How powerful women are changing ecommerce

It’s no secret women are making great strides in the business world, despite the challenges and hurdles faced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With the current digital landscape offering an abundance of opportunity for individuals looking to bring their entrepreneurship to an ecommerce setting, women across the country are taking on the business world with optimism and passion. Leading and succeeding through new ecommerce practices, this vast sisterhood of women business owners are bringing massive change to what was once a male-dominated community.

Women-owned business growth

Our previous post brought you all things female entrepreneurship, covering everything from statistics regarding women-owned businesses to the ecommerce economy. In this post, we’re bringing you how women succeed in ecommerce and ways 3PL services can benefit your business as you grow!

Let’s run the numbers.

• There are 11.6 million women-owned businesses, employing nearly 9.4 million people and generating $1.7 billion in sales in the U.S. (American Express “The State of Women-Owned Businesses 2019” Report)
• The percentage of small businesses with women owners increased 27% from 2020 to 2021 (Small Business Trends Survey, 2021)
• According to Guidant Financial’s report, 31% of small businesses or franchises in the U.S. are women-owned. In 2020 alone, 17% of women launched their own businesses!
• According to the latest GEM data and male vs. female entrepreneurs statistics, there has been a rising trend in the female entrepreneurial rate over the last few years. The 2021 female entrepreneurial activity rate in the U.S. sat at 16.6% of the total female working-age population.

Advantages of women in ecommerce

Women entrepreneurs are jumping into creating and expanding their own businesses with the developing digital landscape. Taking on what was once a male-dominated field of business owners, women have now expanded their businesses through ecommerce, working to leave a social footprint while bringing their businesses to clients around the world. So what makes female entrepreneurs so successful in ecommerce? Consider the facts.

1. A diverse workforce is an ingenious workforce. Inevitably, men and women come from varying backgrounds and experiences that define their creativity and business expertise. Working in an environment with varying opinions guarantees that multiple perspectives are considered when collaborating. Every organization can benefit from a diverse workforce, guaranteeing gender, race, and culture differences are contributing to a creative and innovative community. According to recent research by Mckinsey, “Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.” 

2. Women excel at leadership soft skills.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise that women in the workforce have nearly perfected their soft skills as CEOs. These core abilities that define a person’s communication habits and interpersonal skills define the strength of character and overall business performance. These skills seem to be a key competitive advantage for women in business. According to a 2016 study published by Hay Group, it was found that women outperform men in 11 of 12 key emotional competencies. These competencies include empathy, emotional self-awareness, conflict management, teamwork and adaptability, all key to effective leadership in the workplace. 

3. Women offer consumer insight and immense economic power in the marketplace. It’s no shock that women contribute over $20 trillion in consumer spending every year, along with over 85% of all consumer purchases. Despite these drastic numbers, only 11% of creative directors in advertising are women. It only makes sense that women are more likely to tap into their immense market interest best. With a more diverse workforce offering both male and female perspectives across all positions, businesses tend to be more marketable AND more profitable when it comes to economic growth.

With great advantages come great opportunities! Whether working from home or out of a warehouse space, women in ecommerce have found the benefits of a flexible schedule critical to running a successful business as well. Work-life balance has never been easier! As the industry becomes more accessible, the opportunities become endless for women looking to expand their business into new spheres.

Saltbox members: Women entrepreneurs in ecommerce

Having the drive to create your vision, find your niche, and follow your dreams often dictates the long-term success of your business. But it’s not always as easy as simply taking that jump. At Saltbox, we strive to make the hardest parts of running an ecommerce business easy, and we’re honored to help drive accessibility for previously underserved populations. The majority of Saltbox Members are women-owned or led businesses, after all! Here are a few of their powerful stories. 

Imani Collective: Saltbox Dallas

Meet Saltbox Dallas member, Jenny Nuccio, owner of Imani Collective. After traveling to a small village in Kenya looking to help fund education projects for kids, Jenny noticed many families lived off of a single income and most mothers did not have job opportunities. During her visit, Jenny and sixteen women from the village joined in a mutual partnership to create Imani Collective, a leading ethical impact brand specializing in lifestyle goods.

When asked how she drives innovation in her business, Jenny explained, “Innovate is our 2022 word of the year. We love to be creative, create trends and be the forerunners in anything ethical and sustainable. Everyone in our company has a voice and we love to collectively create and make a beautiful impact, together. We say we are not just better together - we are our best.”

Diversity - from gender to culture, age and race - has been shown to foster creativity and innovation in business settings. In a workforce that is slowly being dominated by women, the opportunities are becoming endless as these innovators and rule-breakers take on new challenges in the ecommerce industry.

Box of Shadows: Saltbox Atlanta

But what happens when your company begins growing at an overwhelming rate? As any business owner will tell you, when the orders start coming in, they almost never stop. Fulfillment is a massive challenge many businesses struggle with. 

‍Saltbox Atlanta member Chatonia Underwood knows a thing or two about the hurdles of fulfillment when expanding your business. Founder of Box of Shadows, a spiritually eclectic subscription box service based out of Atlanta, Underwood explains, “I couldn’t enjoy my living space anymore because as soon as we finished fulfilling, the boxes came rolling back in and I had to tear my apartment up again.”

Many small businesses take the opportunity to expand through 3PL services when personal fulfillment gets too taxing. Take it from Chatonia, who explains how difficult fulfillment became in her own home. “That was one of the biggest struggles; having a work-life balance when you are doing fulfillment from home,” she says. “Working from home is cool, but fulfillment - it’s a whole other ball game! One thing I love about Saltbox is it is perfectly suited for transient energy - the perfect in and out.”

Empowerment and expansion with Saltbox

By making logistics infrastructure accessible and approachable for all, Saltbox is working hard to power the next generation of women entrepreneurs. We serve a diverse member base, 60% of whom are female-owned and led businesses across a wide range of industries, including the businesses mentioned above.

Saltbox takes the hassle out of logistics with accessible loading docks and our helpful staff who can manage your shipments and inventory for you. Plus, our flexible logistics services are designed to adapt to your business needs, whether you need help by the hour or prefer a dedicated team to handle your orders. Book a tour at one of our 12 locations across nine major cities in the U.S., including Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle.