E-commerce merchant vs online merchant

The differences between e-commerce merchants and online merchants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an e-commerce merchant and an online merchant. Additionally, an online merchant has an average salary of $55,338, which is higher than the $34,427 average annual salary of an e-commerce merchant.

The top three skills for an e-commerce merchant include photography, market trends and customer service. The most important skills for an online merchant are customer satisfaction, apparel, and product line.

E-commerce merchant vs online merchant overview

	E-Commerce Merchant	Online Merchant
Yearly salary	$34,427	$55,338
Hourly rate	$16.55	$26.60
Growth rate	19%	19%
Number of jobs	15,090	913
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

E-commerce merchant vs online merchant salary

E-commerce merchants and online merchants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	E-Commerce Merchant	Online Merchant
Average salary	$34,427	$55,338
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $79,000	Between $35,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	Santa Clara, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	New York
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Apple
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between e-commerce merchant and online merchant education

There are a few differences between an e-commerce merchant and an online merchant in terms of educational background:

	E-Commerce Merchant	Online Merchant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

E-commerce merchant vs online merchant demographics

Here are the differences between e-commerce merchants' and online merchants' demographics:

	E-Commerce Merchant	Online Merchant
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6%	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between e-commerce merchant and online merchant duties and responsibilities

E-commerce merchant example responsibilities.

Create and manage FAQ, QA, copywriting and other tasks relate project management in support of front-end experience.
Manage in house photography studio and execute high quality product photography for e-commerce website.
Manage projects by maintaining product catalog using CMS, marketing/project calendars and assets/deliverables for online projects.
Perform QA for site re-launch.
Produce original content to develop multiple new websites, primarily focusing on SEO.
Coordinate SEO and PPC program with vendors, including development of campaign-specific landing pages.

Online merchant example responsibilities.

Manage social media (Facebook) by posting new content, questions, pictures, new arrivals, graphics, etc.
Define and optimize lead nurturing strategy, create regular cadence of outbound marketing, leverage marketing automation and CRM technology.
Define and optimize lead nurturing strategy, create regular cadence of outbound marketing, leverage marketing automation and CRM technology.

E-commerce merchant vs online merchant skills

Common e-commerce merchant skills

Photography, 14%
Market Trends, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Photo Shoots, 7%
Online Sales, 5%
Customer Orders, 4%

Common online merchant skills

Customer Satisfaction, 52%
Apparel, 10%
Product Line, 7%
Retail Business, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Product Prices, 4%

Updated January 8, 2025

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