Originally published on December 13, 2016, updated April 30, 2020
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As an Amazon merchant, you know that winning the Buy Box can help sellers dramatically increase product sales. In fact, Feedvisor reports that 82% of Amazon’s sales go through the Buy Box. That number is projected to continue to climb as buyers shop from mobile devices. Amazon shared that 70% of users shopped the site using a mobile device in the 2015 holiday season.
We recently partnered with Feedvisor to present an educational webinar regarding advanced Buy Box strategies. Ohad Hagai, VP Marketing at Feedvisor, and Jay Lagarde, founder and president at eComEngine, teamed up to share their expertise with Amazon sellers.
“If you go back to the whole concept of the Buy Box, which is to guarantee customer satisfaction, Amazon knows that sellers who use FBA are more likely to perform better in terms of the customer experience. Amazon controls the flow of fulfillment and interaction with the customers, and that’s what they’re trying to achieve: a best in class customer experience,” said Ohad.
Learn what it takes to win the Buy Box in this webinar. By watching, you’ll discover:
With several years of experience in both eCommerce and digital marketing, Ohad offers advice regarding Buy Box strategies, pricing and more. Jay provides strategic feedback management insight related to winning the Buy Box as well as smart suggestions for sellers who want to succeed in a competitive marketplace.
You can watch the webinar above or check out the show notes below for the recap and a full transcript.
Amazon sellers dream of winning the Buy Box, which can significantly increase sales. In fact, Feedvisor recently shared that 82% of Amazon’s website sales occur through the Buy Box. This number will likely continue to grow as mobile sales increase.
While the exact Buy Box algorithm has never been revealed, merchants can benefit from learning strategies to increase their odds of winning the coveted spot. We recently partnered with Feedvisor to offer an informative webinar on the subject. In this recap, we’ll share a few of the many highlights from this webinar.
Providing a balance between a positive customer experience and a competitive price is key for merchants who are hoping to capture the Buy Box for a particular item. In fact, having stellar metrics is necessary for success on the Amazon marketplace. The mysterious Amazon algorithm favors sellers who consistently provide good service and maintain positive feedback ratings. Fantastic metrics are especially important for merchants who are up against Amazon as competition for a product.
Sellers who participate in the FBA program or the Seller Fulfilled Prime program are more likely to win the Buy Box than other merchants. “If you go back to the whole concept of the Buy Box, which is to guarantee customer satisfaction, Amazon knows that sellers who use FBA are more likely to perform better in terms of the customer experience,” Hagai said. “[In FBA] Amazon controls the flow of fulfillment and interaction with the customers, and that’s what they’re trying to achieve: a best-in-class customer experience.”
Seller feedback is one of the most important components of the Buy Box algorithm. “Amazon has always recommended that you ask for feedback,” Lagarde said. “The reason for this is twofold: number one, they know it works. But more importantly, they want sellers to be highly focused on the customer experience. It’s a huge part of the Amazon marketplace DNA.”
Positive seller metrics depend upon great seller feedback. In addition to fulfillment method, as noted above, a few areas merchants should pay extra attention to when trying to win the Buy Box include:
“Improving these metrics not only enables you to win a higher Buy Box share, but also positions you to win the Buy Box at higher prices, which is critical for your ongoing business,” Hagai noted.
Feedback is of supreme importance for sellers for three major reasons:
It’s important for merchants to have a strategy ready for responding to neutral or negative feedback. (FeedbackFive has a nifty feature that allows sellers to opt in to receive text or email notifications for neutral or negative feedback in order to respond as quickly as possible.) Don’t let negative feedback slip by without taking reasonable steps to have it removed. Getting negative feedback removed whenever possible helps sellers maintain positive seller metrics.
“Setting up a consistent and methodical process to manage negative feedbacks can pay huge dividends for your Amazon business and for your ability to compete for the Buy Box,” Lagarde said. Having an abundance of positive feedback provides a buffer when the inevitable negative feedback appears. FBA sellers can request feedback removal from Amazon if the issue was related to service or fulfillment. Merchant-fulfilled sellers should work with customers to attempt to resolve any problems as soon as possible. Keep a close eye on feedback trends and make any adjustments as needed. For example, if a particular SKU keeps receiving negative feedback, it may be time to take a closer look at that product.
For brand owners or sellers with exclusive ASINs, there’s no competition for the Buy Box. These merchants benefit from asking buyers for product reviews. After all, products that receive high reviews (4-5 stars) are significantly more likely to be purchased. Buyers trust their fellow shoppers to leave accurate reviews.
Product reviews drive traffic and increase the number of Buy Box impressions for private-label products, kits and other exclusive items. They also drive conversions of those same impressions. Asking for product reviews with targeted messaging can help merchants significantly increase sales. FeedbackFive also offers automated product review solicitation and management for busy merchants.
