Amazon is undoubtedly the biggest ecommerce marketplace, offering lucrative opportunities to online retailers and business owners. But did you know that over 80% of its sales happen through the Amazon Buy Box? Well, the majority of Amazon sales happen through Amazon’s Buy Box, generating billions of dollars every year.

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As an Amazon seller, you could miss out on massive sales opportunities if you're not winning the Amazon Buy Box.  

Whether you want to secure the Amazon Buy Box for the first time or more times, read on as we go through all you need to know about how to win the Amazon Buy Box to increase your sales and profits. 

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What is the Amazon Buy Box?

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.  

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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. 

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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. 

How does the Amazon Buy Box work? 

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.

Why is the Amazon Buy Box important? 

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: 

• Increased sales: One of the most important reasons you should secure the Amazon Buy Box is to increase sales. Winning the Buy Box means that when customers click on the "Add to Cart" button, your product listing is the one added. This significantly increases the likelihood of making a sale, as most customers will use this button rather than browsing alternative sellers.
• Improved visibility: Apart from increased sales, you will find the Amazon Buy Box prominently displayed on the product page, which means your listing gains more visibility compared to those of other Amazon sellers. This can lead to higher click-through rates and, consequently, more sales.
• Buyer trust: If you win the Buy Box, it will show customers that Amazon considers you a reliable and trustworthy seller, which can enhance your reputation and encourage more purchases.
• Efficient advertising: If you are using Amazon’s PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, securing the Buy Box ensures that the traffic driven to your product page via ads is more likely to convert to your sales. If you do not win the Amazon Buy Box, your advertising spend might benefit your competitors instead.

How to become eligible for the Amazon Buy Box

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: 

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1. Professional Seller account: You must have a Professional Amazon seller account to be eligible for the Buy Box. So, if you are on the Individual selling plan, you will need to upgrade to qualify.

1. Product availability: If you don’t have inventory, you will likely lose the Buy Box to your competitors. Your products need to be in stock. Amazon prioritizes listings with sufficient inventory to meet customer demand.
2. Competitive pricing: This includes both the item price and shipping costs. Offering competitive pricing relative to other sellers can improve your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box.
3. Fulfillment method:some text
   • Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Using FBA can significantly enhance your chances of winning the Buy Box because Amazon handles storage, shipping, and customer service, which generally leads to better fulfillment metrics.
   • Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP): FBM sellers who meet Amazon’s high fulfillment standards and ship directly to Prime customers can also benefit.
   • Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN): If you decide to fulfill orders yourself, you must maintain excellent shipping performance and customer service to compete for the Amazon Buy Box.
4. Shipping time: The amount of time it takes for a seller to ship an order to their customer is known as shipping time. This can have a high impact on winning the Amazon Buy Box. Faster shipping times can boost your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box. Amazon prefers listings that offer quicker delivery to customers.
5. Order Defect Rate (ODR): Your Amazon Order Defect Rate (ODR) includes three major metrics including negative feedback rating, A-to-Z Guarantee claims rate, and service chargeback rate. Amazon will look at these metrics to determine the number of defective orders. Amazon requires that you maintain a low ODR ( below 1%). To maintain a low ODR, you will need to ensure your product maintains high quality from production to delivery. You also want to ensure that your product listing provides accurate information to prevent customer dissatisfaction. 
6. Seller Performance Metrics: Amazon considers several performance metrics, including:some text
   • Customer feedback rating: A high percentage of positive feedback over the past 30, 90, and 365 days. 
   • Order cancellation and refund rate: This includes the number of canceled orders before shipment and the number of refunded orders after shipment. You want to maintain a low cancellation rate no higher than 2.5%. 
   • Late shipment rate: This includes orders that were shipped after the expected ship date. Your orders should be shipped on time to avoid penalties and improve your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box. You want to maintain a Late shipment rate of below 4%.
7. Customer service quality: Providing prompt high-quality customer service contributes to higher seller ratings and better chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box.
8. Sales volume and history: A strong sales history with consistent volume can enhance your eligibility, as it demonstrates reliability and customer satisfaction over time.
9. Product condition: For new products, competition can be fierce. For used products, sellers with the best condition (like new) and competitive pricing have better chances of securing the Amazon Buy Box. 

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How to win the Amazon Buy Box

Winning the Amazon Buy Box can become a tough battle. So, you want to be armed with the right strategies that keep you at an advantage.

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Although Amazon doesn't share specifically how its Algorithm works to choose who wins the Amazon Buy Box, some factors can help you increase your chances of securing the Amazon Buy Box over and over again.  

