Ben Kong joins “The State of E-commerce 2026 — LIVE” as a featured panelist

E-commerce margins are under pressure. AI is reshaping buyer behavior. Logistics costs remain unpredictable. And most brands are still making product decisions without manufacturing data.

That is the reality heading into 2026. And it is exactly why Linton Group Founder and CEO Ben Kong is joining a live roundtable of industry operators to break down what is actually happening across the e-commerce landscape — and what brands need to do about it.

The Event

BlueTuskr is hosting The State of E-commerce 2026 — LIVE, a virtual roundtable on March 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET. The format is direct: no slides, no sales pitches, no scripted presentations. Just operators and specialists sharing what they are seeing across thousands of brands, millions in ad spend, and complex supply chains.

The session is hosted by Andrew Maff, Founder and CEO of BlueTuskr, and features leaders across sourcing, manufacturing, marketplace strategy, logistics, pricing, consumer behavior, and analytics.

Panelists include:

• Ben Kong — Founder/CEO, Linton Group
• Greg Potts — Sr. Director of Partnerships, Levanta
• Jason Hanan — Co-Founder, AZ Seller Kit
• David Milstein — Co-Founder/COO, SellCord
• Peter-Paul Maan — Consumer Behavior Specialist, Intellivy
• Orkun Duzgun — Strategic Account Manager, BidX
• Jordan Schanzer — Founder, Flashpricer
• Ephraim Ausch — CLO, Tactical Logistic Solutions
• Meher Patel — Founder, Hector
• Scott Needham — Founder/CEO, SmartScout
• Colleen Quattlebaum — Director of Marketing, ConnectBooks

The event is sponsored by Amazon.

Why Linton is at this Table

Most conversations about e-commerce focus on the storefront — ads, listings, pricing, conversion. That matters. But the product itself is where margin is made or lost.

Linton operates at the manufacturing layer. We work directly with factories across Asia and Africa, managing product development, cost optimization, and production execution for e-commerce brands. With over 1,200 products delivered, 700+ vetted factories, and an average 22.6% reduction in cost of goods sold, we see the supply chain from a vantage point most marketing-focused operators do not.

That is the perspective Ben Kong brings to this panel.

When ad costs rise and marketplace fees compress margin, the lever most brands overlook is unit economics. What does it cost to produce the product? Where is there waste in tooling, materials, or MOQ structures? What happens when you run Design for Manufacturing (DFM) analysis before committing to production?

These are the questions Linton answers every day. And they are increasingly central to whether an e-commerce brand can sustain growth or get squeezed out.

What the Panel will Cover

The roundtable is structured around the forces reshaping digital commerce right now:

• What is working in customer acquisition — and what is falling off
• How AI is changing search behavior, buying patterns, and operational workflows
• The future of Amazon and retail media networks
• Margin, inventory, and logistics strategies that are holding up under pressure
• The biggest risks and opportunities heading into the second half of 2026

For Linton, the throughline is clear. Brands that treat manufacturing as a strategic function, not a back-office task, are the ones building durable margin. That applies whether you are launching a new product, renegotiating factory terms, or re-engineering an existing SKU to improve unit economics.

Register Now

The session is designed for active e-commerce brands and operators. If you are building physical products and selling online, this is a conversation worth joining.

Register for The State of E-commerce 2026 — LIVE

Date: March 26, 2026 Time: 1:00 PM ET Format: Live virtual roundtable Cost: Free