Peernovo
Other general clerical workers

How to become an E-commerce Site Operator

Also called: Online Order Clerk, Online Shop Assistant, E-commerce Operations Clerk

Manages the website and products, processes orders and purchases and looks after customers for an online shopping business.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start. New graduates join an online retailer or a company with an online shopping department and are either assigned to the online shopping department or assigned elsewhere and later moved there. Mid-career vacancies are almost all for specific roles, so mid-career hires are often placed straight into the online shopping department. The field is growing fast and short of people, so there are many vacancies, especially for mid-career hires who can contribute straight away. Depending on the goods sold, a sales licence may be needed. For example, someone who opens an online shop on their own to sell food needs a business permit under the Food Sanitation Act. You need interest in and knowledge of e-commerce, and to be comfortable using computers, smartphones and other devices. The work is mostly at a desk, but it depends on working and keeping in touch with departments across the company, so you also need to move quickly and communicate across teams. Operations is behind-the-scenes work where running without incident is simply expected, so you need to keep the whole picture in view while doing steady, reliable work. Some of the work involves dealing directly with customers, so communication skills to respond sincerely and politely are also important.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

Related jobs

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become an E-commerce Site Operator?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start. New graduates join an online retailer or a company with an online shopping department and are either assigned to the online shopping department or assigned elsewhere and later moved there. Mid-career vacancies are almost all for specific roles, so mid-career hires are often placed straight into the online shopping department. The field is growing fast and short of people, so there are many vacancies, especially for mid-career hires who can contribute straight away. Depending on the goods sold, a sales licence may be needed. For example, someone who opens an online shop on their own to sell food needs a business permit under the Food Sanitation Act. You need interest in and knowledge of e-commerce, and to be comfortable using computers, smartphones and other devices. The work is mostly at a desk, but it depends on working and keeping in touch with departments across the company, so you also need to move quickly and communicate across teams. Operations is behind-the-scenes work where running without incident is simply expected, so you need to keep the whole picture in view while doing steady, reliable work. Some of the work involves dealing directly with customers, so communication skills to respond sincerely and politely are also important.

How much does an E-commerce Site Operator earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,286,700 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other general clerical workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an E-commerce Site Operator?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 55% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme.

Will AI change the work of an E-commerce Site Operator?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026