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You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
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Amazon has set itself as an undisputed leader in the ecommerce space with millions of products sold at low prices.
Did you know that more than 80% of Amazon's sales come from the Amazon Buy Box?
If Amazon FBA sellers must increase Amazon sales, understanding how to win the Amazon Buy Box is pivotal.
This ePlaybooks article will tell you how the Amazon Buy Box works as well as some tips for Amazon Buy Box success.
The Amazon Buy Box is a critical component of the Amazon marketplace, located on the right side of a product page. It allows customers to easily add products to their cart or purchase them outright, marking the beginning of the checkout process.
The Amazon Buy Box consists of the price of the product, shipping details, seller and fulfillment method, and “Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons. On a desktop, you will find the Amazon Buy Box on the right side of the screen. On a mobile device, you will find it below the product image and product information.
You will find that some products on Amazon have multiple sellers. In this scenario, these sellers will be competing for the Amazon Buy Box. So, Amazon will rotate the Buy Box between or among the sellers.
Sellers compete for the Buy Box based on several criteria which we will look at shortly. Winning the Amazon Buy Box is crucial, as it can directly impact your sales and profitability.
The Amazon Buy Box operates as a dynamic feature designed to enable quick and easy purchases for customers. Unlike other ecommerce platforms where a single seller occupies the primary purchase button, Amazon's Buy Box is shared among multiple top sellers for the same product, allowing customers to compare offers and choose the most suitable one.
Amazon uses an algorithm to determine which seller(s) will occupy the Buy Box. This algorithm considers several factors, including price, seller performance metrics (like order defect rate, cancellation rate, and late shipment rate), and customer reviews.
The allocation of the Buy Box is dynamic and subject to change. Even after you secure the Amazon Buy Box, you must continuously strive to maintain your position due to the competitive nature of the algorithm.
The Amazon Buy Box enables purchase and drives sales, making it an important component both for Amazon sellers and customers. Here are a few reasons why the Amazon Buy Box is essential:
Becoming eligible for the Amazon Buy Box involves meeting several criteria set by Amazon. Here are the key factors you should consider if you want to secure the Amazon Buy Box, double up sales and increase profits:
Winning the Amazon Buy Box could be a bit more complex in practice. However, you can increase your chances of being awarded the most coveted spot on Amazon by employing a few Amazon FBA strategies.
Here are a few Buy Box optimization techniques to help you win the Buy Box:
To win the Buy Box, you need to first be eligible. As we've mentioned earlier, Amazon considers several factors for eligibility.
Some of which include having a professional seller account, your selling metrics, and having available inventory.
To check your eligibility status:
To drastically increase your chances of winning the Buy Box, consider using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Here's why.
For Amazon FBA sellers, Amazon handles everything from packing, shipping, and customer service. Ultimately, you can maintain perfect scores for Shipping Time and On-Time Delivery Rate. You also qualify to sell to Amazon Prime customers and offer fast shipping.
You can still win the Buy Box with FBM and SFP. However, it may be difficult. Sellers need to have fantastic seller metrics among other factors to qualify to win the Buy Box.
Every customer loves to get quality products at the most affordable prices and Amazon makes this a priority. If you are competing to win the Buy Box, you simply cannot ignore pricing.
The lower the prices of your product, the higher your chances of winning the Buy Box. However, the golden rule is to find the perfect balance between maintaining low prices while keeping your business profitable.
You can employ various pricing strategies for improving Amazon Buy Box performance. We will go through these pricing strategies in detail shortly.
Amazon will look at your shipping performance based on your projected shipping time and actual shipping time.
Amazon FBA sellers have a great advantage here as Amazon handles the shipping.
In general, Amazon evaluates shipping based on the following time frames:
To stay on top of your game, remember that your customers want free and fast shipping. You want to ensure customer orders get to them at the fastest possible time.
Every seller has a rating. Amazon uses the 0-100 rating system to rate Amazon sellers. Amazon Seller ratings are based on several factors including:
Amazon monitors each of these metrics and favors sellers with a high seller rating. As an Amazon seller, it is important to keep an eye on these metrics and ensure you stay on top of your game.
Amazon sellers are constantly optimizing their prices to gain a competitive advantage. For some sellers, only a few cents can make all the difference.
