Head of Ecommerce

Career Guide

A Head of Ecommerce leads the online sales strategy for a brand or retailer. The role owns revenue growth, customer experience, and day to day performance across the ecommerce site and key digital sales channels, working closely with marketing, product, technology, and operations.

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Key Responsibilities

Set the ecommerce growth strategy and revenue targets
Own the online store experience, including navigation, product pages, and checkout
Improve conversion rate and average order value through testing and optimization
Lead merchandising strategy, including product assortment, pricing, and promotions
Manage customer acquisition and retention plans with marketing partners
Oversee ecommerce operations, including inventory availability, fulfillment, and returns
Build and report performance dashboards for leadership
Manage agency and vendor relationships for ecommerce tools and services
Hire, develop, and lead ecommerce, merchandising, and analytics team members
Coordinate with finance on forecasting, budgeting, and profit performance

Top Skills for Success

Revenue Strategy

Conversion Rate Optimization

Merchandising

Pricing Strategy

Promotion Planning

Customer Retention

Performance Analytics

Experiment Design

Ecommerce Platform Management

Product Management

Stakeholder Management

Team Leadership

Career Progression

Can Lead To

VP of Ecommerce

VP of Digital

VP of Growth

VP of Marketing

Chief Digital Officer

General Manager

Transition Opportunities

Head of Marketplace

Head of Customer Experience

Head of Retention

Head of Performance Marketing

Director of Digital Product

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Profit ManagementForecastingInventory PlanningLifecycle MarketingData GovernanceAttribution ModelingVendor ManagementChange Management

Development SuggestionsBuild a clear profit story using contribution margin, repeat purchase rate, and return rate. Lead a quarterly forecast that ties traffic, conversion rate, and average order value to inventory and fulfillment capacity. Run a structured testing program with a shared roadmap, clear hypotheses, and measurable outcomes.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range

Entry Level$120k–$160k

Mid Level$160k–$220k

Senior Level$220k–$320k

Growth Trend

Demand remains strong, especially for leaders who can improve profitability, strengthen customer retention, and run efficient growth programs in a tighter digital advertising environment.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

AmazonWalmartTargetNikeAdidasAppleSephoraLululemonIKEAWayfairUnileverProcter and Gamble

Industry Sectors

RetailConsumer GoodsFashionBeautyHome GoodsElectronicsGroceryDirect to Consumer BrandsMarketplaces

Recommended Next Steps

Create a one page ecommerce growth plan with targets for traffic, conversion rate, average order value, and repeat purchase

Audit the checkout and product page experience and list the top five improvements by expected revenue impact

Set up a weekly performance review that covers sales, profit, site speed, inventory health, and customer service metrics

Build a promotion calendar that aligns with inventory, margins, and marketing capacity

Document a testing roadmap with at least ten prioritized experiments

Strengthen cross functional alignment by defining owners for merchandising, site experience, marketing, and operations decisions