An e-commerce executive assistant takes the admin off your plate so you can grow your store. Your EA runs your inbox, chases suppliers, tracks stock and keeps your calendar clear. Exec Assistants sources vetted EAs with online retail experience from the Philippines and South Africa. You hire your assistant directly for $700 to $3,300+ a month.
What Does an E-Commerce Executive Assistant Do?
Your EA owns the daily admin around your store. You keep the product, brand and growth decisions. Here’s what they handle each week.
Who Owns What in Your Store
- Product decisions
- Brand decisions
- Growth decisions
- Inbox and customer escalations
- Suppliers and inventory
- Store and marketplace admin
- Subscriptions, returns and reviews
- Ad and email marketing admin
- Calendar, meetings and travel
- Finance admin and reporting
- Launches and team follow-up
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Inbox Triage and Customer Escalations
Your EA sorts your Gmail or Outlook inbox every morning. They answer routine emails, flag urgent ones and draft replies for your sign-off. They pick up escalated tickets in Gorgias or Zendesk and handle refund requests and Shopify Payments chargeback paperwork. Only the hard calls reach you. Learn more about virtual assistant email management.
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Supplier, Inventory and Purchase Order Management
Your EA places purchase orders, confirms ship dates and chases late deliveries. They update reorder points in Inventory Planner and warn you before a bestseller sells out. They book inbound stock with your 3PL, check ShipBob or ShipStation for delayed orders, and process wholesale orders from Faire. They keep supplier contacts, price lists and contracts in one place. See our guide to expense and supplier management.
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Store and Marketplace Admin
Shopify Executive Assistant Tasks
Your EA updates product listings, prices and collections. They set up discount codes before each launch. They install and test apps your team requests. They pull daily sales and order reports from your Shopify or Shopify Plus admin.
Amazon Seller Executive Assistant Tasks
Your EA checks Seller Central for account health warnings and listing errors. They open support cases and follow them through. They track FBA inbound shipments and flag stranded inventory.
Etsy, Walmart Marketplace and TikTok Shop Tasks
Your EA keeps listings, prices and stock in sync across every sales channel. They answer buyer messages within each marketplace’s response window. They watch seller performance scores and tell you when one starts to slip.
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Subscriptions, Returns and Reviews
Your EA handles subscriber requests in Recharge, such as skips, swaps and address changes. They approve return requests in Loop Returns and send the right label. They reply to product reviews in Judge.me or Yotpo and pass recurring product complaints to you.
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Ad Account and Email Marketing Admin
Your marketer sets strategy, and your EA handles the admin around it. Your EA pays ad invoices and tracks spend in Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads and TikTok Ads Manager. They schedule the Klaviyo campaigns your team writes, check that your flows run, and collect creative files from Canva.
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Calendar, Meetings and Travel
Your EA books supplier calls, agency check-ins and trade show travel. They prepare agendas, take notes and send follow-ups the same day. They protect your focus time so you can work on the business. Read how an EA handles calendar management.
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Finance Admin and Weekly Reporting
Your EA matches invoices to purchase orders, files expenses and prepares your books in QuickBooks or Xero. They reconcile Stripe, PayPal and Shopify Payments payouts, and check that A2X posts each settlement correctly. Every Monday, they pull numbers from Triple Whale or Google Analytics 4 and send you a one-page report covering revenue, ad spend, return rate and stock on hand. Explore what a QuickBooks virtual assistant does.
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Launches, Promotions and Team Follow-Up
Your EA runs launch checklists in Asana, ClickUp or Notion and posts updates in Slack. They chase freelancers, agencies and your 3PL on deadlines. They keep your Black Friday, Cyber Monday and holiday promotions on schedule.
Your EA’s Working Rhythm
- Every morningSorts your inbox and flags urgent emails
- Every dayPulls sales and order reports and answers buyer messages
- Every MondaySends your one-page store report
- Before each launchSets up discount codes and runs the launch checklist
Who Is the Best Executive Assistant for an E-Commerce Business?
The best executive assistant for an e-commerce business pairs strong EA skills with online retail know-how. Look for these five traits, and rate each candidate with our virtual executive assistant skills checklist. Our three-stage screening tests for the ones your role needs.
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Hands-On Experience With Your Store Tools
A strong candidate has already worked inside an online store, on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce or Amazon Seller Central. They pick up new apps fast and learn your store in days.
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Comfort With Numbers and Margins
Your EA reads a sales report and spots a cost spike. They flag low-margin products and reconcile marketplace payouts. You get clean numbers without digging for them. See what an executive bookkeeping virtual assistant handles.
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Steady Under Peak-Season Pressure
Q4 and product launches double your workload. A good EA sets priorities, hits deadlines and stays calm when orders spike.
Normal monthQ4 and launches -
Clear, Professional Written English
Your EA writes to suppliers, customers and partners in your tone. South Africa ranks 13th in the world for English proficiency (EF EPI 2025). English is an official language in the Philippines.
#13South Africa, world English ranking (EF EPI 2025)OfficialEnglish is an official language in the Philippines -
Working Hours That Match Your Team
Your EA works when your suppliers, staff and customers need answers. We match each hire to the hours you set on your discovery call. Learn how to manage a remote executive assistant across time zones.
Preparing for your final interviews? Use our executive assistant interview questions that predict performance.
When Should an Online Store Owner Hire an Executive Assistant?
