for sure will sell. When creating your budget again, looking at the trend data is going to inform you how to spend the budget.

Being a fashion buyer is an exciting avenue to take in the industry especially if you not only have a passion for sales, market analysis, trends and commerce. The role is exciting but also comes with a lot of responsibility as you’ll be expected to manage a lot of avenues of the business. For the right person, pursuing this career is incredibly rewarding and always changing!

Wondering if you’re on the right career path? Book a Virtual Career Meeting with Founder Christie Lohr. In this 1 hour meeting, you’ll discuss your career path and the next step  to reach your dream position.

Demetra Maragos – Demetra is a Master of Arts candidate at New York University, who loves thinking outside of conventional lines to combine her passions of everything culture, fashion, and lifestyle.

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