If you are new to selling on Amazon, you must be overwhelmed by the lingo Amazon and it’s seller community uses. Out of all the terms that you will familiarize yourself with over time, Buy Box remains the single most important term that you must understand if you are really interested in making some serious sales on Amazon.
Few commonly asked questions around Buy Box include: what is amazon buy box, what are buy box rules, what is the buy box algorithm, how to win the buy box
So we decided that in this blog article we will try to explain what Buy Box is, what makes it so crucial in the Amazon selling world, how it affects your sales and how to have it on your products.
So, let’s dive in.
What is Buy Box?
Buy Box is the little white area beside the product details where your buyers have the option of “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart”.
So, what does a product with no buy box look like?
How does it affect your Amazon sales?
According to Amazon, more than 80% of sales on Amazon happens through the Buy Box only. This goes to much higher levels in case of mobile devices. And this sounds a no-brainer since the buyer has to go through one more step of “View more offers” before he/she can make the purchase in case your products do not have the buy box. So the probability of having great sales on Amazon reduces to zero when you do not have the Buy Box.
How to win/get the buy box?
Well, getting (becoming eligible for the buy box) and winning the buy box are two different things. Let’s first talk about getting the buy box on your products and leave “winning buy box” for some other day.
So, by now you have realized the role buy box plays in growing sales on Amazon. Some sellers never get the Buy Box whereas others get it quite early. After years of expertise in Amazon account management, we have figured out the parameters that affect the Buy Box.
So, let’s lay down some of the factors, working on which can help you get the Buy Box:
- Views and Sessions: Products with high visibility (reflected by page views and sessions in the Business Report) are more likely to get the buy box. Buy box and product visibility are heavily inter-related. Having greater product visibility gets it the buy box which in turn increases the visibility (thereby increasing sales). So work on increasing the views and sessions of your products.
- Seller Performance Metrics: One of the most obvious ways of having a stellar performance on Amazon is consistently exceling on Performance Metrics. But as far as Buy Box is concerned, the most important parameters you should be monitoring tightly are:
- ODR (Order Defect Rate): Yes, quite predictably, this parameter plays a very important role in getting as well as having the buy box. Being based on customer feedback, A-to-Z claims and chargeback, they are the indication of customer satisfaction with your products. So, if your ODR is on the rise, you are most likely going to lose the buy box. Beware!
- QCR (Quality Complaint Rate): This parameter was recently introduced by Amazon as a performance metric. It is also the most important metric in determining whether you are eligible for the Buy Box on your products. This takes into the %age of orders that were returned by the buyer due to quality issues. You can avoid high QCR by creating your catalog the right way.
- Customer shopping experience offered on an item: Your chances of getting the buy box jump significantly when you make changes to your shipping time and delivery options. When you offer 24/7 customer service, you contribute to the overall experience of the Amazon customers. This makes Amazon customers happy and in turn Amazon rewards you with the Buy Box. This factor is automatically taken care of when you enroll for FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon). Also, the number of successful orders placed (with no return/refund) is an indication of great customer experience which can help you get the buy box early.
- Competitive Pricing: Whether it is about winning the buy box or getting the buy box, it is crucial to have your products priced competitively. You can also lose the buy box in case you have priced your products much higher than the average price over time.
- Selling Branded items: When you sell under your own brand, you are more likely to have the Buy Box on your products. But you must make sure that you are taking utmost care in creating a great catalog by putting the right title, description and category. Not working on your catalog can confuse your buyers and this can have very disastrous effects on your seller performance metrics (covered in point no 3) leading to zero buy box.
While we have outlined some of the parameters, there are a plethora of other factors. Believe us, this is just a tip of the iceberg. For queries, comment below.
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