Navigating the Future of eCommerce: A Personal Reflection on Industry Changes

As someone deeply entrenched in the eCommerce landscape, I find myself at a crossroads, pondering the future of my career amidst rapid technological advancements. At 30 years old, I have dedicated my professional life to this sector since the age of 14. My journey has taken me through various roles within eCommerce agencies, each position building upon the last, from a sales representative to my current role as Director of Partnerships.

For nearly a decade, my focus has been on driving web development, design initiatives, and spearheading large-scale SEO and eCommerce marketing projects. Over the years, I have been privileged to contribute to initiatives valued between $20,000 and over $1 million, tackling strategic challenges in conversion rate optimization (CRO), user interface and user experience (UI/UX), and upselling strategies.

However, the surge of artificial intelligence technologies is beginning to reshape our industry in ways that I had not anticipated. A noteworthy example comes from a former agency I was part of that relied heavily on SEO. Previously, the company boasted a team of 25 copywriters; fast forward to today, and that number has plummeted to just four. Despite this drastic reduction, their SEO department is seeing a monthly billable increase of $20,000 compared to when I was there. This shift reflects a growing trend where AI is taking over roles traditionally held by entry-level writers. Senior content creators are now tasked mainly with refining AI-generated content to ensure compliance with copyright standards.

Moreover, at another agency, a significant restructuring led to the dismissal of their entire U.S. development team, replaced with developers from Latin America who primarily use AI tools like ChatGPT for communication and project management via platforms like Jira and Slack.

While I am not suggesting that my industry is on the brink of collapse, it is clear that the landscape is evolving rapidly. AI tools are capable of transforming design wireframes from Figma files into fully functional websites, and I have witnessed AI generate precise coding for upsell implementations without the need for developers’ intervention. The rise of Google AI and prompt-based search functionalities is also reshaping traditional SEO practices in real time.

This whirlwind of changes leaves me with profound uncertainties about the future of my career in the eCommerce space. In response to these shifts, I am pursuing my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, weighing the option of transitioning into a Head of PM or Senior PM role