E-commerce manager

What does an E-commerce manager do?

An e-commerce manager runs the online sales of a business.

You are responsible for how products are listed, priced, promoted, sold and delivered. That covers marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada and Amazon, and the company's own web store.

The role sits in a retail, consumer brand, distribution or services company. It often reports to a head of e-commerce, a marketing head or a commercial director. In smaller firms, the manager may be the only e-commerce hire.

You work with marketing, merchandising, supply chain, finance and customer service teams. You also deal with outside partners: marketplace account managers, couriers, agencies, affiliates and platform vendors.

What the work involves

• Check sales, conversion and ad spend each day, and act on products or channels that are off target.
• Update listings, prices and promotions on each marketplace and the brand's own store.
• Plan stock with the supply chain team so best sellers do not run out during campaigns.
• Brief agencies and creators, and review the results of paid ads and affiliate programmes.
• Follow up on late deliveries, returns and customer complaints with couriers and the service team.
• Prepare weekly and monthly reports that show what drove sales and what to change next.

Pay in Singapore

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Skills an E-commerce manager needs

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E-commerce manager job description

We are hiring an e-commerce manager to grow online sales across our marketplace storefronts and brand website in Singapore.

You will own channel targets, run promotions and ad campaigns, keep stock and fulfilment on track, and report on profit as well as revenue. You will work closely with marketing, operations and finance teams.

Responsibilities

• Own sales and profit targets for each online channel, including marketplaces and the brand website.
• Plan and run promotions, vouchers and campaign events with marketplace account teams.
• Manage paid media across retail media platforms, Google Ads and Meta Ads, and adjust spend using return data.
• Improve product pages, images, titles and pricing to lift conversion.
• Work with supply chain on stock levels, replenishment and fulfilment, so campaigns are covered.
• Manage couriers, fulfilment partners and platform vendors, and review their performance.
• Track traffic, conversion and customer behaviour in GA4 and marketplace dashboards, and turn findings into actions.
• Run affiliate and creator partnerships, including commission terms and tracking.
• Monitor reviews, returns and service quality, and work with the customer service team to fix recurring problems.
• Report channel results and unit economics to management on a regular schedule.

Requirements

• Diploma or degree in business, marketing, information systems or a related field; other backgrounds are accepted with relevant online selling experience.
• Typically 3 to 6 years in e-commerce, online retail or digital marketing, with some experience managing a channel or a small team.
• Hands-on experience with Shopee, Lazada or Amazon seller tools, and a platform such as Shopify.
• Working knowledge of Google Ads, Meta Ads, retail media tools and GA4.
• Strong Excel skills for sales, margin and stock analysis.
• Clear written and spoken English, and the ability to coordinate with several teams and outside partners.

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E-commerce manager career path

Most e-commerce careers in Singapore move from hands-on channel work to owning targets and budgets, then to setting the online strategy for a business.

1. E-commerce associate or assistant

   Entry · SkillsFuture title

   You update listings, process orders, handle basic reporting and support the team on campaigns.

2. E-commerce executive

   Mid · SkillsFuture title

   You run day-to-day operations on one or more channels, manage order fulfilment, work with partners and prepare insight reports.

3. E-commerce manager

   Senior · SkillsFuture title

   You own channel targets, budgets and partner relationships, and decide on promotions, pricing and customer retention plans.

4. E-commerce director

   Head · SkillsFuture title

   You set the online business strategy and decide which channels and partnerships to back. You also answer for revenue and profit across all digital sales.

Steps marked "SkillsFuture title" follow the career pathway in the SkillsFuture Skills Framework. The others are titles commonly used in Singapore.

Related jobs and their pay

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E-commerce manager interview questions

We wrote these questions from the skills this job needs. They are not an official question bank.

1. Walk me through the unit economics of a product sold on Shopee. What would you include?

   What a good answer covers

   • Selling price, product cost, marketplace commission and payment fees
   • Shipping costs and any seller-funded voucher or free shipping programme
   • Ad spend per order and expected return rate
   • Contribution margin per order, and the ad return needed to break even

2. A product page gets plenty of visits but few orders. How do you find the cause and fix it?

   What a good answer covers

   • Compare the page's conversion with similar products and with past performance
   • Review price against competitors, images, title, reviews and delivery promise
   • Check mobile layout and page speed on the brand site
   • Run one change at a time, such as a new main image or bundle, and measure the result

