Win the marketplace buy box in 2023

Seasoned e-commerce retailers are probably familiar with the buy box, where it is believed that the best offers lie. This little mechanism is popular among marketplace giants like Amazon, Bol.com, Google Shopping, Fnac, eBay, Walmart, and more. It’s essentially the holy grail for sellers, with the potential for an astounding increase in visibility and sales. Amazon reported that 82% of sales go through the buy box. 

As more vendors are entering the e-commerce space, competition can get a little heavy. Millions of sellers are now competing for a piece of the consumer attention pie. Amazon sees 2.7 billion visits a month, eBay sees over 107 million visitors, and AliExpress has 528 million. The need for differentiation is especially pertinent in today’s e-commerce industry, where many stores offer similar goods. E-retailers must do more to make their brand stand out amidst the fierce competition. This is where the coveted buy box comes in.

What is a buy box?

The buy box is essentially an algorithm-calculated feature that pops up every time a visitor types in a search term. The featured product will come along with an “Add to Cart” option, along with product specifics and seller details. On e-commerce marketplaces, the buy box is precious real estate that allows products to be shown first for their relevant searches. Other similar products will only be shown at the sidebar or below the buy box. The algorithm is essentially recommending a “best fit” for the buyer’s needs.

It’s also important to note that buy box products will rotate monthly or yearly, giving other sellers a chance to be shown.

What’s the Big Deal about Pricing Intelligence?

Before you gun for the buy box, it’s essential to understand why you need to start selling on an e-commerce marketplace. Besides potentially welcoming huge audiences to your listing, engaging with marketplaces can bring a myriad of benefits to your online business:
– Tap into marketplace visitor traffic to expand business on a global scale
– Leverage marketplace features, such as visual search and shipping service to enhance customer experience
– Expand brand reach and accessibility through multiple sale channels
– Conduct safe new product demand testing
– Compete with other sellers by optimizing product listings
– Cut down on time-consuming business processes through automation of transactions, invoicing, order management, and more
– It helps boost sales and increase sales opportunities when customers land on products they did not intentionally search for.

Now that we have the basics right, it’s time to learn how to excel in your marketplace by winning the buy box.

Why winning the buy box is essential for business success

Let’s take a moment to think from a buyer’s perspective: how often do you click on the first result you find or scroll past the first page?
If you’re looking to push large volumes of products, your best bet to increase visibility and credibility comes from securing the buy box spot. 70% of shoppers on Amazon do not scroll past the first page of search results. Similarly, a quarter of searches on Google click on the first result. As mobile shopping increases in popularity, these numbers will only continue to surge.

Of course, there are instances where searchers will scroll past the buy box to select other options manually. But you have to consider the chances of that happening. Consumers nowadays not only expect but demand convenience. Buy box purchases are mostly a result of convenience and ease of purchase since they can select the product type and quantity and immediately add them to the cart.
The challenges with market potential mean that more sellers will continue to vie for consumers’ attention – some with little to no differentiation except for the price. Even then, out of millions of listings, it can be hard to communicate to prospects and say, “Hey, it’s us – we’re the best!” The buy box then gives sellers enough market share on digital sale channels, providing organic traffic boosts and conversions to drive revenue.

For a feature that accounts for over 80% of Amazon’s sales (we’re talking billions of dollars here) and even higher on mobile purchases, winning the buy box is one of the surefire ways to guarantee that your brand achieves success.

Winning the buy box with e-commerce tools

Successfully capturing the buy box on various marketplaces can be challenging, but it is not impossible. With the help of tgndata’s platform, sellers can now master the modern marketplace with a complete e-commerce solution.

Set competitive pricing with Dynamic Pricing
Many marketplaces prioritize pricing when it comes to buy box ownership. With a repricing automation solution, you will be able to mirror competitors’ price changes and adjust to fit so that you will always keep the market’s desired price.

Conclusion

Winning the buy box in a saturated e-commerce industry is no easy task, but the rewards will certainly pay off! Marketplaces utilize a powerful feature to help sellers get to the top and achieve revenue growth success. The bottom line is: it’s always important to think from the buyer’s perspective and optimize your product listings based on what sells. With tgndata, sellers will make data-driven decisions and find the best methods for success in the e-commerce world.

 
 

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