Are ecommerce salaries decreasing?

In our second #PandaPounds salaries by specialism feature, we turn our focus to ecommerce salaries. How have industry professionals’ wages changed in the last 12 months, and what are their expectations for 2017?

Ecommerce salaries by role: what’s changed?

How have ecommerce salaries changed in the last 12 months?

We look at average ranges by role, comparing this year’s benchmarks to 2016’s. From the numbers below, it's obvious that this is the year of the Product Manager! High demand for product superstars has led to an increase in salary benchmarks for all seniority levels. When we look at ecommerce, online trading and online merchandising, not a lot has changed...

Ecommerce Jobs

• Ecommerce assistant/executive: £19,000 - £35,000 (2016: £19,000 - £35,000)
• Ecommerce manager: £40,000 - £70,000 (2016: £35,000 - £70,000)
• Head of ecommerce: £65,000 - £120,000 (2016: £66,000 - £120,000)
• Ecommerce Director: £100,000 - £250,000 (2016: £100,000 - £250,000)

Product Management Jobs

• Product Assistant/Executive: £30,000 - £38,000 (2016: £20,000 - £35,000)
• Product manager: £38,000 - £55,000 (2016: £30,000 - £55,000)
• Senior Product Manager: £55,000 - £80,000
• Head of Product: £80,000 – £200,000 (2016: £60,000 - £110,000)

Online Merchandising Jobs

• Junior Online Merchandiser: £20,000 - £35,000 (2016: £22,000 – £35,000)
• Senior Online Merchandiser: £45,000 - £65,000 (2016: £50,000 - £70,000)
• Head of Merchandising: £60,000 - £90,000 (2016: £60,000 - £90,000)

Ecommerce Trading Jobs

• Ecommerce Trading Assistant/Executive: £22,000 - £35,000 (2016: £22,000 - £35,000)
• Ecommerce Trading Manager: £35,000 - £60,000 (2016: £35,000 - £70,000)
• Head/Director of Online Trading: £55,000 - £90,000 (2016: £55,000 - £90,000)

26% of ecommerce professionals didn’t receive a pay rise in the last 12 months

Over the last 12 months, 24% of ecommerce superheroes said that their salaries remained the same and 2% saw a decrease. An impressive 73% received a pay-rise - nice!

Why did 26% of respondents within this segment not see a positive change in their wages? For those whose salaries decreased, 75% took a career sidestep and 25% moved to a contract / freelance job. Those with no change at all told us that they:

• didn't ask for one (26%)
• haven't been with their current company long enough to qualify (39%)
• aren't due for an increase until a later date (22%)

The remaining 13% attributed it to a number of things, with "not increasing freelance rates" being the most popular response amongst freelancers. One comment that packs quite a punch was, "the boss was in no mood to ask. It's a bit sh*t to not even have goals". For managers reading this, it's worth noting that we'll be covering more comments like this one - and how it impacts employee retention and attraction - in a future #PandaPounds feature post (watch the #PandaPounds blog category!).

If we compare these results to last year's, we see a positive change. In 2016, just 67% of ecommerce professionals saw a boost in their pay packet, 3% saw a decrease and 29% saw no change at all.

When it comes to ecommerce salaries, 22% aren't sure what 2017 will bring

That's right - 22% don't know if a pay rise is on the cards this year. 62% believe that it is. A small group (1%) are expecting a decrease and 15% believe that their salaries won't change at all.

Once again, let's delve deeper into the reasons why some respondents' wages decreased or stayed the same. Answers covered everything from "moving roles" and "going back to study" to "the company is barely profitable" and "budget cuts". A few people were lucky enough to get one large, or two separate, pay rises in the last 12 months; they told us that they didn't want to be greedy.

So, how do our findings from this year's survey measure up against the results that we published in our ecommerce salaries in 2016 feature? Last year, just 52% of ecommerce professionals expected their wages to increase. 1% were dreading a pay decrease, 16% were sure nothing would change and 18% didn't know what would happen.

24% expect a 20% pay rise when moving to a new role

How would our online retail superstars expect their pay to change if they were to move to a new role? Would they want a big pay rise... or would the same salary suffice? Let's take a look at the results...

• 9% told us that a 5% pay rise would be fine
• 30% consider a 10% increase appropriate
• 23% would be looking for a 15% boost
• 24% expect a wage 20% above what they are currently receiving
• 9% said that they would be happy with the same salary
• 6% selected 'other' which included everything from "decrease - looking to move out of London" to between 30-50% growth.

19% would say no to employee benefits and yes to a larger salary

In our 2017 ecommerce salary survey - for the first time ever - we asked our respondents about the types of benefits that they would like to receive. Here's what our respondents said they would prefer:

• a mix of monetary and non-monetary benefits (63%)
• a larger salary (19%)
• monetary benefits only (11%)
• non-monetary benefits that helped them save money (6%)
• The remaining 1% gave a number of responses, from "tbd" to "a stake in the company and flexible working".

What about salaries for other digital specialists working in online retail?

Good question! For information on how salaries have changed (and are expected to change) for other digital specialists, take a look at our latest #PandaPounds features for digital design salaries and digital marketing salaries.