Mostly Resilient
Last Update: 8/30/2026
AI Resilience Score for Wholesale/Retail Buyers:
54.7%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
Low
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
High
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
Med
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
Most data sources align, with only minor variation. This is a well-supported result.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forWholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
$77,710 median salary•47,200 annual openings•SOC Code: 13-1022.00
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products are somewhat more resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 6 sources.
This career is labeled "Mostly Resilient" because while AI is taking over a lot of the routine, time-consuming tasks (like data entry, demand forecasting, and vendor communication), the most important parts of a buyer's job still need a human touch. Skills like building real supplier relationships, spotting cultural trends, understanding local customers, and making smart judgment calls under pressure are things AI simply cannot replicate well.
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This career is labeled "Mostly Resilient" because while AI is taking over a lot of the routine, time-consuming tasks (like data entry, demand forecasting, and vendor communication), the most important parts of a buyer's job still need a human touch. Skills like building real supplier relationships, spotting cultural trends, understanding local customers, and making smart judgment calls under pressure are things AI simply cannot replicate well.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoAnalysisChatNewsMoreAnalysis of Current AI Resilience
Wholesale/Retail Buyers
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Wholesale/Retail Buyers jobs?
Right now, buyers' jobs are being augmented far more than replaced — but automation is moving fast into the routine parts of the role. Retailers are beginning to use AI to automate certain parts of the merchandising process, to determine what to order or even to make deals on their behalf. A slew of tech companies like Duvo.ai, Relex Solutions and Gain have arisen or added new functionality over the past few years to help merchants with tasks like managing inventory or communicating and negotiating with vendors.
For example, Walmart's Wally assistant helps merchants with data entry, root-cause analysis, and advanced calculations [1], while Walmart also uses Pactum's bots to extend payment terms across thousands of suppliers. McKinsey estimates that by offloading manual work to AI agents [2], merchants could reclaim up to 40 percent of their time to focus on strategy, find great products, and optimize vendor negotiations [2]. BCG similarly projects that in the retail organizations of the near future, category managers will become "mini CEOs," with time-consuming work like vendor negotiation prep, competitive monitoring, price recommendations, and demand forecasting heavily supported by AI [3].
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Wholesale/Retail Buyers?
Adoption is accelerating quickly because the tools are already commercially available and the ROI is easy to measure. On the procurement side, eighty-five percent of procurement leaders say they are piloting or using AI, and nearly three-quarters report deploying AI agents within their organizations, and Deloitte finds that nearly 68% of retailers expect to deploy agentic AI for key operational activities within 12 to 24 months [4]. Even top retail leaders are pushing this shift publicly — at NRF's 2026 Big Show, Google's Sundar Pichai and Walmart's John Furner highlighted agentic shopping and AI-driven merchandising as central to retail's future [5].
Still, there are speed bumps: "There are, rightfully so, in North America concerns over whether or not this could replace jobs in the future", and vendors emphasize that a human should stay in the loop until trust is built. The good news for young people considering this career is that the skills AI can't easily copy — building supplier relationships, understanding local customers, spotting cultural trends, and making judgment calls under uncertainty — are exactly the parts of buying that retailers say they want humans doing more of.
Sources
Will AI replace Wholesale/Retail Buyers?
No. We don't think AI will replace Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products, though we do expect the job to change.
Our 54.7% AI Resilience Score puts this career in "Mostly Resilient" territory, but that doesn't mean buyers get to coast. The routine parts of the job are already shifting fast. Tools like Walmart's Wally assistant handle data entry and root-cause analysis [1], and nearly 68% of retailers expect to deploy agentic AI for key operational activities within the next one to two years [4]. The tasks being automated are real: demand forecasting, vendor communication, price recommendations, and inventory management.
What stays human is actually the core of buying. Building supplier relationships, reading cultural trends, spotting a product that will resonate with a specific customer base, and making judgment calls when the data is incomplete, these are the things retailers say they want humans doing more of, not less. McKinsey projects that AI could reclaim up to 40% of a merchant's time from manual work, freeing buyers to focus on strategy and vendor negotiations [2]. BCG sees category managers evolving into "mini CEOs" of their product areas [3].
The job market through 2034 looks healthy, which means now is a good time to build the human skills AI cannot replicate.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Wholesale/Retail Buyers
These articles highlight how AI is reshaping the roles of Wholesale and Retail Buyers. For instance, the "AI Use-Case Compass" emphasizes hyper-targeted merchandising, enabling buyers to create personalized shopping experiences that foster customer loyalty. The "Buyer’s Guide" shows how AI helps monitor stock levels and reduce waste, directly impacting profitability. Understanding these advancements can help aspiring buyers adapt to changing demands, positioning them for success in a tech-driven market and enhancing their resilience in a rapidly evolving career landscape.
10 Procurement Job Roles Most Impacted by AI (2026 to ...
suplari.com • 8/20/2026
Jul 28, 2026 — Wholesale and Retail Buyers (Merchandise Buyers) - 60% (High) estimated chance of role being reduced by AI. Retail and wholesale buyers decide ... Read more
Understanding Retailers' Intentions to Use AI for Product ...
www.mdpi.com • 8/20/2026
by K Mouloudj · 2026 · Cited by 8 — AI supports better stocking decisions, reduces product expiration, improves demand forecasting accuracy, and enables faster responses to changes in customer ...
Retail buying evolved: how AI and buyers can work together
www.retaildive.com • 8/20/2026
Aug 4, 2025 — When AI automates routine processes, it enhances efficiency and accuracy while freeing up valuable time. Many buyers already take advantage of ... Read more
AI Use-Case Compass — Retail & E-Commerce: Personalization at Planet Scale
medium.com • 6/5/2025
Hyper-targeted merchandising, supply-chain vision models, and storefront agents that transform browsers into loyalists.
Buyer’s Guide: How AI is transforming in-store operations
www.thegrocer.co.uk • 4/24/2025
AI applications have already taken hold across grocery retail, monitoring stock levels, boosting service and cutting shrinkage.
More Career Info
Career: Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
They choose and buy products for stores to sell, making sure they get the best items at good prices to satisfy customers.
Parent Careers
Similar Careers
Employment & Wage Data
* Data estimated from parent occupation
Median Wage
$77,710
Jobs (2025)
516,100
Growth (2025-35)
+6.0%
Annual Openings
47,200
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Conduct sales meetings to introduce new merchandise.
2
Train or supervise sales or clerical staff.
3
Collaborate with vendors to obtain or develop desired products.
4
Consult with store or merchandise managers about budgets or goods to be purchased.
5
Negotiate prices, discount terms, or transportation arrangements with suppliers.
6
Inspect merchandise or products to determine quality, value, or yield.
7
Examine, select, order, or purchase merchandise consistent with quality, quantity, specification requirements, or other factors, such as environmental soundness.
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
