What Does an E-Commerce Specialist Do?

An e-commerce specialist helps businesses digitally market and sell products or services available in an e-commerce store. In this article, explore what an e-commerce specialist does, the skills needed to become one, and the job outlook. If you want to begin your career as an e-commerce specialist, learning more about the necessary education and training can be a valuable step forward.

Read more: How to Start an E-commerce Business: A Guide

What is an e-commerce specialist?

E-commerce specialists manage businesses’ digital marketing platforms and regulate online sales on their websites. As an e-commerce specialist, you work to increase sales on these e-commerce websites through digital marketing, targeted search engine optimization (SEO), and data analysis.

Read more: What Is E-commerce? Types, Benefits, and More

What does an e-commerce specialist do?

E-commerce specialists run online e-commerce stores for businesses and individuals. With knowledge of SEO and marketing strategies, they work to increase profits for companies through online sales.

E-commerce tasks and responsibilities

As an e-commerce specialist, some of your daily tasks and responsibilities may include the following:

• Manage e-commerce websites: As an e-commerce specialist, one of your daily tasks includes overseeing e-commerce websites and ensuring they function correctly. You’ll work directly with individuals or businesses selling products to list items for sale.

• Create marketing strategies: E-commerce specialists develop marketing strategies to advertise e-commerce websites and products to potential users and buyers. As an e-commerce specialist, you create innovative marketing strategies to increase sales and drive more traffic to e-commerce websites for your clients.

• Research trends: To increase digital sales and track data on your e-commerce website, another daily task you’ll perform is researching trends. You may research current marketing trends and apply them accordingly to optimize your website. You may also research trending data within your e-commerce website to track how many users visit the website, make a purchase, and find the website in the first place.

• Write e-commerce website copy: When listing an item for sale on an e-commerce website, you’ll need to write up a description of the product or service so that a buyer knows what they may be purchasing. Crafting thoughtful, engaging copy on an e-commerce site may encourage users to buy a product. Listings should include keywords, ensuring that your e-commerce website will appear for users searching for the product.

E-commerce specialist skills

Becoming a successful e-commerce specialist requires e-commerce and marketing knowledge, as well as the technical expertise represented in the following skills:

Technical skills

• Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO involves using targeted keywords for popular search engines to recognize, ensuring that your website or product appears at the top of a search result. As an e-commerce specialist, you must know how to use SEO to increase search results and sales through website users. For example, use keywords in the titles of web pages and products to increase the likelihood of your e-commerce store appearing as a search result. 

• Data analysis: As an e-commerce specialist, it’s essential to take the data captured by a website and use it to track trends and determine areas in which your e-commerce store is succeeding and where it could use help. Analyzing data trends specific to how long users spend on your website, if and when they choose to make a purchase, and if it’s running efficiently will help your e-commerce store to succeed. These things also allow you to make any necessary changes to the website and your marketing strategy.

• Experience with advertising platforms: To become a successful e-commerce specialist, you need to know how various advertising platforms work and how to use them. Popular social advertising options include Google Ads, YouTube Ads, and Facebook Ads. Using social media to advertise your e-commerce website allows you to interact with potential consumers in a more targeted way by choosing which demographic receives the advertisement and tracking the click-through rate. 

Workplace skills

• Communication: As an e-commerce specialist, you must work well with others to do your job successfully. To complete daily tasks and responsibilities, you must communicate well with others, explaining what you need them to do and how to do it. Managing an online store also requires social media communications to engage potential buyers. When posting, you’ll want to create engaging, easy-to-navigate captions and links so that users feel inclined to click on the e-commerce website and begin shopping.

• Problem-solving: As an e-commerce specialist, you must prepare for any issues on an e-commerce website. The ability to solve problems quickly using your knowledge of digital platforms helps ensure that the e-commerce website continues operating successfully and that businesses and buyers get what they need from the online store.

E-commerce specialist salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, e-commerce specialists in the US make an average annual salary of $57,751 [1]. In addition, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that the employment in this industry will have 450,000 new jobs by 2026 [2]. 

E-commerce specialist career path

If you’re interested in starting a career as an e-commerce specialist, consider getting a degree and earning certifications that will give you experience and expand your knowledge of digital marketing and e-commerce.

Education and training

To pursue a career in this field, it can be advantageous to get your bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field of study. Knowing how to use social media platforms and specific e-commerce platforms—such as Shopify, Squarespace, and Weebly—may help you stand out to hiring managers.

To enhance your skills as an e-commerce specialist, you may consider professional certificates that will boost your resume, in addition to pursuing a degree. Universities such as Central Michigan University, Oklahoma State University, and California State University - Fullerton all offer the Certified E-commerce Specialist credential.

Getting started with Coursera

You can take several paths to become an e-commerce specialist, including getting your degree and relevant certifications. You can also start your journey toward becoming an e-commerce specialist by taking classes and courses to build your skills and expand your knowledge. Explore the Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-commerce by Google or E-Marketing Specialization offered by the University of California, Irvine, on Coursera. This program covers topics like foundations of digital marketing, customer journey, e-commerce strategy, and more.