Debunking the 2018 Amazon Buy Box Algorithm

Copyright 2017 - Q4 Amazon Virtual Summit
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Debunking the 2018 Amazon
Buy Box Algorithm

● Session Recording + Slides Will Be Sent Out
● Check out the Handouts section!
● Submit Questions to Our Panelists
Today’s Logistics

Overview
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L A S T I N G
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Amazon Sales Acceleration
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Creative Services
About CPC Strategy

Our connected e-commerce
platform helps online sellers
manage support, feedback and
pricing in one place

Shane Power-Murphy
Business Development
Alan Gibbons
Amazon Buy Box Strategist
Today’s Speakers

Today’s Agenda
● What is the Amazon Buy Box?
● How to become Buy Box eligible
● Essential metrics you need to master
● Rising importance of mobile
● Take your sales strategy to the next level
● Alternatives to the Buy Box

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STACK TEXT ROW 2What is the Amazon Buy Box?

What is the Amazon Buy Box?

● “Add to Cart” (USA) or “Add to
Basket” (UK) button that customers
can use to add items to their
shopping carts

shopping carts
● When a listed item appears as the
default on the product page, that’s
the Buy Box winner

shopping carts
● When a listed item appears as the
default on the product page, that’s
the Buy Box winner
● If more than one eligible seller
offers a product, they compete for
the Buy Box

● Deloitte named Amazon one of the world’s
10 largest retailers last year
● Amazon was responsible for 4% of all retail
sales in the USA in 2017
● The Buy Box is the holy grail for Amazon
sellers because it guarantees high visibility
and higher sales numbers
82% of all
Amazon
sales
Why winning the Buy Box is essential

How does the Buy Box work?
Sellers must meet performance-based requirements to be eligible to compete
for the Buy Box.
Amazon’s algorithm awards the top spot to the sellers it believes will offer the best shopping
experience based on factors such as:
● Price
● Availability
● Fulfillment
● Customer service
You won’t win the Buy Box if your price is too high or your performance metrics too low.

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What are the requirements?
● Professional seller

● New items

● New items
● Order volume

● New items
● Order volume
● Performance metrics

● New items
● Order volume
● Performance metrics
Eligibility
doesn’t
guarantee the
Buy Box!

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STACK TEXT ROW 2Essential metrics you need to master

Fulfillment
● Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
○ Amazon considers its own fulfillment
service to be best-in-class in terms of
shipping time and on-time delivery
rates
● Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)
○ FBM sellers must have high scores
across all variables and a very low
price to win the Buy Box
This variable has
the greatest
impact on the
Buy Box

Fulfillment
● Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP)
○ Feedback of +4.5
○ Valid tracking ID on 94% of premium
shopping options (PSO)
○ 95% on-time delivery rate for PSO
orders
○ <1% cancellation rate on PSO orders
○ <1% late shipment rate on all orders
○ Meet one- and two-day shipping
requirements
○ Use Amazon logistics for shipping
This variable has
the greatest
impact on the
Buy Box

Landed price
● Two prices on Amazon:
the amount you list an
item for; landed price
● Landed price: total cost
of an order including
shipping and tax

Shipping time
● How fast depends on what the product is
● Don’t make promises you can’t keep
● When making delivery estimates
○ On-time delivery rate: +97%
○ Late shipment rate: <4%
○ Valid tracking rate: 95%
The faster items
are shipped, the
better your Buy
Box chances

Customer experience
● Order defect rate
○ Negative feedback, chargebacks and A-Z claims over short- and long-term
periods

Customer experience
periods
● Late shipment rate
○ When an order is not confirmed as shipped by the expected ship date

Customer experience
periods
● Late shipment rate
○ When an order is not confirmed as shipped by the expected ship date
● Feedback
○ All customer feedback (positive, neutral and negative) over the last 30, 90
and 365 days
○ The number of reviews you receive relative to your selling history

Other key metrics
● Customer response time
○ Amazon’s SLA requires sellers to respond to queries within 24 hours

Other key metrics
● Valid tracking rate
○ Amazon's customers count on being able to find out where their orders are
and when they can expect to receive them.

