A new report, Equitable Entrepreneurship: Empowering Women Through eCommerce released by eBay details how access to ecommerce opportunities on eBay have helped women, from small business owners to hard-working entrepreneurial individuals, deal with these economic and social challenges of the pandemic.
Notable findings include 69 percent of women surveyed for this report said the ability to sell on eBay was a benefit during the pandemic, and 73 percent cited the need to earn income for themselves or revenue for their businesses as top motivating factors for selling on eBay. For women who indicated they were new to selling on eBay or who increased their selling as a result of the pandemic, 82 percent said they did so because of job loss, reduction in income, illness, loss of childcare or some other hardship.
The report also reveals that women value the flexibility afforded by selling on the eBay marketplace. As evidence of this, 74 percent of the women surveyed said that the “ability to work from home” was a benefit that was important to them when selling on eBay. Additionally, more than half indicated that “being their own boss” was an important benefit of selling on eBay.
The report also spotlights many of the women behind these numbers, and they are located in cities and towns across America. Jessica Pate, from Cummings, Georgia, is the owner of MyKiddosCollegeFund and started selling clothes on eBay when she was in college to make extra money. As her family began to grow, Jessica wanted the flexibility of creating her own hours and schedule and has been selling full-time ever since. Her business has grown so much that she plans to build a new operating space in the coming months and is proud that it provides flexible employment not only for her, but for members of her community as well.
“I have always taken pride in the fact that I am a female small business owner, But as a mother, I worried how I would be able to run my business and take care of my kids who were now home from school due to COVID. eBay makes everything so easy; I didn’t miss a step in keeping my business afloat while being able to provide and care for my family.”
– Jessica Pate, Owner, MyKiddosCollegeFund
