The Amazon Buy Box is a feature that’s present on all product pages. Believe it or not, it’s common to have multiple sellers of the same product, on the same listing page. The product and seller that appear as the default buying option are “winning” the buy box. Winning the buy box is a 100% necessity for consistently succeeding on Amazon.
This article highlights the keys needed to stay on top and be the preferred buying option on a product listing.
Competitive Product Pricing
One of the critical factors in winning the Amazon Buy Box is pricing. Amazon rewards competitive pricing and typically favors the lowest price offered. Review your pricing strategy often to ensure you are competitive and stay in line with your competition. Frequently savvy re-sellers will play price manipulation games and try to undercut you by just a few cents. There is even software out there that can do this automatically. It’s crucial to stay vigilant and have some alert system in place whenever the status of your buy box changes.
Utilize Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA)
FBA facilitates faster shipping and better customer service, which can increase your chances of winning the Buy Box. This is the easiest, most needle-moving aspect of consistently winning the buy box. Selling on Amazon as a third-party seller through FBA is the preferred method of selling for most reading this article. Amazon outright favors an FBA seller over an FBM seller regarding the buy box.
To take this a step further, we suggest that you apply and get approved for brand registry. This adds another layer of protection, as you have to upload a trademark of either your logo or brand name to Amazon. You are the only authorized seller of your branded items in this scenario.
Even if you’re brand registered, experienced arbitrage sellers can find ways to insert themselves onto your listing and try to steal your buy box. You can be in a constant tug-of-war situation, but ensuring you do everything possible to prevent this is paramount for growth.
Amazon Account Health: Feedback, Reviews, & Sales History
It should come as no mystery that Amazon generally favors accounts with age, history, sales, and positive health. The longer the account has been in good standing and consistently selling units, the more trustworthy you are in Amazon’s eyes.
As new sellers pop up daily and try to steal some of your market share, you can have a strategic “moat” if your account dwarfs theirs in all the vital health metrics.
Summary: How To Win The Buy Box
The four key factors to winning the buy box are pricing, utilizing FBA, brand registry, and overall account health.
Northwest Naturals was able to gain control over their Amazon presence and have their brand represented the way it should be. Controlling the buy box was one of the critical hurdles.
