What is the Amazon Buy Box?
The Buy Box, also referred to as the Featured Offer, is the white box prominently displayed on the right-hand side of any product detail page. The box allows customers to effortlessly buy new products by clicking the “Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” button. By doing this, they have selected the Buy Box offer—which generates over 80% of sales on Amazon.
A key aspect of Amazon’s marketplace is that multiple sellers can sell the same product at the same time. This provides customers the best buying experience possible because sellers can compete for this coveted spot to gain a greater share of the sales—that usually means having the lowest price, fastest shipping, and best customer service.
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Why It’s Important for the Customer
The white box highlights sellers with top performance metrics and the lowest prices. While also providing customers the option to see offers from other sellers. This customer-centric feature provides the best buying options because consumers can compare prices, delivery dates, and seller ratings. See how it works here
Why It’s Important for the Seller
Amazon doesn’t award the Featured Offer to the same seller everytime; instead, they use an algorithm and key performance metrics to decide each seller’s “share” or percentage of the Buy Box. This rotational model switches the Buy Box from one seller to another giving everyone different percentages of the primary offer. There are two steps Amazon takes to select offers to feature:
- Amazon determines which items are eligible to be featured based on criteria that are designed to give customers a great shopping experience.
- Amazon selects compelling offers to feature from among this pool of eligible offers.
Buy Box Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the Featured Offer, you must meet the following criteria:
- Must have a Professional Seller Account to be considered eligible—Individual Seller Accounts cannot compete.
- Must have a successful sales history—experience & consistency matters!
- Must sell items in new condition. Used items cannot be featured.
- Must have available inventory. Otherwise, the Buy Box will rotate to another seller.
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How to Check Eligibility
Amazon is always trying to protect its customers—in this instance, they remove Buy Box eligibility from sellers based on account performance and other risk factors. To find out if your products are eligible, follow these steps:
- Go to Manage Inventory page in Seller Central
- Click Preferences
- Select Buy Box Eligible and save changes
- Buy Box Eligible column will appear next to each of your ASINs
- Check status there
Or, follow this link to input your ASIN or SKU.
How to Win the Buy Box
After Amazon determines your eligibility, they start to compare a variety of metrics and variables amongst sellers to determine the winner. While no one knows the exact formula for winning the Buy Box, here are a few metrics that will influence your chances of winning:
- Fulfillment Method: Amazon will look to your fulfillment method to help determine the Featured Offer. While FBA & Seller Fulfilled Prime used to be the preferred method, Fulfilled By Merchant still has a chance—though it still seems unlikely to beat FBA.
- Price: Not just the price of your product, but the total charge associated with getting a shipment to its destination. Keep a low landed price!
- Stock Availability: Products with immediate fulfillment are always favored for the Buy Box. Also, the Buy Box creates an increase for demand and Amazon wants to ensure you can meet that demand.
- Order Defect Rate (ODR): For a serious chance of winning the Featured Offer, keep these metrics below 1%—Negative Feedback Rating and A-to-Z Guarantee Claim Rate.
- Feedback Rating/Count: Amazon looks at seller feedback from the last 30 days, 90 days, 12 months, and lifetime to weigh between sellers. The amount of feedback, the most recent feedback, and your seller history are important factors to consider to provide Amazon customers the best experience.
- Customer Response Rate: Customer service is essential to winning the primary offer because the entire Amazon experience is centered around the customer. Make sure you are replying within 12 hours of someone contacting you.
- Refund Rate: It goes without saying that a lower refund rate helps you earn the Buy Box offer. It demonstrates that your product accurately matches the listing, is of high-quality, and is packaged properly upon leaving your facility.
Additional Tips for Scoring the Featured Offer
- Amazon Brand Registry: Maintain control and protect your brand on Amazon by enrolling in Brand Registry. This ensures your branded-content remains the same across all of your listings and gives you the authority to verify and change content based on the facts of your products. It also prevents returns and negative feedback from customers by providing the most up-to-date information.
- Competitive Pricing: With an increase in sellers, brands, and products on Amazon, pricing is extremely competitive. It’s also one of the ultimate factors that customers consider when making a purchase. By implementing a dynamic pricing strategy, you should increase your Buy Box percentages over time.
How to Confirm You’ve Won the Featured Offer
According to Seller Central, the best way to determine if you have won the Buy Box or Feature Offer is by visiting the Product Detail Page for each of your ASINs. If your offer is being featured, you will notice within the Buy Box that this product is “Sold by” and your brand or Amazon seller name will appear. For example, below you see “WishingUWell” next to the sold by section, which means we have the Featured Offer for this particular product.
If your brand or seller name shows up in the “Other Sellers” section of the detail page, you are not the Featured Offer.
PRO TIP: It is possible to have multiple variations for the same product, you may be the Featured Offer for some of them and not for others. Each variation is a separate ASIN.
Conclusion
There’s no denying the power of Amazon—or the Buy Box, as it accounts for over 80% of sales on Amazon. This means if you want to be successful as a seller on this platform, you need to compete. Try your luck with getting featured in the search results or taking advantage of Sponsored Ads, but earning the coveted position at the top right corner of every product page will guarantee more sales and revenue.
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