Big Lots store experience can lead to buyer and merchant careers

Why store experience matters in merchandising

At Big Lots, the path from the sales floor to a buying desk is less of a leap than it may look. The company has long pointed to merchandising, purchasing, site selection, distribution, and cost-containment as core strengths, which means the business depends on people who understand how product moves from the dock to the customer and from the shelf to the register.

That is why store-level experience can be a real career advantage. If you have stocked freight, watched what disappears first, seen which endcaps get attention, or noticed how customers shop a clearance table, you already understand the signals that matter in merchant work. The difference is scale: a buyer uses those instincts across a category, not just one location. That makes the store a training ground for learning the customer, the product, the timing, and the margins all at once.

What buyers and merchant-support roles actually do

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says buyers and purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations, and it projects 5% growth from 2024 to 2034, faster than average. The median annual wage for buyers and purchasing agents was $75,650 in May 2024, which gives the role a salary profile that many front-line retail workers may not immediately connect with store operations.

O*NET’s wholesale and retail buyer profile shows how closely the job is tied to what happens on the sales floor. Buyers analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality to judge value and yield. They then select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise, and they may also meet with sales personnel and negotiate contracts. In plain terms, the work is part analytics, part negotiation, and part judgment about what customers will actually buy once the goods land in stores.

That is why Big Lots store experience can map so neatly into corporate purchasing or merchant-support work. The skills are connected, not separate. A front-line associate who learns to pay attention to sales patterns, seasonal demand, stockouts, and customer preferences is already building the language of buying.

How a store job turns into a buying career

The smartest move is not to wait for a headquarters job posting to explain the work. Start building the right vocabulary while you are still in the store. When you can describe why a toy item sold through quickly in November, why patio merchandise slowed after a temperature change, or why a closeout table drew traffic but not enough units, you are speaking like a merchant.

A strong candidate for buying or allocation work usually shows that they can connect the dots between customer behavior and inventory decisions. That can mean keeping track of which categories are moving, which sizes or pack counts are left behind, and which displays turn a browsing customer into a purchase. It also means learning how timing affects demand, because seasonality can make the same item perform very differently from one month to the next.

A useful way to think about the path is this:

• Observe what customers pick up, compare, and leave behind.

• Notice when stockouts happen, because they often point to missed demand or bad replenishment timing.

• Track what sells at full price versus what needs markdown pressure.

• Learn how freight, shelf capacity, and promotional resets affect the product mix.

• Pay attention to the words buyers use, especially around value, yield, and assortment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also notes that some employers hire buyers and purchasing agents with a high school diploma, though many positions typically ask for a bachelor’s degree and related experience. That matters for Big Lots workers because it means the ladder is real, but it is also competitive. Store knowledge can open the door, while experience and education help determine how far you can move once you are inside the building.

Why this matters in Big Lots’ current reshaping

The career case for merchant paths is even clearer after Big Lots’ restructuring. The company filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on September 9, 2024, after warning about financial distress. Its footprint then shrank dramatically through hundreds of store closures and a going-out-of-business process before a later rescue transaction preserved part of the chain.

That makes the company’s merchant functions more than back-office support. Big Lots reported operating 1,392 stores and an e-commerce platform at February 3, 2024, so its assortment, pricing, and inventory decisions affected a large and diverse retail footprint. When a chain goes through that kind of reset, the people who can read demand, manage buy depth, and keep product aligned with customer behavior become especially important.

Big Lots also said in a December 27, 2024 press release that Variety Wholesalers may employ some Big Lots associates at acquired stores and distribution centers, along with certain corporate associates needed to support the go-forward footprint. That detail matters because it shows how store-level experience can remain portable even when the company’s structure changes. Workers who understand the floor, the freight, and the customer have knowledge that can still be useful in the next version of the business.

What workers should take from the path

Big Lots’ model has always depended on people who can balance value, timing, and inventory discipline. That is exactly why merchandising, purchasing, and merchant-support roles deserve more attention as career options for store associates who want a future beyond day-to-day operations.

The opportunity is not mysterious. It is built from the same habits that matter in the store every day: noticing what sells, understanding why customers choose one item over another, and recognizing when demand shifts with the season. In a retail company rebuilding after bankruptcy and closures, those instincts are not soft skills. They are the raw material of buying.