A buyer is any person who contracts to acquire an asset in return for some form of consideration.
When someone gets characterized by their role as buyer of certain assets, the term "buyer" gets new meaning:
A "buyer" is a person who purchases finished goods, typically for resale, for a firm, government, or organization. (A person who purchases material used to make goods is sometimes called a purchasing agent.)
In product management, buyer is the entity that decides to obtain the product.
A buyer's primary responsibility is obtaining the highest quality goods at the lowest cost. This usually requires research, writing requests for bids, proposals or quotes, and evaluating information received.
A buyer is someone engaged in purchasing assets. The term may also refer to:
In the retail industry, a buyer is an individual who selects what items will be stocked in a store, based on his or her predictions about what will be popular with shoppers. Retail buyers usually work closely with designers and their designated sales representatives and attend trade fairs, wholesale showrooms and fashion shows to observe trends. They may work for large department stores, chain stores or smaller boutiques. For smaller independent stores, a buyer may participate in sales as well as promotion, whereas in a major fashion store there may be different levels of seniority such as trainee buyers, assistant buyers, senior buyers and buying managers, and buying directors. Decisions about what to stock can greatly affect fashion businesses.
Buyers are supported by the garment technologist, merchandisers, and designers. The garment technologist is the technical expert that offers advice on textile engineering and controls the development of samples. The merchandiser aids the buyer in the design of the stock mix, which is a strategy supported by analysis of trends. The merchandiser also manages the budget and directs delivery of stock and stock distribution. The designer offers creative direction and the buyer chooses from product designs spawned by the designer.