8fig in Las Vegas: prosper show 2023

The 8fig team marked its third consecutive appearance at the Prosper Show in Las Vegas! It gathers veterans, experts, and companies in the eCommerce space to connect and share ideas about the future of the industry. This year’s gathering focused on the shifts on Amazon’s marketplace, the impact of growing interest rates and recession, and how sellers can keep ahead of the curve.

We set up our 8fig booth in a style that was inspired by the city of Austin, with astroturf, cornhole, and plenty of 8fig merch. Of course, we also showcased a wide variety of customer products from Glitch, Multitasky, Druthers, Volition Skate, OMG Cups, Tuned in Tokyo, CHOMP Chocolate, and Sardel.

The Prosper Show is always filled with innovators and trendsetters. We had a great time chatting and exchanging ideas with Zee, Airwallex, Getida, Perpetua, Boosst, Seller Process, DAVAN Strategic, Empire Flippers, Mayan, Wealth Assistants, and Quiet Light, all of whom are at the forefront of eCommerce innovation.

Here are some insights we gained from our time at the Prosper Show:

The Increasing Competitiveness on Amazon

Amazon continues to be at the vanguard of eCommerce selling, with its ever-expanding number of customers and services. Having access to this market is great for online stores, but you should be aware that as competition keeps growing, you risk finding yourself in oversaturated markets. It is for this reason that sellers need to focus on ways to stand out from the crowd to attract customers and hold on to their market share.

However, you can run your store perfectly and still face diminishing sales. Sometimes a product has simply come to the end of its life cycle and is no longer as desirable to consumers as it was before. Two obvious examples would be iPhone 6 car mounts or fidget spinners. To avoid betting on the wrong horse, eCommerce sellers should consistently do market research to understand what products are in vogue. This is also a good strategy for understanding whether the products you’re already selling might not be the best investment anymore.

JungleScout is a great service to analyze Amazon’s data and figure out what products are trending, as well as what market niches offer the least amount of competition. Maximizing the power of data can give you a major advantage and contribute to more sustainable business operations.

Our 8fig booth: Astroturf and cornhole on the left and a selection of some of our partners’ products on the right

Raised Fees on Amazon

Amazon has also raised store fees on its platform. One study found that the company now takes 50% of seller revenue, on average. This has made paying attention to profit margins and managing supply chains as efficiently as possible even more pivotal. Sellers need to run a tight ship to make sure that they remain profitable in the long term.

You might have noticed that most search results are dominated by sponsored listings nowadays. This means relying on organic traffic becomes less and less of an option. Amazon is pushing all of its sellers to run ads, which means knowing how to do so cost-effectively can be a major advantage. Partnering with a company like Perpetua can really help with this process and provide major insights.

One of the ways Amazon has raised sellers’ costs was by increasing storage fees. This means eCommerce businesses have to get better at managing their inventory or risk seeing bigger losses from inventory gathering dust in Amazon warehouses. One good way to address this issue is with a 3PL (third-party logistics provider), in addition to FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). This means lower storage expenses while the 3PL ships inventory to Amazon whenever your stock runs low. It’s a great strategy for optimizing your supply chain and cutting costs.

Sellers Have To Adapt

Online stores need to make sure that they are on top of their numbers and staying profitable. With all the new costs involved in eCommerce, it’s easy to lose sight of what your return on investment really is. Knowing these figures can help you decide what products to invest in, and which ones to drop. Our team talked to multiple sellers who found that Sellerboard is a great tool for tracking the profitability of your products.

ECommerce aggregators, which buy up smaller brands that sell online and use their technology and finances to grow them, have gone through a hard time. They had a lot less prominent brand presence this year, and with rising inflation and interest rates, money is not as cheap and free-flowing as it once was. After the Federal Reserve raised the cost of borrowing, investment, and business spending fell across the country. This has meant less funding in the world of eCommerce, forcing companies to find alternative revenue channels. In times of economic downturn, we recommend identifying your star products and doubling down on them instead of investing in less reliable options.