Why It's Important to Win the Amazon Buy Box

The relentless ascent of Amazon toward world dominance demonstrates no signs of halting. Amazon's market value is $1.6 trillion, according to a recent study by Bloomberg.

The numbers don't lie, and incorporating Amazon into your eCommerce strategy is more crucial than ever. However, simply having a presence on the site won't increase your sales.

With millions of third-party merchants competing for customers and many of them selling the same thing on the market, it takes more than just exceptional products and competitive prices to stand out to customers. If your products don't appear in the Buy Box, most people won't even notice them.

Every online seller wants to win that small "Add to Basket" button, which has evolved into one of the largest battlegrounds in online shopping. The winner will be chosen by Amazon's ultra-secret algorithm and moved to the front of the line, where their chances of ringing up a transaction will soar.

Thankfully, it's not as difficult as it may appear to bag the Amazon Buy Box. You'll be in excellent shape to succeed if you adhere to the instructions provided in this manual.

What is the Amazon Buy Box, exactly?

Simply said, being in the Buy Box ensures great visibility and more sales, making it the golden grail for e-sellers. But to succeed, you must first comprehend what it is and how it operates.

From the perspective of the client

The item and a yellow "Add to Cart" or "Add to Basket" button appears when you enter your search terms into the Amazon search window.

The majority of people 82 percent of searches that end in sales stop there and add the initial item to their shopping cart.

When consumers take the time to navigate through more sellers and compare their options based on pricing, seller feedback rating, and delivery, just 18% of purchases are made. Describe the best real estate.

From the perspective of the vendor

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that those Amazon merchants work hard to achieve the requirements needed to obtain the Buy Box.

Although the company doesn't provide precise goals, it has stated that its algorithm is set up to select one or more sellers in a rotation based on characteristics including price, availability, fulfillment, and customer service that they hope will provide the greatest shopping experience. To maximize their potential, Amazon sellers are encouraged by this to raise their game.

Businesses that don't compete for the Buy Box risk being pushed so far down the search results page that few Amazon users ever see them, drastically decreasing their chances of making a transaction.

The rotation model for the Amazon Buy Box

The Buy Box doesn't always go to the same merchant. The top slot is given to qualified merchants by Amazon's algorithm in a rotating fashion, moving from one to the next based on characteristics including pricing, performance metrics, and other important considerations.

It's important to note that if your price is too high or if your performance indicators are poor, you will not receive the Amazon Buy Box. Remember that the Buy Box is distributed proportionately, so how well you outbid your competitors will determine how frequently you win.

The significance of obtaining the Amazon Buy Box

The importance of Amazon's Buy Box is growing as more people shop online. EMarketer projects that by 2022, 14.6% of all retail sales will be made up of e-commerce, with sales exceeding $5.542 trillion. And given how well it did in 2016, it's not improbable to think that Amazon will account for the majority of that.

It's important to keep in mind that mobile purchasing is becoming more and more common. Around the world, more than 72% of Amazon shoppers conducted their pre-holiday 2016 shopping using a mobile device.

At the same time, purchases made through the free Amazon app increased globally by 56%. Given that Gartner forecasts e-commerce to account for at least half of all online sales in the U.S. alone this year, those numbers seem certain to rise.

Winning the Amazon Buy Box is more challenging on a smartphone, whether consumers are using the mobile website or the app. However, with great possibility comes a tremendous challenge.

The "Add to Basket" and "Buy Now" buttons are both prominently displayed underneath the product image and price on the app, however, the option to view other vendors is less obvious. Therefore, there is a lower likelihood of someone seeing your goods on a mobile device if it doesn't appear in the Buy Box than on the main website.

How to succeed in Amazon's Buy Box

First, you must qualify for the Amazon Buy Box.

Here are the requirements to make sure you are eligible for the Buy Box:

• keep a professional seller account active

• possess a track record of profitable Amazon sales

• Sell new products (used items have a separate Buy Box)

• have stock on hand

• High-performance metrics should be attained

Master the following metrics.

