Welcome to Maelle's Course on e-commerce, Module "The digital trade roles".

I am an e-commerce shopping experience expert with over 7 years of activity and I manage the e-commerce section in Maelle. Traveling around the world from US to Europe and now to UAE, I've supported some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Karl Lagerfeld.

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My optimization strategy focuses on three core areas: on-site experience, customer journey, and user engagement which all move around platforms, AI solutions and sales strategies.

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In this lesson it will be covered:

• E-Commerce environment overview
• The essential roles of digital trade

The Goal of this Module is to bring clarity on what are the essential roles your brand needs to run the digital store in order to to identify per each role areas of interest, responsibilities and stakeholders. E-commerce, as we know it today, is the buying and selling of goods and services online. It has become a mainstream way of conducting business and has revolutionized how people shop and consume products. It has enabled businesses of all sizes to reach a global market and provided consumers with more convenience and choice. The fashion industry has experienced a rapid growth in recent years, with the rise of e-commerce playing a major role in this trend. A fashion e-commerce website can be a valuable tool for businesses looking to reach a wider audience and increase their sales. However, for it to be successful, it must have the right roles in place to ensure a seamless customer experience and a sustainable and consistent growth. The digital trade is that area of an e-commerce business that is responsible for trading the product. The trading of the product is intended from different point of views as the scope is a digital store, such as: Platform & UX/UI, product, content, site merchandising, analytics. All the other departments such as production, studio, allocation, shipments, logistic, payments and more won't be mentioned here. As a business owner or manager, you know that the more roles and teams have clear responsibilities and direction, the more efficient performance, collaboration, and growth will be. Remember that organizational roles and teams may change slightly based on business size, needs, and goals and that what you'll find in this map is a best practice and an ideal environment to guide the best approach. The map shows several possible areas and teams that the digital trade department may include. This is the Ideal scenario that again, may be changed or adjusted based on business size , needs, budget and structure. In the digital trade scope we ideally find the following teams:

• Analytics
• Site Merchandising
• Platform & AI
• Master Data
• Product
• CRM
• UX/UI

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Let's dive deeper in the roles.

• Platform support role(s): this is the role or team that works on the technical aspect of the website, meaning the platform development and maintenance and all those custom features that enhance the platform and the website usage and that allow you to provide a better experience and personalized journey to your customers.
• Product role(s): Responsible for managing the product catalogue available on your website and forecast where to invest next. This includes buying collections, providing product descriptions, images, pricing, as well as monitoring stock and availability. They are familiar with fashion trends and therefore able to identify new and popular products to keep the catalogue fresh and up-to-date.
• Site Merchandising role(s): Responsible for the display of products in an appealing manner that encourages customers to engage and ultimately purchase, increase customer engagement, optimize shopping experience and journey personalization.
• UX/UI Designer role(s): responsible for ensuring that the fashion e-commerce website is easy to use and navigate. The focus is designing the layout and structure of the website, as well as ensuring that it is visually appealing and user-friendly.
• Content role(s): Responsible for creating and curating the content (text & visual) that appears on the website. A strong content strategy will ensure that the content is well-written, engaging, and accurately represents the products on offer. This also includes creating and executing marketing campaigns, using digital marketing channels such as social media, email marketing, and search engine marketing.
• Data Analyst role(s): Responsible for tracking website traffic, customer behavior, and sales data, and using this information to make data-driven decisions. This includes identifying trends, optimizing the website, and making recommendations to improve the customer experience.

To conclude, remember that by having the right team in place, your e-commerce website can ensure a seamless customer experience and achieve sales and growth goals. It is important to note that the roles outlined in this module may vary depending on the size of the business.