E-commerce is growing in popularity and many people are eager to take advantage of the opportunity to be a part of it. Selling on Amazon is an attractive option for anyone looking to leverage themselves as a seller on the world’s largest e-commerce website. In order to be a successful seller, it is crucial that you understand the many aspects of Amazon selling, such as digital marketing, SEO, business process automation, branding and inventory management. Additionally, the Amazon Buy Box is an essential piece to the e-commerce puzzle that must be understood in order to attain sales and success. So, what is the Amazon Buy Box?
What is the Amazon Buy Box?
The Buy Box on Amazon is the box on the right of the screen that a customer clicks in order to add a specific product into their shopping cart, thus initiating the purchase process. In sum, the Buy Box guides a low-friction sale on Amazon by allowing shoppers to purchase a product quickly and easily through a two or three step purchasing process. The Amazon Buy Box feature is one of the many ways that Amazon takes a customer-focused approach to e-commerce retail. The Buy Box gives customers the best possible value for their money by evaluating products for them based on high seller performance and low price point. 82% of sales on Amazon are made through the Buy Box, and the winner of the Buy Box is the seller who makes the most sales, therefore making the highest profit.
How to Win the Amazon Buy Box
There are several standards a third-party seller must meet in order to win the Buy Box on Amazon. If you want to win it, the first step is to establish qualifications to compete for the Buy Box. The first step is to create a Professional Seller Account with products that are “Buy Box-eligible”. Buy Box eligibility is based on levels of performance, and can be checked on Amazon Seller Central. Furthermore, eligibility for Buy Box requires products to be new rather than used, and to be in stock. New sellers wanting to expedite Buy Box eligibility can do so by selling some items through Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon). Selling just a few popular products at a competitive price point through Amazon can qualify your Buy Box Eligibility- even on your non-FBA products.
Once you have been awarded “Buy Box Eligibility”, many variables must be considered in order to climb to the top. Amazon’s algorithm looks at several variables of each offering to confirm which one provides the best value to the customer. These variables have different weights, and are different based on product categories and the product itself. The main idea is to focus on the variables that make a bigger impact on the Buy Box. Below is a list that highlights the key variables that come into play when determining the winning Buy Box offer.
Key Variables:
- Fulfillment Method: FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and SFP (Seller-Fulfilled Prime) are typically in an advantaged position against FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) sellers. All other variables are equal.
- Product Price: The landing price, or the total amount of money that your product is sold for on Amazon, is a key determining factor involved with winning the Buy Box. Having poor seller’s performance metrics means a products price will need to be adjusted lower in order to compete against other sellers for the Buy Box. On the other hand, high metrics can mean that the price may be raised and the Buy Box can still be won.
- Shipping & Availability: Things like shipping time, on-time delivery, inventory availability, order defect rate and valid tracking rate are all variables involved with Buy Box. Shipping fast, avoiding backorders, ensuring that orders are sent with full tracking information and delivered on time are all things to aim for. On the contrary, late shipments, multiple backorders, a high order defect rate and high rate of late deliveries will hurt your listing and chances of winning the Buy Box.
- Feedback & Response: Quick customer response time (how fast you respond to customer messages and inquires) and having high volume, high rating feedback from customers will help boost your chances of winning the Buy Box.
- Inventory & Returns: It is critical to keep your inventory in stock and not to run out, as this greatly effects your listing rank in Amazon’s algorithm. Additionally, it is a good idea to keep customer order cancellations to a minimum, as this can negatively impact your seller performance.
In Conclusion…
There is no one trick or strategy to winning the Amazon Buy Box, but rather a complex web of variables to consider and improve upon. By earning Buy Box eligibility and focusing on the key variables listed above, your performance level can be leveraged in order to win the Buy Box.