These signs show that admin now costs you growth. If three or more sound familiar, it’s time to delegate.
Check the Signs That Fit Your Store
Tick each one that sounds like your week.
Your Delegation Score
Tick the signs that fit your store to see your score.
Book a free discovery callRead the 5 signs you’re ready to hire an executive assistant remotely, then pick your first tasks with our CEO delegation matrix.
How Much Does an E-Commerce Executive Assistant Cost?
You pay Exec Assistants a one-time $1,997 recruitment fee. You then pay your assistant's monthly salary straight to them, with no agency markup. Read how the direct-hire model compares with agency-managed staffing.
E-Commerce Executive Assistant Salary by Level
| Level | Philippines | South Africa | Typical e-commerce work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry-level EA1 to 2 years | $700 to $1,000 | $730 to $1,330 | Inbox sorting, order lookups, listing updates, data entry |
| Mid-level EA3 to 5 years | $1,000 to $1,500 | $1,330 to $2,300 | Supplier follow-up, purchase orders, weekly reports, launch tracking |
| Senior EA5+ years | $1,500 to $2,000+ | $2,300 to $3,300+ | Operations admin across channels, agency and 3PL management, investor updates |
Monthly salary in USD, full time. Compare these rates with US and UK salaries in our salary and cost guide by country.
Year-One Cost Example
A mid-level Filipino EA on $1,250 a month costs $16,997 in year one, fee included. See every level and hiring model on our virtual executive assistant pricing page.
Should You Hire Your E-Commerce EA From the Philippines or South Africa?
Both countries produce strong executive assistants. Pick the one that fits your hours and your role.
Philippine EAs for US-Based Online Stores
The Philippines has one of the largest remote support workforces in the world. Many Filipino EAs already work US hours. They suit stores that need marketplace admin and customer escalations covered through the US day. Read our Philippines executive assistant guide.
South African EAs for UK and European Brands
South Africa runs on GMT+2, so your EA shares the UK and European workday and covers US East Coast mornings. Many South African EAs bring finance, legal and project administration experience. They suit brands with heavy supplier contracts and finance admin. Read our South Africa executive assistant guide.
How the Working Hours Line Up
A standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day for each team, shown on UK time
UK time during summer. South Africa and the Philippines do not change their clocks, so the hours shift by one hour in winter.
How Do You Hire an E-Commerce Executive Assistant?
Five steps take you from your first call to a settled assistant. For the full playbook, read how to hire a virtual executive assistant the right way.
- Day oneFree discovery call
- 7 to 10 daysYour shortlist arrives
- You decideHire your pick directly
- 3 monthsReplacement guarantee window
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1. Define the Role on a Free Discovery Call
You and usTell us your store platform, tools, tasks and working hours. We recommend an experience level, a country and a salary range. Start with our virtual executive assistant job description template.
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2. We Source and Screen Online Retail Candidates
Exec AssistantsWe search our talent pools in the Philippines and South Africa. Every candidate passes three-stage screening against your role.
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3. Interview Your Shortlist in 7 to 10 Days
You and usYou meet a small group of vetted finalists. We coordinate every interview.
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4. Hire Your Remote E-Commerce Assistant Directly
YouYou choose your EA and pay their salary to them each month. Your assistant works only for you.
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5. Onboard With Our Guidance
You and usWe help you set up access, weekly check-ins and a first-month task list. Your 3-month replacement guarantee starts on day one. Read our guide to onboarding an outsourced executive assistant.
How Do You Keep Store Data Safe With a Virtual Executive Assistant?
Your EA works with customer details, payment records and supplier pricing. Set up access properly from the start. See the wider security risks and solutions in executive assistant outsourcing.
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Staff Accounts With Limited Permissions
Create a staff account for your EA in Shopify and a user account in Seller Central. Give each account only the permissions the role needs. Keep the owner login to yourself.
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A Shared Password Manager
Share logins through a password manager. You can revoke access in one click if anything changes.
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A Signed NDA
Every assistant signs a non-disclosure agreement before they start. Read more on vetting, NDAs and data security.
E-Commerce Executive Assistant FAQs
What's the difference between an e-commerce virtual assistant and an e-commerce executive assistant?
An e-commerce virtual assistant usually handles one task stream, such as listings or support tickets. An e-commerce executive assistant supports you, the founder. They manage your inbox, calendar, suppliers and projects across the whole business. Read more on the difference between a virtual assistant and an executive assistant.
Can my e-commerce EA handle customer service?
Yes. Your EA handles escalations, refunds and complaints that need a careful reply. If tickets fill most of the day, hire a separate support agent and let your EA oversee them.
Do I need a full-time e-commerce executive assistant?
Most clients hire full time, because a dedicated assistant learns your business faster and stays longer. If you need fewer hours, raise it on your discovery call.
Which store platforms can your assistants work in?
Our EAs work in platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Amazon Seller Central, Etsy, Walmart Marketplace and TikTok Shop. At intake, you list your tools, and we source candidates who have used them.
What should I prepare before my EA starts?
Write down your recurring tasks, set up their accounts and book a 30-minute daily check-in for week one. Your EA takes over more each week as they learn your store. Our guide to training an outsourced executive assistant walks you through the first month.
Hire Your E-Commerce Executive Assistant
Book a free discovery call. Tell us about your store, your tools and your hours. We'll match you with vetted EAs who can take the admin off your desk.
Book a free discovery call