Unfortunately, the Buy Box can be a bit of a mystery. Who wins this golden space is based on an algorithm that Amazon does not disclose even within the organization, unless of course you are working in that specific department. While the magic formula of how to win the Buy Box is not disclosed, there are some very clear factors that influence it.

Increase Your Buy Box Percentage

To maximize your sales potential on Amazon, ideally you will be winning the Buy Box at all times. If not, the sales are most likely to go to another seller who is winning it at that time.

Many sellers and vendors will look at their Buy Box metrics and see a lower than desired Buy Box percentage. What do they need to do to increase this or maintain it if already high? Below are five areas sellers need to focus on to achieve or maintain a high Buy Box percentage:

Make Sure You're Eligible

To have any hope of winning the Buy Box in the first place, you need to ensure your listings are eligible. You must have a professional selling account and be meeting certain performance metrics, including low Order Defect Rate (ODR). The customer shopping experience, length of time selling, and other metrics also impact your eligibility.

To see if you are eligible, within Seller Central go to Manage Inventory and click on Preferences, check the Buy Box eligible box and save the changes. The Buy Box eligible column will then appear on your listings in Manage Inventory for you to see whether or not your listings are eligible.

Think About Your Pricing

You don’t have to be the cheapest to win the Buy Box, but you do need to be competitive. Many sellers assume that if they sell the item at the lowest price, it will guarantee them the Buy Box but this is not true. There are other factors involved, which I will detail below.

The important message on price is to remain competitive in line with the current market price and competition: not too expensive and not too cheap (where you are just devaluing the product and shrinking your margins for no reason). Of course, you want to remain profitable. Many sellers use repricing software to automate pricing and protect their margins.

Be careful playing around with pricing. If you drop your pricing and then increase it dramatically, this will not sit well with Amazon. They may think you are trying to manipulate pricing and mislead the customer. You may find your Buy Box privileges removed for a certain period of time without notice.

Consider Your Fulfillment Channel

Make sure you have inventory at all times. Amazon wants to see listings that are in stock and have consistently good levels of inventory.

If you are a seller you want that Prime badge, either through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or Seller Fulfilled Prime. Amazon will favor you as you are offering the customer a guaranteed fast delivery. If you want to fulfill your own orders directly to the customer but other sellers selling the same item are shipping FBA, don’t expect that Buy Box to come your way easily.

Keep Your Account Healthy

Your account needs to be in good standing order, hitting the required performance metrics when it comes to shipping and customer service. Always offer excellent customer service. If you are fulfilling your own orders, avoid any order cancellations, ship within the shipping window, and use tracking numbers.

If you cancel orders, send late shipments and create a negative customer experience resulting in negative seller feedback, be prepared to lose the Buy Box to another seller with better account health. If your metrics are exceptionally poor, you may lose your Bux Box eligibility for a certain period of time.

Know Your Distribution Strategy

If you are a brand owner, the ideal scenario would be that you don’t have to compete with any other sellers to win the Buy Box. The reality is, very few brands have a tight distribution strategy and will often find sellers listing their products on Amazon without authorization from the brand.

Brands will then find themselves engaging in price wars with other sellers to win the Buy Box. For brands to avoid these situations, it is important they review their distribution strategy and understand where there are possible leaks and opportunities for sellers to get hold of their products and look into legitimate strategies to control who sells their products.

Play by the Rules

At the end of the day, if you play by the rules and focus on offering excellent customer service, competitive pricing, your products are always in stock, you are selling FBA and you have a solid distribution strategy, you will have a far greater chance of having a high Buy Box percentage.

It's also important to note that maintaining a strong presence in the Buy Box isn't just about securing it initially; it's about consistently retaining your position over time. By gaining a deep understanding of the factors that contribute to your Buy Box wins and losses, you can gain valuable insights into what strategies work and what doesn't in this competitive marketplace.

Keep a close watch on the changes happening in the Buy Box for your products by tracking them with SellerPulse's Buy Box alerts.

These alerts provide real-time insights into your Buy Box performance, notifying you when you secure a Buy Box win after losing it, lose a Buy Box to another seller or Amazon, or if a Buy Box you previously won gets suppressed by Amazon. The suppressed Buy Box alert even includes details about the competitive price threshold. Give it a try today!