Local market data · E-commerce brands · Chicago
AI for e-commerce brands in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 1,427 e-commerce brands in 2022, the 4th most of 385 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 17,203 people at an average of $60,878 a year. 84% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.
Talk through your store with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your e-commerce brand to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
E-commerce brands in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 1,427 | 55,633 |
| People employed | 17,203 | 780,598 |
| Average staff per business | 12.1 | 14.0 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $60,878 | $59,596 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 84% | 86% |
Pay here is about the same as the national average for e-commerce brands, so an hour of admin costs about what it does elsewhere. The average e-commerce brand here has 12.1 people on payroll, 14% lower than the US figure of 14.0.
How big e-commerce brands in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
E-commerce brands by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 721 of the metro's 1,427 (51%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 5th for average pay and 10th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 721 | 8,311 | $67,618 |
| DuPage County | 191 | 3,250 | $56,302 |
| Lake County | 163 | 1,603 | $59,903 |
| Will County | 93 | 1,243 | $56,062 |
| Kane County | 90 | 1,696 | $43,907 |
| McHenry County | 66 | 430 | $75,612 |
| Lake County | 49 | 401 | $39,559 |
| Porter County | 22 | 60 | $29,583 |
| Kendall County | 15 | 122 | $54,861 |
| DeKalb County | 11 | 54 | $76,648 |
| Grundy County | 5 | 31 | $36,677 |
Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a e-commerce brand first
An e-commerce brand should start with the work that repeats daily: customer support emails about shipping and returns, product descriptions, abandoned cart follow-up and review requests. AI can draft and sort those while you work on product and ads. Westward builds these systems for online brands, and a person approves what customers see.
What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago
Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.
Those hours cost you$139,200 a year
The share you would hand off$41,760 a year
Hours your team gets back1,440 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for e-commerce brands, one job each
- Get more customers for e-commerce brands
- Never miss a call for e-commerce brands
- Follow up automatically for e-commerce brands
- Booking and scheduling for e-commerce brands
- More reviews for e-commerce brands
- Marketing and content for e-commerce brands
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for e-commerce brands
- Cut admin and paperwork for e-commerce brands
- A dashboard that runs itself for e-commerce brands
E-commerce brands in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 5,015 | $74,597 | 2nd |
| New York | 5,108 | $72,106 | 1st |
| Miami | 2,353 | $54,027 | 3rd |
| Dallas | 1,401 | $51,338 | 5th |
| Houston | 1,019 | $48,627 | 10th |
| Atlanta | 1,331 | $44,732 | 6th |
| Washington | 715 | $75,943 | 17th |
| Philadelphia | 1,058 | $54,782 | 7th |
| Boston | 775 | $113,412 | 16th |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 454110 (Electronic shopping and mail-order houses), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.
Find the hours your store can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your e-commerce brand to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
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