Did you know that almost a third of online retail sales take place through Amazon, and 82% of them happen through the Buy Box?
If you’re a relatively new Amazon seller, perhaps you aren’t entirely familiar with it. Even if you’ve heard about it, you may not know how it works or what type of seller wins it.
Regrettably, if your products aren’t in the Buy Box, consumers will find it challenging to purchase them.
There’s no one shortcut to becoming a top Amazon seller and outpacing competitors in your niche, but learning efficient ways to boost your sales is great.
Learn everything about Amazon Buy Box in our Elite Automation blog below and see why it matters!
What is the Amazon Buy Box?
When a customer views an Amazon product listing, they are presented with several options:
- They can view the product images on the left-hand side.
- The center of the listing displays ratings, product’s title, variants, and descriptions in bullet point format
- Lastly, the Buy Box appears on the right-hand side.
The Buy Box is a widget that allows for a seamless shopping experience. Buyers can quickly purchase the products they are looking for.
They can select products how they want. For instance, do they want to purchase new items or used ones? What about the shipping speeds, and how about the gift options?
These options are displayed on the listing. They can also pick the quantity of items they wish to purchase and checkout quickly by selecting the “Add to Cart” option.
The Amazon Buy Box facilitates shoppers by allowing them to make an effortless purchase. They can pick their favorite products and complete the purchase within 1-3 steps.
Unfortunately, most buyers do not know that Buy Box is different from the listing. In fact, sellers compete to own the widget – because of the benefits it offers.
Why Is It Important for Amazon Sellers?
Anything that drives sales and boosts revenue is imperative for Amazon sellers, and Amazon’s Buy Box is no exception. Here’s how it is advantageous for the sellers.
It Boosts the Chance of Making a Sale
It’s not incorrect to say that almost all Amazon sales are made via Buy Box because that’s the first call to action buyers encounter.
It’s interesting to note that the Buy Box providing information about who is selling or handling the product rarely impacts a customer’s purchasing decision.
Because the Buy Box offers a hassle-free shopping solution, it is convincing enough for the customers to make a purchase and boost sales.
It Allows You to Create Amazon Pay-Per-Click Ads
Another pro of owning the Buy Box is that it enables Amazon sellers to bid on costs of clicks for specific keywords. The sellers controlling the Buy Box are free to create sponsored listings for items via Amazon pay per click.
However, creating ads for the product becomes challenging for those who do not own the Buy Box.
How to Qualify for The Buy Box
Given the many benefits of the Buy Box, there’s no reason why a seller wouldn’t be interested in dominating it. As such, a general concern about its qualification arises: “How do you become eligible for the Buy Box?”
To begin with, you’d need to have a Professional Seller Account – individual sellers cannot qualify for one. Additionally, your Seller Account must be in good standing with Amazon.
Generally, Healthy Accounts refer to those that follow Amazon product policy regulations and have reasonably good customer service and impeccable shipping performance. Account health metrics include ODR, Cancelation Rate, Late Shipment Rate, Valid Tracking Rate, and more.
As a seller, you can at any time log in to your seller account, select Performance, and redirect to Account Health to determine your account’s health.
Ways to Determine If Your Products Are Eligible for the Buy Box
Are you still uncertain whether you qualify for the Buy Box for a specific listing? Don’t worry. Amazon eliminates this confusion by offering free tools to determine your eligibility.
Follow the steps below to check yours.
- Open the Seller Central and move to the Inventory.
- Now go to Manage Inventory, and you’ll see two columns for Buy Box Eligibility and Buy Box Price.
- If you can’t find the columns, go to the gray Preferences option above your items.
- Then, click the columns to make them appear on the dashboard
- Next, you’ll see all your products and whether or not they qualify for the Buy Box.
Note that you’ll also see the existing Buy Box costs for every product. If you spot any differences in pricing, you can adjust them through the Price column option visible on the Inventory Management page.
This will boost your chance to win the Buy Box from the current owners.
You can also move to the search bar of the Seller Central page. Type “Buy Box” to view quick tools for checking Buy Box availability for particular Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and Amazon Standard Identifications.
How Long Does It Take to Qualify for the Buy Box?
Fortunately, it doesn’t take long to qualify for the Buy Box. In fact, it takes a split second to become eligible for it – so long as you meet the requirements and have less competition.
Nonetheless, if you have many competitors with similar prices but have better account health, you should become eligible for the Buy Box.
But again, that is something Amazon determines. So, if you find yourself competing hard with someone for the Buy Box, Amazon will decide who wins. Sellers can also share the Buy Box and it will rotate every few hours of the day.
If you get lucky, or sell items with low competition, you’ll be on a roll!
Wrapping Things Up
A seller’s ability to attract customers and drive sales becomes substantially less without winning the Buy Box.
Besides, because the Buy Box offers are shown to Prime customers – for the most part – you have the chance to drive high profits. So, if you aren’t putting an effort to qualify for it, you’re missing out on something crucial.
Designing quality products, uploading high-definition images, and writing enticing product descriptions helps, but the e-commerce giant requires great account health to be eligible for the Buy Box.
You have to go the extra mile to outshine your competitors and earn profits through consistent effort. Amazon has a lot to offer, especially if you implement the right selling strategies and remain a superstar seller.