Method of fulfillment

There are three options: Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM), which enables vendors to ship orders from their centers while gaining access to highly lucrative Prime customers; and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which enables marketplace sellers to store and ship goods from Amazon warehouses.

Amazon claims its fulfillment service to be best-in-class in terms of shipping times and on-time delivery rates, so it should come as no surprise that FBA sellers have a better chance of receiving the Buy Box.

To outrank FBA merchants, an FBM seller would need to be enrolled in SFP or have exceptional ratings in every other category, in addition to having a considerably lower price.

The following metrics must be met over 30 days in order to be eligible for SFP:

• A rating of +4.5

• 94 percent of PSOs have a working tracking ID (Premium Shopping Options)

• 95 percent of PSO orders are delivered on time.

• PSO orders have a cancellation rate of less than 1%.

• Less than 1% of all orders experience late shipments

• Observe the one- and two-date shipping deadlines

• To ship, use Amazon Logistics.

Landed cost

On Amazon, there are two prices: the price you list an item for and the landed price, which is the entire cost of an order that takes into account tax and shipping.

It's important to remember that having the lowest price won't ensure you land in the Amazon Buy Box, particularly if your performance metrics are subpar overall, but it will increase your chances.

To that end, it's crucial to conduct market research on your competitors before—and throughout the listing process and set your product's price appropriately.

Delivery time

It's straightforward: your chances of winning the Amazon Buy Box increase with the speed at which products are dispatched. 

Depending on the goods, how quickly Perishables must be shipped soon, whereas big items are anticipated to have longer lead times. However, if you want to compete with two-day shipping, you must speed up.

Therefore, refrain from making commitments you can't keep. If your real shipment time exceeds the period you have stated, it will hurt your performance metrics and lessen your chances of being displayed in the Buy Box.

When estimating delivery, keep the following metrics in mind:

• Over 97 percent of deliveries are made on schedule.

• Rate of late shipments: less than 4%

• Almost all orders have a valid tracking rate of at least 95%.

Order Defect Rate (ODR)

Amazon evaluates a seller based on the Order Defect Rate (ODR), which considers negative feedback, chargebacks, and A-Z claims from both recent (1-2 months) and older (1-4 months) periods.

You have a tiny chance of winning the Buy Box if your ODR is 1% or greater. Additionally, if your ODR is regularly high, your selling privileges can be suspended.

Feedback

This represents the total of all customer reviews—both positive and negative—that you have received in the past 30, 90, and 365 days. The most recent reviews have the most influence on your score.

The number of reviews you obtain about your selling history is another factor considered by Amazon. A feedback rating of at least 90% is required to get the Buy Box.

Response Time to Customer

Sellers are required to reply to consumer inquiries within 24 hours under the Service Level Agreement (SLA) on Amazon. Your chances of winning the Buy Box will suffer with a tardy response, or worse, a non-reply. To keep Amazon happy, try to respond to 90% of their messages.

Consistency with Stock

If you frequently run out of stock or have a cancellation and refund rate that is higher than 2.5%, Amazon won't promote your products because you pose a risk to the consumer experience.

For best-selling items, you must keep enough on hand to handle any potential rise in demand.

Rate of Dissatisfaction Return 

Customers anticipate a timely response and a speedy resolution when they make a legitimate return request.

Amazon developed the Return Dissatisfaction Rate to reduce complaints and unfavorable reviews and to assist merchants in identifying areas for improvement.

Based on negative return comments, late responses, and invalid rejection rates, sellers are given an excellent, middling, or terrible rating.

Customer Service Dissatisfaction Rate

After every communication, Amazon assesses your consumers to determine how well you handled their inquiry. The feedback is available for download, and you can use it to enhance your service.

Uncertain of your status? Check your Account Health Dashboard on Amazon Seller Central frequently to determine whether you're meeting the company's performance metrics and giving your customers a wonderful experience—or whether your store is in danger of being suspended.