Data, profitability and finding your 'blue ocean': what we learned at Prosper '24
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It’s one of our favourite events of the year.
And this year the Prosper Show in Las Vegas was more impressive than ever, with more visitors and exhibitors than ever, and more marketplaces represented.
The e-Comas team, including our founder Jérôme de Guigné, who is on Prosper’s Advisory Council, were at the show to see first-hand how this independent show is driving the eCommerce industry forwards.
Here are our insights.
Data is the key
Data was the big topic this year – specifically, using it to drive profitability, not just top-line growth.
More sellers are unlocking their reams of consumer data using Amazon Marketing Cloud, giving them actionable insights to understand their audience better than ever and streamline their ads spend.
The number of sessions at the show about AMC was much higher this year, as sellers’ focus shifts from ACoS, TACoS and RoAS as the main metrics for growth on Amazon, to better understanding of multi-touch attribution and different parts of the marketing funnel to build your brand (more on that from Jeff Cohen here).
After all, it’s good to have a strong foundational knowledge of AMC even if your agency is taking care of it for you (as we do at e-Comas!).
The show’s growing
Walmart, TikTok and Shein were all very present on the show – giving even more sense of Prosper becoming THE show for marketplaces.
You can also see how big the show’s becoming from the number of visitors. This was the largest show in its nine-year history, with over 50% growth in the number of sellers in attendance.
Not only that, but it’s noticeable that the sellers in attendance are becoming more experienced. Jeff Cohen reports that 80% of the sellers who attended his session had been selling on Amazon for more than five years.
He says: “These are fairly sophisticated, well educated sellers who are looking for the newest trends and the newest ways to be doing things” - thus the enhanced focus on profitability, ads management, and how to expand internationally at Prosper this year.
Finding a blue ocean
Dude Wipes’ presentation
One of the most inspiring keynotes we saw was from Dude Wipes, a US moist toilet paper brand that uses creativity, boldness, humour and authenticity in its marketing, to powerful effect.
Their keynote went into the rarity and joy of finding a ‘blue ocean’, which is an open niche in the market to fill. With little competition you have a better chance to establish your brand.
They also talked about the need to accept and even welcome haters of your brand. Strong feelings either way can be used in marketing and to provoke an emotional response from potential customers.
Going international
Anna Nordlander and Anna-Maria Silinger gave a fantastic keynote on the topic of going international on Amazon.
The key takeaways?:
- Be clear about why you want to expand, where and how you’ll do it
- Make sure you protect your brand and product names, in all countries – it’s not a cost worth cutting
- Don’t underestimate the complexity of taxes
- Adapt your content for each local market
- Globalisation has high potential but needs work and focus.
The two Annas on global expansion
Prosper evolves
Jérôme de Guigné says: “As a member of the Advisory Council, I’m super proud of the evolutions to the Prosper Show and very thankful to the organisers (Christine Cokran and team).
“At the round tables I participated in, I was amazed by the level of knowledge of the sellers and the different strategies that the groups came up with. I highly recommend people join these.
“I can’t wait to work with the show to bring more European-relevant and globalisation content, as these are our favourite topics.
“This is my first year on the council and I couldn’t be happier. Big shout out to the other members – they’re all very inspiring. Watch this space as we are working on a few cool initiatives I can’t wait to talk about.
“Looking forward to Prosper+ in NYC in August!”