Amazon is a competitive marketplace. This retail giant has millions of active sellers on the platform. But don’t let the fear of competition keep you from making more money. Luckily, there are several tips and tricks available to help sellers in getting their sales to the top and getting the Amazon Buy Box.
Surprisingly, however, many sellers don’t seem to understand how the Amazon Buy Box works. If you are one of those sellers, then this article is right for you! This article will explain to you what the Amazon Buy Box is and what you need to do to increase your chances of winning it and what changes are coming in 2021.
What is the Amazon Buy Box?
The Amazon Buy Box is the yellow box located at the right section of a product page. It is where buyers can directly add an item to their shopping cart or quickly purchase an item by clicking on the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” button. If you are featured in the box, your product gets to be added to the buyers’ shopping carts straightaway.
The Buy Box is like the “best deals” section on a grocery aisle. If your product is placed there, it gets to be noticed more quickly and has a higher chance of being sold. Indeed, according to studies, around 90% of Amazon’s annual sales happen using the Buy Box. So, if you want to increase your Amazon sales, you should work toward winning the Buy Box.
Getting the Amazon Buy Box
According to Amazon, it selects the Buy Box winner from a number of eligible offers based on several factors: availability, price, seller rating, and more. Before you can win the Buy Box, you and your listed products must first become eligible.
Offers from FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) sellers automatically become eligible for the Buy Box. Hence, they have higher chances of getting featured compared to the offers of FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) sellers. The reason behind this is simple. Because FBA sellers store their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers, Amazon tends to be more assured that these sellers are actually able to fulfill their orders once they are featured in the box.
Recently, Amazon has introduced a change to its offer listing page called All Offers Display (AOD). What AOD does is make key offer information more accessible to buyers by readily displaying them on the Detail Page. The buyers don’t need to navigate to a secondary view anymore. The main purpose of Amazon in designing the AOD is to make it easier for buyers to view and compare offers.
Although the AOD doesn’t necessarily cancel out the benefit of the Buy Box, it does introduce some changes that can affect the way the Buy Box works, especially for sellers. For example, whenever Amazon takes over the Buy Box with no stock, the AOD doesn’t show that the other sellers have a stock for the item that can be readily ordered. Instead, Amazon gets to sell the item as a pre-order even though there is no guarantee as to its fulfillment.
How one gets featured in the Buy Box changes from time to time. So, you must always pay attention to these changes. You should also remember that eligibility doesn’t guarantee that you will get the Buy Box. If you want to be chosen for the box, you need to do more than just earning eligibility.
What are the keys to winning the Amazon Buy Box?
Here are several key tools that you can use and practices that you can do to increase your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box:
- Never run out of stock
Availability of products is one of the factors that Amazon considers in choosing the Buy Box winner. Running out of stock can give Amazon the impression that you’re not ready for the special feature. Because of this, you have to keep your products available all the time. Manage your stock well to prevent running out of products and losing potential sales.
If you need assistance, you can use an Amazon inventory management software that will help you keep track of your stock. SellerMobile’s Inventory Manager Tool is a great option for this. It will help you create efficient restock plans and streamline your inventory process so you can avoid a stockout.
- Make your shipping options fast and free
Amazon considers shipping efficiency when selecting a Buy Box feature. How well you’re doing with shipping can affect your chances of winning the Buy Box, especially if you don’t use FBA. So, keep your shipping options fast and free. Avoid delivery delays as much as possible. Make sure to always ship your orders within a reasonable period of time.
- Have a competitive pricing strategy
Having a competitive pricing strategy is a key to becoming a successful Amazon seller. So, always make sure that the prices of your products are smart and competitive.
Using a repricer software is a great way to ensure that you price your products wisely. SellerMobile’s Amazon Repricer Tool is a very useful tool that can help you in doing this. With its automated 24/7 repricing feature and time-tested pricing strategies, SellerMobile has the best Amazon repricer that you can use to keep your prices up with the competition.
- Keep your customers satisfied
Customer satisfaction is important for Amazon. Amazon sellers generally know how important it is to keep the buyers happy. This is why Amazon considers seller feedback when choosing who to feature in the Buy Box. So, if you wish to get a share of the space in the box, keep your customers satisfied all the time. Earn good ratings and reviews by fulfilling your orders accurately and on time. Avoid delays, cancellations, and refunds as much as possible.
- Always stay updated
Amazon constantly updates and adds new features to improve its user experience from time to time. Oftentimes, these updates and additional features can have significant impacts on the way sellers and their products rank and sell. So, as a seller, you must keep yourself updated whenever there are new features on Amazon. You can do this by subscribing to Amazon’s newsletters or reading through forums on Amazon Seller Central.
Final Thoughts
All the best tools and practices to win the Amazon Buy Box ultimately point to one thing – building and maintaining a good reputation as a seller. Being an organized, efficient, competitive, customer-oriented, and updated seller will surely earn you the Prime time and the sales that you deserve. Selling on Amazon is indeed challenging, especially in this heyday of e-commerce. Nonetheless, by following the best practices and using the best seller tools for Amazon like SellerMobile, you can definitely make it to the Buy Box!
