Sell + Scale summit 2022: growth insights from eCommerce experts

The 8fig team had a blast at the 2022 Sell + Scale Summit in sunny Las Vegas. The three-day eCommerce conference hosted by Helium 10 was jam-packed with fascinating keynote speeches, breakout sessions, educational workshops, networking opportunities, and even an exclusive performance by Nelly.

8fig was proud to be a keynote sponsor of the event. Our very own VP of Marketing and Growth, Avishai Sam Bitton, shared wisdom about 8fig on stage alongside head keynote speaker, serial entrepreneur and CEO of VaynerMedia, Gary Vaynerchuk.

We also hosted a happy hour with our friends from Incrementum Digital and Perpetua, enjoyed Zumba classes led by Bradley Sutton of Helium 10, and sipped coffee from a legendary espresso bar.

In between all of the exciting events, we spent a lot of time chatting with eCommerce sellers. Our team listened to what they had to say and gathered valuable insights. We made sure to take careful notes so we could share what we learned. Here are four insights from our colleagues at the Sell + Scale Summit that are sure to help eCommerce sellers at any stage of their growth.

Insights from Sell + Scale

1. Walmart is Making Waves in the ECommerce Space

When we talk about the most profitable eCommerce platforms, we often jump straight to Amazon and Shopify, ignoring most other marketplaces. However, Walmart Marketplace is popping up on a lot of peoples’ radar. So much so that a lot of sellers have started referring to Walmart as “Amazon, but 10 years ago”.

Walmart has fewer rules and regulations for sellers than Amazon, so it’s more similar to how Amazon operated around a decade ago. In addition, Walmart is a lot less competitive than cutthroat Amazon. That being said, it still has around 120 million unique visitors every month, giving sellers plenty of traffic and sales opportunities.

Loyal Walmart shoppers flock to Walmart Marketplace when looking to make online purchases. This is particularly true when it comes to consumable goods and groceries. While niche products aren’t selling so well yet, remember that Walmart is a growing market. It’s a good time to get ahead and position yourself at the top in any category.

There are also some unique benefits of selling on Walmart. Lower cost-per-click advertising means you get more for your money than on Amazon. Another big advantage is that when you advertise with Walmart, your product shows up in Google Shopping results, as well as organic Google results. This gives you a lot of exposure for a lower cost.

If you do decide to expand your business to Walmart, make sure to follow their guidelines. Sellers on Walmart Marketplace should optimize their listings, paying close attention to Walmart’s suggestions and requirements. Walmart wants each listing to be written a particular way, prioritizing customer experience. Therefore, don’t just copy and paste your Amazon listing – it probably won’t have much success.

2. ECommerce Communities Are Invaluable Resources for Sellers

One of the most common pieces of advice we got from eCommerce sellers at Sell + Scale was to join eCommerce communities. Online selling is often an independent endeavor, which can become isolating at times. Many smaller brands run a one-person show or have a crew of just two or three employees. It can be hard to network and find a sense of camaraderie in such an environment.

Joining eCommerce communities is a great solution to this dilemma. Not only do sellers get to join a group of people who share their interests, they also receive tips, advice, support, and guidance from people who are going through similar experiences. This is invaluable for any eCommerce business, from those just starting out to larger enterprises.

Are you looking for an eCommerce community to join? Here are a few recommendations:

• Ecom Brand Builder offers sellers a number of features to help them grow their businesses. Community spaces give sellers a platform to network with other members. Weekly mastermind calls help brands set goals and build strategies for growth. There are also technical training sessions, a resource vault, business focus spaces, and more.
• Seller Systems provides eCommerce sellers with online courses, tools, and resources to help them succeed. You can sign up for masterclasses led by various eCommerce experts and join the Inner Circle, a community which gives you access to exclusive software and tools as well as guidance from advanced sellers.
• Top Dog is a coaching community founded by Amazon expert Tomer Rabinovich. The Top Dog Mastermind program is a four-month program in which you, and a few other sellers at your level, work with Tomer to grow your business. Top Dog also offers one-on-one coaching and educational resources.
• Titan Network is a community of over 1,000 Amazon sellers created by a group of highly successful Amazon experts. It’s a tight-knit network that provides members with training and mentoring opportunities, tools and resources for growth, strategies and advice, and more.

3. User-Generated Content is King

User-generated content (UGC) can go a long way in raising brand awareness, promoting your product, and increasing sales. With the growing popularity of TikTok, which favors a raw and real style, social media users are looking for content that appears authentic. While many brands continue to promote their own content on social media, consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view UGC as authentic compared with branded content. This means they’re more likely to engage with, share, and trust content created by users.

Getting started with UGC doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. Unboxing photos and videos, for example, are quite popular and easy to create. This type of content gives consumers an idea of the real experience the brand provides, which can drive traffic and increase sales.

“When you’re looking for something real and authentic, you don’t really go to the brand page – you go to the tagged photos,” Cassandra Craven, Director of Social Media & Influencer Relationships at Helium 10, reminded us.

A great way to create UGC is to encourage your customers to take a photo or video of their unboxing experience, write a review, and tag your brand. It’s a cost effective and powerful marketing strategy that often works much better than regular branded content.

4. Build Your Brand Outside of Amazon, Too

Amazon seems to offer online sellers everything, from a marketplace to fulfillment services to advertising solutions. But relying on Amazon for all of your needs isn’t the best strategy for growth. In order to truly maximize their success, eCommerce sellers should build their brand outside of Amazon, even if they exclusively sell on Amazon.

“I think one big shift that I’m seeing this year specifically… is not relying on [Amazon] advertising anymore,” Brian Zabierek, Amazon coach from The Zab Twins and Ecom Brand Builder, told us.

While Amazon advertising and pay-per-click is indeed an integral part of your Amazon selling strategy, more and more traffic is coming from external advertising and bringing visitors from off of Amazon. Using techniques like influencer and social media marketing as well as other types of external advertising grows your intellectual property, an important part of building your brand. The work you do off of Amazon can actually help your sales on Amazon, too.

According to Brian, “Be a brand, and build intellectual property while doing that. I think the best way to do that is influencers, external marketing, and not just relying on direct Amazon advertising.”

Putting the above insights into practice can help you grow your eCommerce business. Sometimes, however, you simply need more working capital to order inventory, increase your marketing spend, and expand your brand. If that sounds like you, 8fig can help.

8fig is a growth platform, designed to help eCommerce brands reach their goals. Through a combination of cash flow based funding, planning and mapping tools, analytics, and support, 8fig helps online sellers take their businesses to the next level of growth. Sign up for an 8fig Growth Plan today and see how much you can sell.