The Amazon Buy Box is a tiny block of pixels on your screen. This incredibly small section on a product viewing page seems insignificant, but for retailers it is something else altogether. It is a priceless opportunity to boost business and drive up orders significantly.
Be honest, if you’ve purchased anything on Amazon before, it’s incredibly likely that you found the product that you needed, and then clicked on ‘add to cart’ without any other thought.
But who are you buying your product from?
That button you just clicked is the buy box and it offers immediate priority to a particular retailer selling the Amazon product. This customer convenience of a simple click has driven retailers into a frenzy, constantly battling to take possession of this unique opportunity for business. This is no surprise considering the buy box accounts for 82% of all Amazon sales.
The technicalities of the Amazon Buy Box
Retailers may well label it as ‘winning the Amazon Buy Box’ however it is not quite as simple as that. More often than not, retailers compete for a share of the box.
Once buy box eligibility is met, a number of other algorithms come into play and determine your share of the buy box. It comes down to a delicate balance of:
- Competitive pricing
- Seller Metrics
Amazon’s consumer-centric approach does value better pricing, but if you have excellent seller metrics, it can more than make up for a higher price.
Once it completes its calculations, Amazon assigns retailers a share of the buy box, determining whether you own the majority of it, or simply a small percentage. That means that if you win 60% of the buy box, your product is being sold 60% of the time customers order with that button.
Not so simple after all right?
Steps to winning the Amazon Buy Box
Primarily, you have two types of sellers on Amazon.
- Amazon itself, covering a wide range of products
- Third-party retailers, who specialise in product categories
As Amazon is the go-to marketplace for retailers, you will inevitably encounter different retailers selling the the same products, and Amazon describes these as “resellers”. However not every reseller is eligible for the buy box.
Firstly, a retailer must possess a professional seller account (AKA pro-merchant account.) Only then can a reseller go to Amazon Seller Central and check their buy box eligibility.
Secondly, retailers must only provide items for the buy box that are brand new, as used items are not eligible. However Amazon does provide a separate Buy Used Box for those second-hand items.
Thirdly, Amazon requires proof of availability – no selling without having the stock!
Finally, retailers must outperform and/or underbid other resellers to win the Buy Box.
Achieving optimum seller metrics and pricing
Seller metrics are a method of ensuring that retailers abide by a certain set of standards. For buy box eligibility you will require 90 or higher as a minimum standard. Your metrics are altered in accordance with:
- Order Defect Rate (ODR)
- Cancellation rate
- Late dispatch rate
- Policy violations
- Customer response time
If you want to succeed and avoid lowering your metrics, the best option is an Amazon Marketplace solution, such as Seller Central Connect. Not only do automated tools optimise your workflow and increase reliability, they offer a whole range of added benefits which can be viewed here.
When it comes to optimising your pricing, you only need a single tool. Product Finder is an essential resource for retailers looking to win the Amazon Buy Box. It provides in-depth analyses of products being sold including Amazon fees, profitability, and the pricing level required for buy box eligibility.
By combining these two essential business tools, any retailer can stay on top of the markets and win that buy box. Resellers stand to gain enormous streams of income by holding this advantage, making it a prize worth fighting for.
SuperDisty is here for all your online business tools, whether you are setting up your own online store for the first time, or looking for an EDI solution to gain the upper hand against your competition. With a vast range of business guides available, it’s no wonder that business are choosing us first.
So check out our products available today, and make your business the most succesful that it can be!