Here are three main pricing strategies for optimizing your prices on Amazon:
Manual repricing is a strategy that involves manually setting your prices by looking at competitors’ products and adjusting SKUs. You can do this through your Amazon Seller Central account or third-party platforms. This method gives you control over your prices. However, it can be an impossible task if you have a large portfolio.
Manual repricing works best for sellers who sell few products, make their own products, or do not have much competition.
Rule-based repricing is one of the most widely used pricing strategies. It is common with automatic repricing tools and involves setting your own parameters.
With this strategy, you can change prices while ensuring you maintain a good profit margin. You can set parameters to ensure your profit margin never drops below 10%. You can also set conditions where your prices drop below the lowest-priced competitor.
To get the most out of the rule-based repricing strategy, ensure they are set to meet your business needs.
One disadvantage of rule-based repricing is that it can lead to price wars between sellers, affecting overall profitability.
Algorithmic repricing tools use machine learning to come up with their own set of rules to help you win the Buy Box and maximize profitability.
These tools take into account several other factors apart from price to find the perfect spot between winning the Buy box and maintaining profitability.
If you have a large portfolio, the Algorithmic repricing strategy may work best for your business. However, algorithmic repricing tools can be expensive.
A Suppressed Buy Box on Amazon is when the "Add to Cart" and "Buy Now" buttons disappear from a product listing, replaced by a "See All Buying Options" link.
This happens when Amazon determines that none of the sellers meet its criteria for winning the Buy Box, typically due to factors such as uncompetitive pricing, lack of sales history, decline in account health metrics, violation of price parity across channels, low sales volume, and so on.
So, when customers click on “See All Buying Options”, they are taken to a webpage with offers sorted from the lowest to the highest prices. Amazon does this to encourage customers to consider all available options to pick the best possible deal.
Several myths surround the Amazon Buy Box, leading to confusion among sellers about how to effectively compete for it. Read on as we debunk some of these myths, so you can secure the Amazon Buy Box and increase Amazon sales.
Securing the Buy Box does not solely depend on price. Amazon's algorithm considers several factors including price competitiveness, seller rating, shipping speed, order defect rate, product availability, and other factors.
Some people believe that the Amazon Buy Box is owned or controlled. Well, this is far from the truth. The Amazon Buy Box is very fluid and cannot be permanently owned or controlled. Its allocation changes frequently and unpredictably, reflecting Amazon's continuous efforts to optimize customer experience and maintain competition.
This is a common myth among Amazon sellers. Despite following best practices, the reality is that you may not win the Buy Box due to the dynamic nature of Amazon's algorithms and the presence of other competitive offers. Sometimes, the offer in the Buy Box may not necessarily be better than others. Random right? Well, Amazon incorporates some randomness to ensure fairness and prevent manipulation.
The Buy Box percentage tells you how many times your listed item shows up in the Amazon Buy Box compared to the total page views.
For example, if you have 10,000 page views for your products and your product appears in the Buy Box 500 times, your Buy Box percentage would be 5%.
Theoretically, if four sellers are selling a particular product with similar performance metrics and pricing, they should have a Buy Box percentage of 25%.
While price is not the only factor Amazon considers for selecting an Amazon Buy Box winner, it is one of the most important factors you need to consider. Here are strategies you can employ to help you win the Amazon Buy Box.
See also: What Sellers Should Know About Amazon Pricing Strategies
With the majority of sales coming through the Amazon Buy Box, winning the magic Buy Box can increase Amazon sales and revenue. To win the Buy Box, ensure you meet all eligibility requirements and maintain high performance on Amazon.
At ePlaybooks, we guide our clients with proven strategies and insights to help improve their chances of consistently winning the Buy Box and maximizing their Amazon success.
To win the Buy Box, you need to meet Amazon’s eligibility requirements and maintain strong performance metrics such as competitive pricing, fast shipping, and great customer service.
Amazon uses its algorithm that considers factors like price, fulfillment method, seller performance, shipping speed, and inventory levels. Sellers who perform best across these areas are more likely to secure the Buy Box.
You can increase sales on Amazon by optimizing your product listings, running Amazon ads, leveraging reviews, driving external traffic (social media, blogs, etc), offering competitive pricing, and using fulfillment by Amazon for your orders.
Yes. Many sellers make $1,000 or more each month, but it depends on factors such as product selection, pricing strategy, marketing, and inventory management.
You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
Call Us Now