ECommerce Manager in Princeton, New Jersey at The Princeton University Store

The Princeton University Store is a self-sustaining, not-for-profit, member-based corporation that operates as a cooperative. It is affiliated with Princeton University but legally, financially, and operationally independent.

We operate two retail locations in Princeton, serve major campus and community events, and manage an ecommerce business that ships throughout the United States and internationally. The company is building a more integrated commerce model across stores, ecommerce, events, and partnerships.

Why This Role Matters
Ecommerce is an important growth opportunity and a critical expression of The UStore’s merchandise, brand, and customer experience. The business requires comprehensive planning, consistent daily management, strong digital merchandising, accurate execution, and clear ownership of results.
The Ecommerce Manager will maintain the plans that guide homepage changes, product launches, digital assortments, promotions, content, affiliate commerce, and new storefronts. The position will also serve as a key business owner in the transition from NetSuite SuiteCommerce to Shopify.

This role does not direct routine site work to others. The Ecommerce Manager must be able and willing to make updates, build pages, maintain product information, diagnose problems, test changes, and verify completed work directly.

What Success Looks Like
Within the first 12 months, the Ecommerce Manager will:
• Establish a detailed rolling ecommerce plan covering homepage updates, assortments, product launches, promotions, content requirements, affiliate commerce, and new digital storefronts.
• Maintain an accurate, current, and commercially effective site with dependable quality control across products, pricing, inventory, promotions, links, navigation, search, and customer information.
• Improve ecommerce sales, margins, product availability, conversion rates, average order value, customer retention, and channel profitability through documented actions and testing.
• Provide strong business ownership, requirements, testing, documentation, and implementation support for the transition to Shopify.

What You Will Do
Plan and Own the Ecommerce Business
• Develop and maintain the ecommerce operating plan, sales plan, promotional calendar, detailed homepage plan, and improvement roadmap.
• Define the digital assortment architecture, including ecommerce-exclusive products, products shared across ecommerce and stores, extended or drop-ship assortments, affiliate products, and future storefronts.
• Develop approved digital commerce opportunities from concept through execution, including exploring affiliate programs and new storefronts.
• Track ecommerce sales, gross margin, traffic, conversion, average order value, product availability, customer behavior, and profitability; identify opportunities and take corrective action.

Manage and Merchandise the Site
• Personally manage routine updates to products, collections, navigation, search, landing pages, banners, promotional content, product sequencing, and customer information.
• Translate merchandise and marketing priorities into an effective online assortment and customer experience.
• Monitor online availability, new products, best sellers, size and color integrity, seasonal priorities, and replenishment opportunities.
• Ensure that mobile and desktop experiences make it easy to find, understand, compare, and purchase products.

Protect Accuracy and Execution
• Ensure that product names, descriptions, images, prices, categories, attributes, variants, inventory, promotions, and links are complete and accurate before publication.
• Complete pre-launch and post-launch quality checks and personally verify that work has been completed correctly.
• Identify errors promptly, correct them, determine their cause, and establish controls that prevent recurrence.
• Create clear plans, owners, deadlines, approval points, quality checks, and status reporting that reduce confusion, missed work, and rework.
Coordinate Customer and Operational Readiness
• Partner with Marketing to translate the content calendar into coordinated site, email, search, and campaign execution.
• Confirm that promoted products, inventory, links, landing pages, and operating processes are ready before launch.
• Work with the Director of Operations on fulfillment readiness, customer-service issues, shipping, returns, cancellations, and the online customer promise.
• Use customer behavior, transaction data, service information, and testing to improve the customer journey and commercial performance.

Support Platform Implementation and Go-Live
• Serve as the ecommerce business owner for NetSuite SuiteCommerce and the transition to Shopify.
• Define requirements and participate directly in data preparation, testing, training, launch readiness, and postlaunch stabilization.
• Diagnose product-data, content, integration, and development problems and work effectively with internal and external technical resources.
• Consult with leadership to support managing agencies, developers, applications, and platform providers against clear scope, budgets, deadlines, and deliverables.

What You Bring
• Seven or more years of progressive ecommerce experience in a product-based retail business, including direct responsibility for operating and merchandising a transactional website.
• Current, hands-on experience with NetSuite, Shopify—including Shopify Plus—Klaviyo, and Google Analytics 4 is required.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage ecommerce calendars, homepage plans, digital assortments, promotional plans, and cross-functional launches.
• Evidence of improving ecommerce sales, conversion, average order value, product discovery, customer retention, or profitability.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a record of producing accurate work, accepting responsibility for outcomes, correcting mistakes, and preventing repeat errors.
• Strong analytical, organizational, written, and verbal communication skills, with the initiative to manage routine site work independently and follow commitments through completion.
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of relevant education is required.

Schedule and Work Location
This is a hybrid position, not a fully remote role. Regular on-site work is required to understand the merchandise, stores, customers, and operating environment and to participate in merchandise reviews, planning, meetings, launches, testing, training, and peak periods.
The frequency of on-site work will vary according to business needs and may increase during major initiatives and seasonal periods. Occasional early-morning, evening, or weekend work may be required for launches, system releases, major events, or urgent customer-impacting issues.

To Apply
Please submit a résumé and a cover letter if you desire.

The Princeton University Store is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.