Business & Finance
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.
Median salary (BLS)
$83,050
10th–90th percentile (BLS)
$48k – $150k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports one wage for this occupational group, which covers 4 related roles — so read the median as an approximate group figure, and the range as the truer picture for this specific title. BLS source.
Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $112,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.
Plan a path to Online Merchants
Education
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Online Merchants Intern
Internship
$36,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Online Merchants
Entry / Junior
$47,880
~2 yrs to advance
Online Merchants
Established
$83,050
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Online Merchants
Senior
$116,530
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Business & Finance
Explore all- University of Pennsylvania6% admit · $112,000 grad pay
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- New York University12% admit · $84,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.