ESSENCE has launched WeLoveUs.shop as its latest commerce play, positioning the platform as a direct response to the systemic barriers that continue to limit Black women-led businesses in traditional retail. Developed and powered by Essence Communications, Inc.—the parent company of ESSENCE magazine—the community commerce platform debuted Dec. 3 with more than 100 Black-owned brands and roughly 1,000 products spanning beauty, wellness, home, lifestyle and gifting. The move signals a deeper push by the media company to translate cultural influence into durable retail infrastructure at a time when many small Black-owned businesses are under financial strain.
Unlike short-term “buy Black” campaigns, WeLoveUs.shop is designed to tackle structural challenges that have long constrained Black women founders, including delayed payment cycles, limited access to capital and a lack of scalable retail pathways. The platform offers bi-weekly payouts, centralized customer service and real-time inventory syncing through Shopify Collective—features aimed at stabilizing cash flow and reducing operational friction for small brands.
“Black women are building businesses in the midst of economic uncertainty, often without access to the retail infrastructure their peers rely on,” said Michele Ghee, chief content officer at ESSENCE Communications Inc., in a statement announcing the launch. “This platform was designed to offer stability and a real pathway to scale in a moment where that support is needed most.”
WeLoveUs.shop operates on a 30%–35% commission model, a higher cut than mass marketplaces such as Amazon, which typically take 8%–15% depending on category. ESSENCE argues the comparison is incomplete. In exchange for the commission, brands gain access to the company’s full media ecosystem, including editorial exposure, social promotion, newsletters and PR support—assets that founders often struggle to secure independently. For many participating brands, the faster bi-weekly payouts are a significant departure from wholesale or consignment arrangements that can delay payments for 90 to 120 days.
Company leaders describe WeLoveUs.shop as an economic engine rather than a branded storefront—one intended to redirect dollars, ownership and leverage toward Black women entrepreneurs who have historically been marginalized by mainstream retail systems. Additional curated collections tied to key cultural and shopping moments are planned, underscoring ESSENCE Communications’ intention to make the platform a sustained business strategy, not a limited-time initiative.
In a retail landscape where support for Black-owned businesses often stops at visibility, ESSENCE Communications Inc. is betting that control over commerce—and faster access to capital—will prove far more consequential.