Chances are you have purchased products via a third party seller on Amazon Marketplace, but do you know how and why Amazon directed you to that seller?
As Amazon continues to extend its reach into all facets of modern life, the average shopper is becoming savvier with how the site operates. Purchases from 3rd party sellers continue to increase, and the term ‘marketplace’ has crept into our diction. However, while a lot of consumers understand they are purchasing from 3rd party sources, they may not know why they are buying from that specific seller, or even if that is the lowest price available.
Buy Box
The term ‘Buy Box’ is hardly a household phrase and yet this is what many merchants deem to be the single most important factor in their Amazon strategy. The Buy Box is the little box to the right of your selected product and holds the critical “Add to cart” button. The Buy Box is prime real estate and winning the fight for it is similar to being the first hit on Google.
“The majority of the sales that occur on Amazon goes to the seller who is in the Buy Box, about 85 to 90-plus percent,” Phillip D’Orazio, President of the Palmetto Digital Marketing Group, which manages Amazon accounts for clients.
The Buy Box cannot be purchased, and it’s not a case of the cheapest seller always winning, the only way to win is to please Amazon’s A9 algorithm. Unlike eBay or Alibaba, Amazon has created a much more competitive system that pits sellers against each other. Amazon has not released the specific mechanisms behind the A9 algorithm, but does allude to these three key pillars:
- Conversion Rate – These are factors that Amazon has found have a statistically relevant effect on conversion rates. Examples of conversion rate factors include customer reviews, quality of images and pricing
- Relevancy – The first step in the A9 algorithm; Amazon gathers the results, and then decides how to list them. Relevancy factors tell A9 when to consider your product page for a given search term. Relevancy factors include your title and product description
- Customer Satisfaction & Retention – How do you make the most money from a single customer? Make them so happy that they keep coming back. Customer Retention factors include seller feedback and Order Defect Rate
Getting into prime position
Prime Day is on the horizon and sellers will want to ensure they are as competitive as possible in the race to the Buy Box across the event. Based on Amazon’s key pillars, we look at some quick wins with Brand View that can help give you the actionable insight to win prime position.
Price and Promotions: Using Brand View price and promotional data, you can track fluctuations in prices and promotions across Amazon in real-time. Leverage this insight to keep your prices competitive and understand if promotional activity is undercutting your price point.
Winning listings data: Brand View Export Builder allows you to review which 3rd party sellers have won a product listing and who featured in the ‘Other Seller’s’ box. This data allows you to quickly review:
- Completeness of product listings
- Selling price and any promotions
- Shipping options and delivery time
- Reviews
- Compiling this data will allow you to see how your product listings stack up and highlight potential focus areas for improvement.
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