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1. Know and focus on important metrics 
2. Sell new products 
3. Offer competitive pricing
4. Become an Amazon Prime seller
5. Optimize your product listing
6. Maintain consistent inventory levels
7. Stay up to date with Amazon policies 

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1. Know and focus on important metrics 

As an Amazon seller looking to secure the Amazon Buy Box and increase sales, you must know what metrics the Amazon Buy Box algorithm considers. Knowing and focusing on these metrics will help you improve your chances of securing the Amazon Buy Box. Here's a list of metrics you should know: 

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• Order Defect Rate (< 1%)
• Negative Feedback Rate
• Filed A to Z Claim Rate
• Service Chargeback Rate
• Return Dissatisfaction Rate (< 10%)
• Negative Return Feedback Rate
• Late Response Rate
• Invalid Rejection Rate
• Buyer-Seller Contact Metrics (< 25%)
• Response Times Under 24 Hours (> 90%)
• Late Responses (< 10%)
• Average Response Time
• Recent Customer Metrics Data
• Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate (< 2.5%)
• Late Shipment Rate (< 4%)
• Refund Rate
• Valid Tracking Rate
• Delivered on Time (> 97%)

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You can get an overall record of these metrics by going to Account Health on your Amazon Seller Central account. 

2.  Sell new products 

Keep in mind that Amazon will consider new products as eligible for winning the Amazon Buy Box. This is to ensure that customers are picking new undamaged products when they click the “Add to Cart” button. So, if you sell used products, Amazon will display the product in the best condition. If you have both new and used products, they will typically have a separate Amazon Buy Box. 

3. Offer competitive pricing

Pricing is one of the major factors Amazon considers for Buy Box eligibility. Most times, the Amazon Buy Box price is the most competitive price for that product. This means offering competitive prices can increase your chances of winning the Buy Box. You can use repricing tools to ensure your prices stay competitive. We will look at how to optimize your pricing to secure the Amazon Buy Box in a later section of this article. 

4. Become an Amazon Prime seller

Here's a secret. Although you can secure the Amazon Buy Box as a non-Prime seller, Amazon prioritizes sellers on Amazon Prime. If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you automatically qualify as an Amazon Prime seller. You can also qualify for the Seller Fulfilled Prime program if you fulfill your orders yourself.  

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5. Optimize your product listing

A well-optimized listing can significantly improve your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box. Use high-quality images that accurately depict the product you are selling to attract more clicks and conversions. Ensure you provide comprehensive details about your product to help buyers understand its features and benefits. Don't forget to include relevant keywords in your product title and product description. 

6. Maintain consistent inventory levels

If you don't have enough inventory to sell, you won't win the Amazon Buy Box. As an Amazon seller looking to secure the Buy Box consistently, it is important to maintain constant levels of inventory. In other words, property stock your products to meet customer demands and keep an eye on your Inventory Performance Index (IPI). 

7. Stay up to date with Amazon policies 

If you don't comply with Amazon’s policies, you won't be winning the Buy Box and may even lose your selling ability. Amazon frequently updates its policies and algorithms, so it is important to stay informed about these changes, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly and ensure compliance, which is essential for Buy Box eligibility.

The Suppressed Buy Box 

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. 

Amazon Buy Box myths

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. 

Myth 1: The lowest price always wins

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. 

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Myth 2: The Buy Box can be owned or controlled

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. 

Myth 3: Doing everything right guarantees winning the Amazon Buy Box

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. 

Amazon Buy Box percentage 

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%. 

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How to optimize your pricing to secure the Amazon Buy Box

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. 

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• You want to offer prices that are either the lowest or very close to the lowest among competing sellers. This includes accounting for shipping and handling costs. However, while offering competitive prices is crucial, it's essential not to sacrifice your profit margins in a race to the bottom. Find a balance that allows you to remain profitable. You can use repricing tools like BQool and RepricerExpress to ensure your prices remain competitive at all times. 

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• Monitor your pricing strategy and adjust as needed based on market trends. Use data to fine-tune your pricing and test various pricing strategies and fulfillment methods to find what works best for your business. 

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• Use Amazon's Seller Central dashboard and third-party analytics tools to monitor key performance indicators such as price competitiveness and customer feedback to identify areas of improvement. 

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• Manual repricing can be an effective strategy for small businesses or sellers with a limited product range. Although time-consuming, it allows you to control your pricing decisions and respond quickly to changes in the market. Manual repricing can be effective in niche markets where competition is less intense. 

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See also: What Sellers Should Know About Amazon Pricing Strategies

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Final thoughts on winning the Amazon Buy Box 

Winning the Amazon Buy Box requires a combination of strategic pricing, excellent seller performance, optimized listings, positive customer feedback, efficient fulfillment methods, and other factors. By focusing on these areas, you can increase your chances of securing the Amazon Buy Box and boosting your sales on the Amazon marketplace. Keep in mind that the goal is not just to win the Buy Box. The goal is to consistently offer the best value to your customers. 

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