As of June 2026, Online Merchants has an AI-exposure score of 72/100 (Very High exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Online Merchants
More exposed than 93% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$83,050. About 108,200 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Business & Finance roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
- Calculate revenue, sales, and expenses, using financial accounting or spreadsheet software.
- Calculate purchase subtotals, taxes, and shipping costs for submission to customers.
- Deliver e-mail confirmation of completed transactions and shipment.
- Cancel orders based on customer requests or inventory or delivery problems.
- Fill customer orders by packaging sold items and documentation for direct shipping or by transferring orders to manufacturers or third-party distributors.
- Promote products in online communities through weblog or discussion-forum postings, e-mail marketing programs, or online advertising.
- Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.
- Upload digital media, such as photos, video, or scanned images to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
- Compose images of products, using video or still cameras, lighting equipment, props, or photo or video editing software.
- Create or maintain database of customer accounts.
- Determine and set product prices.
- Create, manage, or automate orders or invoices, using order management or invoicing software.
- Correspond with online customers via electronic mail, telephone, or other electronic messaging to address questions or complaints about products, policies, or shipping methods.
- Prepare or organize online storefront marketing material, including product descriptions or subject lines, optimizing content to search engine criteria.
- Compose descriptions of merchandise for posting to online storefront, auction sites, or other shopping Web sites.
- Determine location for product listings to maximize exposure to online traffic.
- Purchase new or used items from online or physical sources for resale via retail or auction Web site.
- Order or purchase merchandise to maintain optimal inventory levels.
- Collaborate with search engine shopping specialists to place marketing content in desired online locations.
- Investigate products or markets to determine areas for opportunity or viability for merchandising specific products, using online or offline sources.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as automatable (80%).
Safer adjacent roles
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Every task scored with what to do about it · 5–10 safer roles with salary, demand & reachability · skill-gap map · a 30/60/90-day roadmap · plus a résumé & LinkedIn rewrite · PDF.
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AI was the most-cited reason for U.S. layoffs through mid-2026 — the workers who adapt earliest fare best. — Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2026The upside: Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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Online Merchants — median pay by US state (BLS OEWS, USD)
Median annual wage, in USD. US national: US$83,050. More states are being added.