How To Become An E-Commerce Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an e-commerce specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Richard Conde Ph.D.

E-commerce specialists are experts in online sales strategies and the various platforms used to conduct digital sales or conversions on a website. Their main purpose is to increase the company's presence and the knowledge and market of its product on online platforms.

Their responsibilities include monitoring the day-to-day activity on the site and its overall performance to achieve goals like improving user experience, increasing website traffic and sales, and developing brand loyalty. They execute ad campaigns on search engines and other websites and research and implement the latest digital marketing strategies using social media. The qualifications to become an e-commerce specialist include a bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field and working knowledge of retail business and e-commerce best practices. They should have experience using platforms such as Google AdWords, Ad Roll, and Analytics, as well as social media platforms and their advertising strategies.

The average hourly pay for this position is $23.29, which amounts to $48,450 annually.

What general advice would you give to an e-commerce specialist?

Dr. Richard Conde Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Houston - Downtown

For a graduate just beginning their journey in the marketing field, my main advice would be to remain endlessly curious and always keep learning. The marketing landscape is evolving rapidly, constantly emerging new technologies, platforms, and consumer behaviors. Embrace change with an open mindset and be a perpetual student. At the same time, develop a specialty area that becomes your value proposition - a specific industry vertical, channel expertise like social media or email marketing, or proficiency with analytics, artificial intelligence, and insights mining. Plus, there is a focus on hyper-personalization, which both data and artificial intelligence will perpetuate. That focus will make you more hireable.

ScoreE-Commerce SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $54,056

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 12.36%

Black or African American 5.15%

Hispanic or Latino 12.30%

Unknown 4.99%

White 65.07%

Gender

female 54.04%

male 45.96%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an e-commerce specialist

Explore e-commerce specialist education requirements

Most common e-commerce specialist degrees

Bachelor's

66.1 %

Associate

15.1 %

High School Diploma

8.5 %

Start to develop specific e-commerce specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Digital Marketing	14.44%
A/B	12.38%
Marketing Campaigns	11.30%
YouTube	7.51%
Google Analytics	4.56%

Complete relevant e-commerce specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New e-commerce specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an e-commerce specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real e-commerce specialist resumes.

Research e-commerce specialist duties and responsibilities

Hire and manage outside vendors for SEO, content writers, and PPC management.
Facilitate and manage creative development, copywriting and content management of home page copy and site sections.
Create product content and manage product photography in order to update and upload e-commerce product plans for various online retailers.
Develop, manage and maintain multiple websites including fund-raising events and online registrations for intranet and Internet sites.

Prepare your e-commerce specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your e-commerce specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an e-commerce specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable e-commerce specialist resume templates

Build a professional e-commerce specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your e-commerce specialist resume.

Apply for e-commerce specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an e-commerce specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do e-commerce specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

E-commerce specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2023

Pros

It can be mildly rewarding to edit a website on the backend and immediately see the changes on the front end. Black Friday can be fun when you push sales and get to see people on the website shopping your product. Also there is potential to work hybrid or fully remote depending on the company and its demands.

Cons

It's incredibly tedious and very boring work. It doesn't pay very much when you're starting out. It's an easy job, but if you care about your career and want to do something you are passionate about that actually makes a difference, this is likely not it. And if you want to be able to afford living in general, good luck as this job pays about as much as a teacher makes (give or take depending on the company, position, etc.). I am bored and leaving this career path as soon as I can.