LAS VEGAS – The holiday shopping season is over and the new year is here. Possibilities, opportunities, and lessons learned all hang in the air. Looking back is a good way to look forward because it provides clues about future priorities—plus it’s just really interesting. Prosper Pathway spoke with a lot of experts in 2025 and here are some of the best quotes from an eventful year.
#14
“Many brands believe that either their brand won’t scale off marketplaces like Amazon, or that it simply isn’t worth the trouble. The facts are that while Amazon can often be an amazing revenue driver, the profits are much lower, and you have little to no control over the growth of your own brand.” — Andrew Maffettone, founder and CEO, BlueTuskr, West Chester, Pa.
— From the Jan. 9, 2025 Prosper Pathway — see full conversation HERE
#13
“Losing the de minimis exemption is going to put private-label sellers and drop-shippers who built businesses on Chinese imports at a major disadvantage. The potential silver lining for U.S.-based brands is that international sellers are almost certainly going to lose the pricing edge. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Amazon and Walmart’s marketplaces become more concentrated as a result. Smart sellers will look at diversifying supply sources and exploring near-shoring options as we all brace for impact.” — Shannon Curley, director of Marketing, Carbon6 Technologies, Toronto, Ontario — From the Feb. 7, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full conversation HERE
#12
“Walmart and TikTok Shops are working hard to lure sellers. Both are investing heavily in their own versions of FBA. Both are advertising and marketing like crazy to draw in buyers. We are already seeing a strong uptick in clients who have diversified by adding these platforms alongside their Amazon businesses. This provides some much-needed diversification, as well as opportunities for brands to proactively market to new audiences.” — Lesley Hensell is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, Red Bank, N.J. — From the Feb. 7, 2025 Prosper Pathway — see full article HERE
#11
“We spoke at a great educational session and everyone was so interactive. It was amazing. Everyone who went to our speaking session also stopped by our booth. Day one at Prosper Show was fabulous and we could barely keep up. It’s been a great show and we are very happy. We will be back next year at the Wynn for Prosper Show 2026.” — Christie Rugh, SkyPostal, Miami, Fla.
— From the April 4, 2025 Prosper Pathway — see full show quote wrap-up HERE
#10
“For brands, video content has gone from ‘nice-to-have’ to non-negotiable. Five years ago, having a single polished product video might set your brand apart. Today, if you don’t have optimized, high-converting videos at every touchpoint—on your Amazon listings, in your sponsored brands ads, on social media, and in your retargeting campaigns—your content will not have nearly the same impact.” — Rob Wiltsey, founder and CEO of Pasadena, Calif.-based VideoFresh.
— From the July 11, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full article HERE.
#9
“This is my first Prosper Show and it’s been great and more successful than I thought it would be. We are talking with vendors who are looking to re-scale—specifically with Walmart. We’ve made great connections with people from all over the country—even internationally. Plus there is a lot of networking with the other exhibitors.” — Zoe Kurupas, SellCord, Los Angeles
— From the March 31 Prosper Pathway — see full show quote wrap-up HERE
#8
“The misconception among sellers is that if they send out their samples to a few influencers, all of a sudden those influencers are going to drive all this great traffic—and generate all these great sales. However, not all influencers are created equal, which is why it’s really important to find the best ones for your brand. When you’re able to do that, you really can unleash the power. Remember you don’t need a humongous influencer to represent your brand. It doesn’t have to be a celebrity. It can very much be a smaller influencer who’s interested in in the products that you have to sell—with a very engaged audience.” — Kathleen Kobel is an entrepreneur, Amazon influencer, and consultant — From the June 27, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full article HERE.
#7
“I’m definitely not against FBA. We embrace it wholeheartedly and we use FBA extensively. However, the function of our warehouse is really as preparation centers for FBA. We prefer to receive and prep the merchandise ourselves.” — Charles Chakkalo is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based entrepreneur
— From the June 13, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full show quote wrap-up HERE
#6
“The ideal logistics model is designed to reduce operational friction by deeply aligning with the distinct needs of each channel. This model streamlines everything from inbound Amazon shipping—leveraging advanced forecasting and a deep fulfillment center (FC) network—to creating effortless variety packs for TikTok Shop DTC customers.” — Rob Hahn, chief operations officer at Pattern. — From the May 30, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full article HERE
#5
“We’re going to see a lot more AI and predictive analytics—tools that not only analyze past trends but also predict future demand based on things like consumer behavior shifts, seasonality, or even weather patterns. Being able to see the consumer journey across channels and competition will allow brands to make smarter and faster decisions. The key will be to continue to allow some human input to the decisions. Again, do not overlook your gut and experience.” — Wendi Mathis Held, senior vice president of Strategic Accounts, Channel Key. — From the May 9, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full show quote wrap-up HERE
#4
“There was plenty of good news to go around for this Cyber Five—Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Not only did fears of lower buying trends turn out to be unfounded (given the $14 billion on Cyber Monday, $44 billion total for the five day stretch) but also there was more good news. We heard far fewer complaints of AI listing takedowns or last-minute competitor attacks killing off big revenue for the brands we work with. Clearly, brand defense strategies are working, and abuse reporting gets problems fixed quicker than last year. This all bodes well for 2026.” — Chris McCabe, founder, ecommerceChris
— From the Dec. 12, 2025 issue of Prosper Pathway – see full article HERE
#3
“There is always going to be opportunity, and that’s because consumer behavior changes over time. We’re seeing that in drinkware where there’s new brands that pop up, even though it’s ultra-competitive. You need to have an idea of what is the area of a market that your brand is going to fill. What is your role in that market? For us, it’s been pushing the fashion component. For other brands, it’s other things, but there needs to be a reason why customers are going to choose your products—why you’re going to have an advantage over them.” — Bryan Porter (pictured right), co-founder of Simple Modern
— From the March 31 Prosper Keynote Wrap-up — see full article HERE
#2
“With Amazon exiting FBA prep, it dumps the entire prep responsibility back onto sellers. Every bubble wrap bottle, every polybag, every shrink wrap two pack, every compliance requirement will now be the responsibility of the seller—or their liability. Sellers that are not built for that level of operational rigor and scale will need a partner.” — Lou Casados, head of Sales at ZonPrep — From the Oct. 1 2025 Prosper Pathway – see full article HERE
#1
“As an Amazon seller, the new tariffs basically eliminate all profit from the China supply chain. We’re not talking about a small hit—it’s a full margin wipeout. What’s frustrating is there doesn’t seem to be a clear ask or strategy. It’s not a negotiation; it’s just branding China as the enemy without any defined path forward. If the goal is to boost U.S. manufacturing or diversify supply chains, then sellers like me need support—tax credits, incentives, faster FDA or customs processes for alternative sourcing regions. Right now, it’s all stick, no carrot.” — Dakota Morse, CEO and founder of the Calif-based ALT Group, Venice Beach, Calif. — From the April 25, 2025 Prosper Pathway – see more quotes HERE