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Online retailer education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an online retailer. Online retailers usually study business, marketing, or liberal arts. 58% of online retailers hold a bachelor's degree, and 21% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 281 real online retailer resumes to see exactly what online retailer education sections show.

The most common colleges for online retailers are the Iona College and the Iona College.

There are also many online online retailer courses to help get the education required to be an online retailer.

What education do you need to become an online retailer?

What degree do you need to be an online retailer?

The most common degree for online retailers is bachelor's degree, with 58% of online retailers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 21% and associate degree degree at 9%.
  • Bachelor's, 58%
  • Associate, 21%
  • High School Diploma, 9%
  • Master's, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become an online retailer?

You should major in business to become an online retailer. 26% of online retailers major in business. Other common majors for an online retailer include marketing and liberal arts.

Most common colleges for online retailers

Online retailers often get their degrees at Iona College, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, and Pace University. Here are the most common colleges for online retailers in the US based on their resumes.
Online retailer common collegePercentages
Iona College8.82%
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania5.88%
Pace University5.88%
Central State University5.88%
Susquehanna University5.88%

Best majors for online retailers

RankMajorPercentages
1Business26.4%
2Marketing8.0%
3Liberal Arts6.4%
4Accounting5.6%
5Management4.8%

Best colleges for online retailers

The best colleges for online retailers are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

An online retailer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for online retailers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become online retailers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

5. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

6. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

7. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

10. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,530

Enrollment

4,571

20 best online courses for online retailers

Advertising disclosure

1. Retail Customer Service

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2. CVS Health Retail Customer Service

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The demand for customer service representatives is huge, there are thousands of open job roles in the US alone. This program prepares you for a retail customer service role. Retail customer service is an exciting career where every day is a new day and a new adventure. The target audience for this certificate is anyone who is customer obsessed and is looking to launch a career in retail customer service.\n\nThis program uniquely prepares you for your new role by using a blend of videos,...

3. Marketing Analytics & Retail Business Management using Excel

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4.4
(1,259)

Retail analytics using MS Excel - Covering Forecasting, Market Basket, RFM, Customer Valuation & Price Bundling...

4. Online Business Masterclass: Sell Your Own Digital Products

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4.5
(711)

Create, Launch & Market an Online Business w/ Digital Products: Online Courses, Coaching, e Books Passive Income Course...

5. Sales and Marketing For Online Businesses

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4
(1,581)

A Beginners Guide To Sales & Marketing For Your Online Business And Ventures...

6. Store Design: How to Design Successful Retail Stores

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4.2
(358)

Everything you need to know to create effective brick & mortar retail stores: Image, Display, Storefront, and Lighting...

7. Retail for Business Analysts and Management Consultants

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4.6
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A practical guide with cases studies how to analyze and improve a retail business during management consulting projects...

8. Customer Service, Customer Support, And Customer Experience

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Customer service, customer support, and customer experience training. Loyal clients through world-class customer service...

9. Passive Income 6 figures Drop Servicing Home Online Business

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10. Business Communication Skills: Handling Clients & Customers

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11. Professional Diploma in Digital Products Management

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Program with business cases (Fintech, Retail Banking, Digital Business) & Interactive part...

12. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer

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Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...

13. Infopreneur: Create Information Products and Online Courses

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Turn your knowledge, experience & passion into profits. Create, package & sell an information product or online course...

14. Customer Service Foundation

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4.5
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An introductory course about understanding the foundations of Customer Service...

15. MBA: Retail business, Merchandising, and E-commerce

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4.5
(307)

Build and grow your own retail business and e-commerce...

16. Diploma Course in Retail Management

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4.3
(397)

Enhance your skills (Operations/Sales/VM/HR/SCM) in the ever growing Retail industry - Cover latest trends, casestudies...

17. The Complete Online Arbitrage Masterclass 2.0

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4.7
(324)

Get a Major Return on Your Investment Reselling Products Online from Home [Amazon FBA, e Bay Selling, Poshmark, Mercari]...

18. Customer Service

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4.6
(11,267)

How to Approach New Customers and Maintain Existing Ones...

19. SAP for Retail Essentials: Learn SAP Retail Introduction

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(533)

Easy to Follow SAP Retail Introduction: Both Core and Advanced Retail overview in just 6 hours with 4 hours of demos...

20. Customer Relationship Management A Retail Perspective

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4.5
(425)

The success of your business through managing relationships with customers effectively...

Top 10 most affordable universities for online retailers

The most affordable schools for online retailers are SUNY Farmingdale, usf sarasota-manatee, and california state university - dominguez hills.

If the best universities for online retailers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for online retailers.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

3. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

4. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

7. Minot State University

Minot, ND • Private

In-state tuition

$7,064

Cost of attendance

15,576

8. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

9. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for online retailers

The hardest universities for online retailers to get into are Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for online retailers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for online retailers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

6. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

7. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

9. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

10. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for online retailers

The easiest schools for online retailers to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, holy names university, and gwynedd mercy university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an online retailer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for online retailers.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

3. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

4. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

5. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

6. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

7. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

8. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

9. Manor College

Jenkintown, PA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

898

10. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

Average online retailer salary by education level

According to our data, online retailers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $88,847 annually. Online retailers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $86,729.
Online retailer education levelOnline retailer salary
Master's Degree$86,729
Bachelor's Degree$76,523
Doctorate Degree$88,847
Some College/ Associate Degree$63,755

Online retailer education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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