Business and Financial Operations
Online Merchants
Conduct retail activities of businesses operating exclusively online. May perform duties such as preparing business strategies, buying merchandise, managing inventory, implementing marketing activities, fulfilling and shipping online orders, and balancing financial records.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Business Operations Specialists, All Other
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Online Merchants. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$83,050USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$39.93USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $47,880 | $23.02 |
| 25th | $62,640 | $30.12 |
| 50th · Median | $83,050 | $39.93 |
| 75th | $114,010 | $54.81 |
| 90th | $150,010 | $72.12 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
E-Commerce Account ManagerE-Commerce AdministratorE-Commerce AnalystE-Commerce AssistantE-Commerce AssociateE-Commerce Business AnalystE-Commerce Business Channel SpecialistE-Commerce ClerkE-Commerce CoordinatorE-Commerce DeveloperE-Commerce Digital Marketing Manager (Electronic Commerce Digital Marketing Manager)E-Commerce Manager
Expand more title examples (34)
E-Commerce Marketing ManagerE-Commerce MerchandiserE-Commerce MerchantE-Commerce Operations ManagerE-Commerce Personal ShopperE-Commerce Product ManagerE-Commerce Project ManagerE-Commerce RetailerE-Commerce Sales AnalystE-Commerce Sales AssociateE-Commerce Sales ClerkE-Commerce Sales CoordinatorE-Commerce Sales ManagerE-Commerce Sales Product ManagerE-Commerce Sales SpecialistE-Commerce SpecialistE-Commerce SupervisorE-MerchantE-tailerFulfillment AssociateInternet MerchantInternet RetailerMarketplace ManagerMerchandiserOnline MerchantOnline RetailerOnline Services ManagerPersonal ShopperRetail E-Commerce Sales AssociateSales AssociateStore E-Commerce SupervisorTransaction CoordinatorWeb MerchantWeb Retailer
Typical tasks
- Fill customer orders by packaging sold items and documentation for direct shipping or by transferring orders to manufacturers or third-party distributors.
- Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
- Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
- Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
- Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
- Purchase new or used items from online or physical sources for resale via retail or auction Web site.
Expand more tasks (28)
- Determine and set product prices.
- Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
- Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
- Compose images of products, using video or still cameras, lighting equipment, props, or photo or video editing software.
- Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
- Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
- Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
- Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria.
- Order or purchase merchandise to maintain optimal inventory levels.
- Determine location for product listings to maximize exposure to online traffic.
- Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
- Promote products in online communities through weblog or discussion-forum postings, e-mail marketing programs, or online advertising.
- Collaborate with search engine shopping specialists to place marketing content in desired online locations.
- Investigate products or markets to determine areas for opportunity or viability for merchandising specific products, using online or offline sources.
- Maintain inventory of shipping supplies, such as boxes, labels, tape, bubble wrap, loose packing materials, or tape guns.
- Measure and analyze Web site usage data to maximize search engine returns or refine customer interfaces.
- Develop or revise business plans for online business, emphasizing factors such as product line, pricing, inventory, or marketing strategy.
- Disclose merchant information and terms and policies of transactions in online or offline materials.
- Design customer interface of online storefront, using web programming or e-commerce software.
- Select and purchase technical web services, such as web hosting services, online merchant accounts, shopping cart software, payment gateway software, or spyware.
- Transfer digital media, such as music, video, or software, to customers via the Internet.
- Devise, select, or purchase domain name and web address.
- Initiate online auctions through auction hosting sites or auction management software.
- Implement security practices to preserve assets, minimize liabilities, or ensure customer privacy, using parallel servers, hardware redundancy, fail-safe technology, information encryption, or firewalls.
- Investigate sources, such as auctions, estate sales, liquidators, wholesalers, or trade shows for new items, used items, or collectibles.
- Participate in online forums or conferences to stay abreast of online retailing trends, techniques, or security threats.
- Integrate online retailing strategy with physical or catalogue retailing operations.
- Create or distribute offline promotional material, such as brochures, pamphlets, business cards, stationary, or signage.
Skills used in this work
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
Expand more skills (29)
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
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