During Prime Day, shoppers make purchases fast. With products selling at a furious pace, shoppers know they don’t have time to compare prices or read reviews. If they find something they want, they know they need to buy it quickly. Which is why, in a nutshell, winning the Buy Box during Prime Day is more important than on any other day of the year.
Obviously, everyone wants to own the Buy Box, but there can be only one. That’s why Amazon has created a stringent algorithm to decide who is worthy to wield the Buy Box and who is left to pick up the scraps.
By making the right choices and pricing your products competitively, you can put yourself in a great position to win the Buy Box on Prime Day and keep it throughout the event.
What is the Amazon Buy Box?
The Buy Box is the white box located on the right side of an Amazon product page where customers can add a product to their cart. Owning the Buy Box means you’re most likely to be the seller picked by customers, especially when they hit “Buy Now.”
According to experts, the Buy Box is so powerful it drives over 82% of the purchases made on Amazon.
So how do you lock down that magical box and guarantee the lion’s share of Prime Day purchases for your business? Here are the top 5 ways.
1) Become an FBA Merchant
When selling products on Amazon, you have two options: FBA and FBM.
Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) is when your business ships your own products to customers. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is when you store your products with Amazon and allow them to ship it directly on your behalf.
More than any other factor, being an FBA merchant is what will help you win the Buy Box on Prime Day.
When a product ships directly from their warehouse and through their infrastructure, Amazon has a much easier time guaranteeing orders will be delivered on time. FBA products are also the ones eligible for Prime shipping—a necessity for Prime Day.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for FBM sellers to win the buy box. However, FBM sellers certainly have a much steeper hill to climb. For Prime Day, you want to make the decision to give you the Buy Box uncontested. If possible, become an FBA seller.
2) Keep Your Prices Competitive
Your price points need to be right in line with your competitors. The lowest price doesn’t always guarantee you’ll win the Buy Box, but when combined with the other strategies on this list, it makes a very compelling case.
Yet you still need to make a profit. Selling tons of merchandise on Prime Day doesn’t help you if you get caught up in the discount arms race and undercut your base costs. Partnering with experts or investing in a repricing software can help you consistently win the Buy Box without suffering cost.
3) Provide Tracking Information on Every Order
Amazon recently introduced Valid Tracking Rate as a performance metric to ensure the quality of seller accounts. Valid Tracking Rate (VTR) measures the percentage of your orders that have a valid tracking number.
To keep your account healthy enough to win the Prime Day Buy Box, you’ll need a VTR over 95% for all your product categories.
4) Quality AND Quantity Of Reviews Matter
The Amazon algorithm considers positive reviews, negative reviews,and the total number of reviews you receive. Without a sizable data set for Amazon to review, you’ll be hard pressed to win the Buy Box on Prime Day.
To keep your account’s visibility from dropping significantly, follow up every purchase with a review request. This sounds daunting, but don’t worry. There are plenty of automated feedback tools you can use to make the process easier.
5) Keep Strong Inventory Levels
Amazon’s entire brand is built on getting products to customers quickly with minimal fuss, especially on Prime Day when shipping everything becomes a logistical nightmare.
If any of your products are low in stock, there’s a chance your sales may not reach customers in time. This is an issue Amazon takes quite seriously. Rather than risk missing the 2-day Prime window, Amazon is much more likely to give the Buy Box to a competitor with adequate inventory.
To give you a better chance of winning the Buy Box and a successful Prime Day, make sure all your products are fully stocked and ready for shipment.
Lacking the tools, the team, the expertise to make this happen? Drop us a line so we can help ensure your Amazon program enjoys success during Prime Day and beyond.