3. You have one monthly budget for Shopee Ads, Google Ads and Meta Ads. How do you split it?

   What a good answer covers

   • Match each channel to its role: demand capture, discovery or retargeting
   • Use return on ad spend and margin, not revenue alone
   • Start with a test split and shift budget weekly based on results
   • Keep a share for campaign periods when marketplace traffic is higher

4. How do you set reorder points for fast-moving items so you avoid both stockouts and excess stock?

   What a good answer covers

   • Use recent sales rate, supplier lead time and a safety buffer
   • Adjust for planned promotions and seasonal peaks
   • Separate fast and slow movers and review them at different intervals
   • Share the forecast with supply chain and flag risks early

5. Which GA4 events and reports would you set up for a Shopify store, and what would you look for?

   What a good answer covers

   • Product views, add to cart, checkout start and purchase events
   • Funnel drop-off points by device and traffic source
   • Source and campaign reports that tie to ad platforms
   • Checks that tracking is accurate by comparing with store order data

6. How would you set up an affiliate programme for a new product line?

   What a good answer covers

   • Choose a commission structure that keeps margin positive after fees
   • Set clear tracking links and rules on discount codes
   • Pick affiliates and creators whose audience fits the product
   • Watch for low-quality or fraudulent traffic and review performance monthly

7. You sell on Shopee, Lazada and your own site. How do you keep listings, prices and stock consistent?

   What a good answer covers

   • Use one central product sheet as the source of truth
   • Use stock-sync or order management tools where the budget allows
   • Set rules on when prices can differ by channel
   • Audit listings on a regular schedule for errors and outdated content

8. You get a raw sales export with thousands of SKUs. How would you use Excel to decide which to promote and which to drop?

   What a good answer covers

   • Clean the data and calculate margin per SKU
   • Use pivot tables to compare sales, returns and stock days by SKU
   • Flag products with high sales but low margin
   • Present a short list with a recommended action for each group

9. How do you use ChatGPT for product listings, and what checks do you put in place?

   What a good answer covers

   • Draft titles and descriptions from a verified product fact sheet
   • Check every claim, size and ingredient against the supplier information
   • Follow marketplace rules on prohibited claims and wording
   • Keep customer personal data out of prompts

1. Your Lazada sales fall sharply in one week with no change in ad spend. What do you do?

   What a good answer covers

   • Check for listing suspensions, stock-outs, price changes or lost visibility
   • Look at competitor prices and any marketplace campaign you missed
   • Review traffic and conversion separately to find where the drop is
   • Fix what is in your control first, then report the cause and the action to your manager

2. Your best seller runs out of stock on day two of a major campaign while ads are running. What now?

   What a good answer covers

   • Pause or redirect ad spend on that item so you stop paying for clicks you cannot convert
   • Ask supply chain for a replenishment date and enable pre-orders if suitable
   • Move the campaign focus to similar in-stock items
   • Review the forecast afterwards and change how you plan for campaigns

3. Late deliveries from your main courier are raising complaints and lowering your shop ratings. How do you respond?

   What a good answer covers

   • Pull data on late orders by courier, area and day
   • Raise the issue with the courier with figures, and agree an improvement plan
   • Set up a backup courier or fulfilment option for peak periods
   • Update customers early and work with the service team on compensation rules

1. Tell me about a campaign that missed its target. What did you do?

   What a good answer covers

   • State the target and the actual result plainly
   • Explain how you found the cause using data
   • Describe the change you made during or after the campaign
   • Share what you now do differently

2. Describe a time marketing, operations and finance wanted different things from you. How did you handle it?

   What a good answer covers

   • Name each team's goal and why it mattered
   • Use numbers such as margin, stock and ad return to frame options
   • Agree a trade-off and make sure everyone knew the decision
   • Describe the result and how the working relationship held up

1. You want to email past customers about a new product. What do you check under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)?

   What a good answer covers

   • Whether customers gave consent for marketing messages
   • Whether the message includes a clear and working way to opt out
   • That the data is used only for purposes customers were told about
   • That you involve the company's data protection officer where unsure, and keep records of consent

2. Singapore shoppers compare prices across marketplaces and brand sites. How do you decide where to sell and how to price?

   What a good answer covers

   • Check where your target customers already buy and what each channel costs to sell on
   • Compare competitor prices and delivery speed on each channel
   • Use the brand site for margin, loyalty and first-party customer data
   • Plan for peak sale days on Shopee and Lazada, and review results by channel after each

Common questions about an E-commerce manager job

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