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 their online sales. 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 companies' profits 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: 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 strategies to increase sales and drive more traffic to e-commerce websites for your clients.

• Research trends: You'll research trends to increase digital sales and track data on your e-commerce website. You may look into current marketing trends and apply them to optimize your website. You'll also track how many users visit, make a purchase, and find the website.

• Write e-commerce website copy: When listing an item for sale on an e-commerce website, you’ll need to describe the product or service to provide details to the buyers. 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) involves using targeted keywords that search engines 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 is essential for capturing a website's trends, successes, how long users are on the site, and areas for improvement. These factors allow you to make any necessary changes to the website and your marketing strategy.

• Experience with advertising platforms is crucial to becoming a successful e-commerce specialist. You'll need knowledge of 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 more specifically by choosing which demographic receives the advertisement and tracking the click-through rate. 

Read more: 13 Key Marketing Skills to Boost Your Resume

Workplace skills

• Communication is required to complete daily tasks and responsibilities. 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.

Read more: What Are Job Skills and Why Do They Matter?

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.