November 21, 2022 Industry news
The past few months have been packed with face-to-face events and October was no exception.
On Thursday 20 October, the GS1 UK marketplaces team attended AmafestUK 2022 – a conference designed to help anyone trading, or thinking of trading, on Amazon grow their business, both at home and overseas.
Held at Jurys Inn on Brighton Waterfront, the dreary weather outside presented a stark contrast to the energy and passion of the speakers within.
Having taken a couple of years’ break, it was fantastic to see the event return in full force, with a great line up of speakers and partners, and we were thrilled to offer our support by hosting the afternoon session.
Adam Jewell and Michael McNamar, Shipstation
The day kicked off with some fascinating insights into what to expect and how to thrive in the peak season of 2022 from Shipstation’s Adam Jewell and Michael McNamara. The pair shared their tips and predictions surrounding fulfilment and trends along with some valuable advice for adapting to rising prices, supply chain disruption and falling consumer confidence amidst the cost-of-living crisis.
We then heard from Mark Wang, data strategist at Perpetua, who explored how leveraging editorials and influencers can help you beat the competition to grow your organic rank, increase sales and win coveted search results placements.
Next up was Asha Bhalsod, a seasoned commercial strategist and ex-Amazonian who weighed up the pros and cons of in-house vs agency management as well as when and how to outsource effectively.
She was followed by strategy consultant Martin Heubel who shared practical advice for improving your Amazon Vendor margin – guiding us through Selection, Pricing, and Processes.
Christopher Shelton, SealSkinz
Christopher Shelton, marketplace manager at SealSkinz, shared his experience using Vendor Central, providing some great insights on how to use reports, Amazon Marketing Services and Amazon Vendor Services to drive growth.
Ecomcy’s Vincenzo Toscano, an expert in optimising and scaling brands, then described how Amazon will be joining the likes of TikTok Shop in providing vendors with the ability to live stream product showcases. While this is still being tested in the United States, it'll soon make its way to Europe. According to Vincenzo, fast movers and early adopters will have a clear advantage so it’s certainly worth taking the time to check out how this is working on amazon.com.
The final session of the morning saw Carina McLeod of eCommerce Nurse describe best practices for expanding overseas in a session that was of particular value for those looking to break into the lucrative markets of Europe and North America. Her top tip was for businesses to carefully localise their approach to ensure they deliver the right message in the right way to the right audience.
Lorna Leaver, GS1 UK
Following lunch, the afternoon kicked off with a panel discussion by Dragonflip. This lively discussion gave an excellent overview of how to sell your business, what brokers look for and how they assess value.
One key takeaway from moderator Timo Bock was to never underestimate the importance of correctly assigning GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) to your products. He highlighted that if you’re using just one prefix for multiple brands and then decide to sell just one of them, the numbers cannot be assigned to the new owner. Only an entire prefix can be acquired by any new owners.
Chris King from Packshot then covered all things imagery. ‘Keep optimising’ was the core message of this session. Taking one set of good images is not enough. Just like your keywords and product descriptions, images need to be updated to ensure maximum impact. Chris talked a lot about finding the right branding for lifestyle images, and how infographics (with an on-brand tone of voice) can be used to communicate important product information that buyers may not read in your listing.
Matt Anderson, Market AMP
Matt Anderson, Market AMP, provided his top ten tips on maximising your marketing budget, before Dan Saunders, Retail eCommerce manager at Stanley Black and Decker, revealed some useful hacks for beating Amazon’s algorithms using Google.
Zip Us In founder Kate Bell, a ‘mumpreneur’ who, after discovering that the average woman will change dress sizes 31 times throughout her life, filled a gap in the market with her “alternity” range. She described how she has since built a successful business selling clothes that will still fit no matter where you are in life, and detailed her journey from initial concept to selling success.
The final session of the day, ‘How to win on Amazon in a recession’ from Heloise Finch, CEO of Sell Beyond, was a great way to wrap things up. Eliose gave an excellent overview of current market challenges and how to adapt and ensure your business continues to thrive, leaving attendees with an inspiring message of optimism.
If you missed the event, the speaker slides can be found here.
It’s back next year, same time, same venue. So, put it in your diary and get your tickets today.
