35+ best eCommerce interview questions

We’re often asked for a list of the eCommerce interview questions to use when interviewing eCommerce Directors or other senior eCommerce candidates. To start, let’s understand the main roles and responsibilities of an eCommerce Director, and then we can determine what eCommerce interview questions best allow us to assess their knowledge and skills against these criteria.

What does an eCommerce Director do?

The main objective is to increase business performance and sales through converting web users to customers, and ideally repeat customers. To do this, job responsibilities will include:

• Platform selection
• Trading and merchandising – understanding how the calendar can affect sales i.e., Easter and making sure there’s appropriate stock availability
• Overall strategic direction and user experience of the site – navigation, content, funnels, mobile optimisation and whether an app is appropriate
• Oversee digital marketing promotional campaigns to drive traffic to the website, monitoring and improving conversion metrics
• Team management including hiring, setting goals and objectives, and reflecting these in team KPI’s
• Forecasting sales performance across the year, establishing strategies including pricing, to beat year on year returns
• Introducing new sales channels to create more revenue
• Logistics and deliveries – where does stock need to be kept? What are the delivery options?

What competencies should an eCommerce Director have?

• Strategic – sees the long-term market potential and opportunities and makes a plan to get there.
• Has proven experience either attracting new customers or moving customers from an offline to an online model
• Collaboration – with marketing, IT, product and sales teams to drive online transformation and change.
• Analytical – ability to decipher large volumes of data for performance analysis and problem-solving. A deep understanding of ecommerce metrics such as conversion, average order value and traffic.
• Prioritisation – the ability to project manage, multitask and get things done against deadlines.
• Technical – Strong SEM knowledge, previous use of paid ad tools, extensive use of eCommerce platforms and can demonstrate web analysis techniques.

The eCommerce interview questions that you use should investigate these competencies thoroughly.

What eCommerce interview questions should I ask?

Here is our guide to the best eCommerce interview questions. This isn’t a comprehensive list, and you should add specific competency questions, but this list should offer some guidance and inspiration when interviewing.

General eCommerce interview questions

• Why are you currently considering a new role?
• What are you looking for in your new position?
• What makes you stand out from other candidates?
• What would you say your proudest moment at work was? 
• What initiative have you lead that had the biggest impact on the business?
• Why should we hire you?
• What would you like to achieve in this role within the first 6 months?
• What support would you need from us in the first year of this role?
• Do you think the current team structure is sufficient for growth?
• What does a good induction programme look like to you?

eCommerce strategy interview questions

• Describe your experience in creating and developing digital content for various platforms.
• Have you introduced any new digital channels in your previous roles? If so, please provide examples and explain the impact they had on the business.
• If given the opportunity, what changes or improvements would you suggest for our website?
• Walk us through the steps you typically follow to successfully launch a new product on an eCommerce platform.
• As an eCommerce Director, what would be your initial focus or the first task you would undertake when starting in this role?
• If you were to set three objectives for yourself in the first 12 months as an eCommerce Director, what would they be?
• Considering the market we operate in, how important do you think mobile will be for our business? Explain your reasoning.
• How would you go about implementing a digital transformation project within our organisation?
• Can you provide an example of a time when you leveraged social media to enhance business performance or achieve specific objectives?
• In your opinion, what does a good return on investment (ROI) look like in the context of eCommerce, and why is it important?

Team management and leadership assessment

• What ways of working would you introduce within the team?
• Would you describe yourself as a good leader?
• What does good communication look like to you?
• How do you look to motivate people? What do you consider? 
• If your team was not producing the results you expected, what would you do first?
• How do you go about influencing someone?
• What challenges have you encountered whilst managing a hybrid team?
• Give an example where you felt passionately about something (eg a business case) but struggled to convince others?

Balanced thinking interview questions

• Have you ever launched an initiative which didn’t produce the results you were expecting?
• What personal objectives have you achieved? Are their any you are yet to achieve?
• Give an example of a time where you didn’t meet your sales forecast. What could you have done differently?
• How do you work with a team to improve outcomes?

Critical thinking assessment

• What is the most important metric as an eCommerce Director and how would you measure it?
• Describe a complex decision you had to make. How did you gather relevant information, assess the options, and ultimately make a well-informed decision?
• Can you share an example of a situation where you had to make a quick decision with limited information or under pressure. How did you determine the best course of action?
• How do you balance data-driven decision making with intuition or gut feeling? Can you provide an example where you relied on both aspects to make a successful decision?
• How do you approach such situations and ensure that the decisions you make align with the overall business strategy while also meeting the needs of various teams and departments?

eCommerce interview questions: summary

We’re a specialist recruitment agency within ecommerce and are here to help you with any questions you have relating to eCommerce interview questions. Since 2002, we’ve helped a broad range of companies, from scale-ups, start-ups and enterprise businesses to hire customer centric experts that build effective strategies for business transformation. Reach out to our management team confidentially to discuss how Intelligent People may help with your Executive level search.