The e-commerce landscape in 2026
E-commerce in 2026 is characterised by: the continued dominance of Amazon (marketplace and own retail), the growth of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, the rapid expansion of social commerce (shopping via TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube), the rise of quick commerce (15-30 minute grocery delivery from dark stores), and the ongoing maturation of cross-border e-commerce. The sector has also faced significant challenges: logistics cost inflation, post-pandemic demand normalisation, profitability pressure on DTC brands that grew on cheap digital advertising, and sustainability scrutiny (fast fashion e-commerce, excessive packaging, returns logistics). Understanding which segment of e-commerce your target company operates in — marketplace, owned DTC, multichannel retail, or marketplace seller — is important preparation.
E-commerce metrics questions
"What metrics would you use to evaluate an e-commerce business's health?" Revenue side: GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), revenue (net of marketplace fees or discounts), Average Order Value (AOV), conversion rate (visitors to purchases), repeat purchase rate, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), and Net Promoter Score. Cost side: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), CAC:CLV ratio (should be at least 1:3 for a sustainable business), return rate, cost of returns (can be 20-30% of revenue for fashion), logistics cost per order, fulfilment accuracy rate. Unit economics: contribution margin per order (revenue minus variable costs of goods, shipping, and payment processing). A profitable e-commerce business has contribution margin after variable costs that covers fixed costs and generates profit — this sounds obvious but many e-commerce businesses have grown on negative unit economics, which is unsustainable without ongoing capital raises. "What is the difference between GMV and revenue in a marketplace?" GMV (Gross Merchandise Value): the total value of goods sold through the platform, regardless of who keeps the money. Revenue: what the marketplace actually earns — typically a commission percentage of GMV, plus advertising revenue and fulfilment fees. Amazon's GMV is much larger than its retail revenue because a large proportion of GMV flows through third-party sellers.
Operations and logistics questions
"Walk me through an e-commerce fulfilment process from order placement to delivery." Order received and validated (payment authorisation, fraud check), sent to warehouse management system (WMS), picker directed to item location by pick list or handheld scanner, items packed (packing slip, appropriate packaging), label printed (carrier selected based on delivery option, cost, and carrier performance), handed to carrier at collection point or sorted to despatch, tracked through carrier network, delivered to customer, returns processed if necessary. Key metrics: pick accuracy rate, packing defect rate, carrier on-time delivery rate, returns processing speed. "What factors would you consider when selecting a carrier for a new delivery service?" Coverage (geographic reach matching your customer base), reliability (on-time delivery rate, damage rate), cost (per parcel, fuel surcharges, dimensional weight pricing), speed options (next day, 48hr, 3-5 day), returns capability, customer experience (tracking communications, delivery options), integration capability with your WMS and customer-facing systems.
Behavioral questions for e-commerce roles
"Tell me about a time you improved conversion rate or a key e-commerce metric." E-commerce is highly data-driven. Strong answer: the metric and its baseline, your hypothesis about what was causing underperformance, the change you made (and how you tested it), and the outcome. "Describe a time you managed a peak trading period (Black Friday, Christmas)." Peak trading tests operational resilience. Show: how you planned for peak (capacity modelling, stock preparation, carrier contracts, staffing), how you monitored in real time, and how you managed incidents when they arose. The best e-commerce professionals love the discipline of peak trading.