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Fractional E Commerce Manager, Senior Operator, Full P&L Awareness
A senior fractional e commerce manager for DTC, retail, subscription, and PE-backed consumer operators. Conversion, merchandising, paid media, lifecycle, and the cross-channel operating model that turns an online store into a real channel, without a full-time hire.
Talk to a Fractional eCommerce Manager
A senior fractional e commerce manager for DTC, retail, subscription, and PE-backed consumer operators
Why teams hire a Chameleon fractional eCommerce Manager
P&L operators, not channel specialists
Most fractional eCommerce help is repackaged paid-media or CRO consulting. Real eCommerce management is a P&L role: conversion + merchandising + acquisition + lifecycle + fulfillment economics all in one head. Our operators have carried the P&L number, not just optimized one slice of it.
Platform-fluent across the stack
Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, commercetools, headless on Next.js, different platforms produce different work. We have operators fluent in the major platforms; the engagement routes to the right shape, not a generalist forced to learn yours.
Pricing + promo discipline
eCommerce P&Ls die when promos cannibalize margin and pricing strategy drifts. Our operators bring promo-architecture and pricing-discipline experience, the kind that comes from carrying revenue and margin together, not just hitting traffic targets.
Why hire a fractional eCommerce manager from Chameleon Collective
A great eCommerce manager is one of the highest-leverage hires a DTC or retail operator can make, and one of the easiest to mis-scope. Most companies hire an eCommerce "manager" who is actually a paid-media or CRO specialist with a generous title, then wonder why merchandising drifts, promos cannibalize margin, and the fulfillment ops nobody owns silently shape gross margin every quarter. A real eCommerce manager carries the channel P&L, conversion, AOV, repeat rate, contribution margin, and runs the operating system that produces it.
P&L ownership is the role
Our fractional engagements treat eCommerce as a real P&L. We map the contribution-margin model in week one, identify the 1-3 highest-leverage levers (almost always some combination of pricing, merchandising, conversion, and acquisition mix), and execute against the levers across the engagement window. The deliverable isn't a strategy deck, it's measurable P&L motion.
Cross-stack fluency matters
The work is different on Shopify Plus than on Adobe Commerce or commercetools. Different on a headless storefront than on a monolith. Different on a single-brand DTC than on a multi-brand portfolio. Our roster includes operators fluent in each shape; the engagement routes to the right one.
What our fractional eCommerce engagements cover
- Channel P&L ownership, contribution-margin modeling, monthly forecast, lever identification, board reporting.
- Conversion + merchandising, PDP optimization, category architecture, search and filter, cart and checkout, replenishment patterns.
- Paid acquisition strategy, channel mix, creative cadence, attribution, ROAS targets aligned to LTV.
- Lifecycle marketing, email and SMS programs, repeat-purchase mechanics, retention sequencing.
- Promo + pricing discipline, promo architecture, calendar design, discount-stacking rules, margin-protection logic.
- Fulfillment + ops interlock, fulfillment economics, returns and exchanges, 3PL or in-house decisioning.
- Reporting + analytics, dashboards the CFO can read, daily and weekly cadences, drift detection.
- Team build or agency oversight, eCommerce manager hire plan, agency-portfolio rationalization, transition off agency dependency.
How We Compare
| Feature | Chameleon Collective | Specialty agency | Full-time eCommerce Manager hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full P&L ownership. | Yes, contribution margin, conversion, AOV, retention | No, channel-specialist scope | Yes |
| Cross-stack fluency. | Shopify, Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, commercetools, headless | Often single-platform partnership | Hire-dependent |
| Pricing + promo discipline. | Default, margin-protecting promo architecture | Rare; agency model often promo-volume incentivized | Yes |
| Senior the day they start. | Day-one fluency | Senior names, junior day-to-day |
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from teams evaluating fractional eCommerce Manager engagements.
Agencies execute against a brief in one channel. A fractional manager owns the P&L across channels, writes the brief, manages the agencies, and develops the in-house team. Different scope, different accountability. Most engagements end with the manager running the existing agencies against a much better brief.
Shopify Plus, Adobe Commerce (Magento), BigCommerce, commercetools, custom headless on Next.js or Hydrogen. Our roster has operators fluent in each; the engagement routes accordingly.
Week one: P&L review, conversion audit, channel and promo audit. Weeks 2-4: 90-day plan with 1-3 highest-leverage levers. Weeks 4-12: execution. Most engagements ship measurable P&L lift inside the first quarter.
Most engagements run $12K-$28K per month at two to three days per week, scoped to outcome. Multi-quarter engagements scale up based on team size and program scope.
Some operators in our roster also run paid media hands-on; others are strategy-and-oversight. The engagement design routes accordingly. Most growth-stage brands need the strategy + oversight shape, with an in-house or agency team running execution.
Yes. Subscription DTC has its own dynamics, cohort retention, churn programs, replenishment timing. We have operators who specialize in subscription eCommerce.
Directly. Chameleon Collective is a senior-only collective. No account-management layer between you and the operator.
Related Services
Need a permanent eCommerce Manager?
Some companies need a fractional eCommerce Manager for two to four quarters of operating-system work. Others need a permanent Fractional E-commerce Manager in seat. Our Recruit practice places senior leaders into IC, fractional, and executive roles.
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Get a senior eCommerce operator in seat, without the FTE
Two-week diagnostic across P&L, conversion, merchandising, acquisition, and lifecycle. Senior operator on it from day one.