Other key metrics
● Valid tracking rate
○ Amazon's customers count on being able to find out where their orders are
and when they can expect to receive them
● On-time delivery
○ Orders that were delivered on time

Minimum scores to compete for the Buy Box
Shipping time Less than 14 days
Order defect rate Less than 1%
Valid tracking rate Greater than 95%
Late shipment rate Less than 4%
On-time delivery Greater than 97%
Feedback score Greater than 97%
Customer response time Less than 24 hours

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STACK TEXT ROW 2Rising importance of mobile

Winning the Buy Box is even more
crucial on mobile
+72% of Amazon
customers
globally shopped
using a mobile
device in Q416
More people shop on Amazon using mobile devices

crucial on mobile
● Shopping on the Amazon app grew by 56%
worldwide in the lead-up to the 2016 holiday
season
+72% of Amazon
customers
globally shopped
using a mobile
device in Q416

crucial on mobile
season
● Spending through mobile accounted for
34.5% of all U.S. e-commerce sales in 2017
+72% of Amazon
customers
globally shopped
using a mobile
device in Q416

crucial on mobile
season
● Spending through mobile accounted for
34.5% of all U.S. e-commerce sales in 2017
● Expected to reach 53.9% in 2021
+72% of Amazon
customers
globally shopped
using a mobile
device in Q416

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Ace customer support
Speed
● Customers who receive a response
within 24 hours are 50% less likely
to leave negative feedback
● Use templates to automate replies
to common queries

Ace customer support
Personalization
● Personalized customer interactions
deliver 6 times more transaction
rates than generic messages
● Address your customers by name,
recommend products based on
past purchases and include
localized information

Optimize repricing
● Manual repricing
○ Manually updating your prices for each
ASIN
● Algorithmic repricing
○ Analyzing massive amounts of data to
determine your competing price
● Rules-based repricing
○ Combines algorithms with personalized
seller rules to react to price changes and
compete on your own terms
5.5 billion
price changes
in Oct 2016
alone

Price smarter than the competition
Target competitors at busy shopping times
● Use a rules-based repricer to analyze pricing
trends by time of day
● Schedule time-specific rules that compete with
your rivals when their stock is likely to run low
Target competitors based on your strengths
● Compete differently with FBA and SFP merchants
● Use your seller metrics to target your rivals
● Set rules that consider competing seller locations

Get more reviews and feedback
● Product reviews
○ Amazon's top priority is delivering a great customer experience
○ Reviews help your Amazon SEO
○ Buy Box algorithm takes into account how many reviews you
receive relative to your selling history
● Seller feedback
○ All positive, negative and neutral ratings you received over the
past 30, 90 and 365 days
○ Most recent comments = biggest impact on your score
○ Never let it drop below 96%

Target positive reviews and feedback
Never offer discounts or freebies and never include your email, phone number
or link to any other site!
● Run a product review email campaign
○ Follow up on each order with a series of emails
○ Use language that encourages a positive review
○ Make it easy by including a link to leave a review
● Send smart, selective feedback requests
○ Target orders by SKU, product type, on-time delivery, destination and more
○ Personalize the request
○ Ask if everything is satisfactory and include a link to leave feedback
○ Invite the customer to resolve any issues directly with you

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Other Sellers on Amazon
● Under the Buy Box
● These listings must still meet all the
Buy Box requirements
● Not as visible as the Buy Box
winner but have a greater chance
of conversion than products that
don’t show up here at all

Offer Listing Page
● Lists all the sellers who sell a
particular product, regardless of
Buy Box eligibility
● Displayed in order of landed price
● Customers can also see other
variables, including seller feedback,
delivery rates and return policies

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Schedule Your 1-1
Amazon Strategy Evaluation
CPC Strategy’s Amazon Strategy Evaluation is a comprehensive 60-minute analysis and
assessment of your Amazon Seller Central account, advertising programs, product order volume,
and profitability metrics.
What Now?
SCHEDULE MY EVALUATION

What’s next?
Schedule a FREE 1-1
Buy Box ownership evaluation and get 20%
off an annual subscription
Find out how xSellco can help you respond to customer queries faster, increase your product
reviews and seller feedback and win the Buy Box at higher profits.

Questions for Today’s Speakers?
Shane Power-Murphy
Business Development
Alan Gibbons
Amazon Buy Box Strategist

Debunking the 2018 Amazon Buy Box Algorithm

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