Amazon is now the number one go-to marketplace for buyers and has become the world’s leading digital retailer. The e-commerce retail giant sells around 120 million items, and that too at the lowest prices! It’s the ideal place to look for a good deal. Have you ever wondered why things on Amazon are a lot cheaper than other marketplaces? Well, it is all because of the competition between sellers to win the Amazon Featured Offer.

You might have a few questions in mind, such as, is Featured Offer this big of a deal? And if yes, then how can sellers win it? Don’t worry, we’ve got these questions covered.

In the following article, you will discover everything you must know about winning the Amazon Featured Offer and mastering the art of profitable selling.

1.    Amazon Buy Box- What is it?

2.    Why is the Buy Box on Amazon so important for Amazon sellers?

3.    How do you become eligible to compete for the Buy Box?

4.    How to win the Amazon Buy Box?

Let’s begin!

Let us share what we have learned about the Amazon Featured Offer. It is the white box you can see at the top right corner of product pages on Amazon. According to the reports by Statista, the Buy Box is responsible for nearly 82% of all the sales on Amazon. If you win it, you automatically become the most prominent store in front of the buyers.

Most of the products on Amazon are sold by several different sellers. Featured Offer is the first thing a buyer sees when he searches for a product. The buyers on Amazon can click “Add to cart” from within the Featured Offer. If you are the featured vendor in the Buy Box, you make the sale! 

Buyers can scroll down and find other sellers that are mentioned below you, but there is nothing that distinguishes them from one another. That’s why most of the sales go to the Featured Offer winners. In short, it is the simplest way of purchasing top-quality goods on Amazon without searching through a lot of products.

Based on our expertise, there are two primary reasons for sellers to be concerned about winning the Featured Offer.

The Amazon Buy Box, also known as the Featured offer, accounts for nearly all the purchases made by buyers. It is the most visible and first ‘call to action’ that customers encounter on Amazon. The placement of Buy Box and its convenience of displaying the best seller is usually enough to achieve a sale. Buyers trust Amazon and they often don’t think about scrolling down to look at other buyers when the best one is displayed at the top. Simply put, if you win the Featured Offer, you will shine through while others stay dim. However, Amazon keeps the Featured Offer in rotation and sellers can’t hold it for a long time, and that’s exactly why the competition is really high and sellers do the best they can to attain and keep it with them as long as they can.

· It allows you to create PPC ads on Amazon

With the Amazon pay-per-click ads, sellers bid on click prices for specific keywords, and if the sellers have won the Featured Offer, they can use the Amazon PPC to establish sponsored advertisements for their product. However, you won’t be able to run “Sponsored Products” campaigns if you don’t own the Buy Box for that specific ASIN. 

An interesting fact is that for many of the products on Amazon, there will be more than one eligible seller to win the Featured Offer. Amazon then conducts and evaluates the performance of sellers to decide what share of the Buy Box the sellers should receive. 

To put it in a simpler way, Amazon doesn’t always assign the Featured Offer to a single seller. Instead, sellers will receive it’s share. Moreover, sellers don’t get an equal share of the highlighted spot. Instead, the strongest sellers win the highest share of the Featured Offer. 

Now that we’ve addressed your queries regarding the Amazon Featured Offer and its significance, it’s crucial to understand the prerequisites for Featured Offer eligibility. As seasoned experts in the field, we’ve outlined the key requirements you need to meet to qualify for it.

· Sellers must have a Professional Seller account

The minimum requirement for sellers to be eligible is to have a Professional Seller Account on Amazon that costs $39.99. Unfortunately, sellers with an Individual Seller Account cannot compete for the Featured Offer.

A seller has to be Featured Offer eligible to compete and win it for that specific product’s sales. It is not the same for every product. A seller can perform well and be eligible for one product, but not for the other items that are offered by him. To get Featured Offer Eligible Your ODR (Order Defect Rate), LSR (Late Shipment Rate), and Cancellation Rate should be minimum. Sellers can also switch to FBA to increase their chances.

· Condition of the items

An important consideration to bear in mind is that used items typically cannot secure the Featured Offer position over new, unused products. Nevertheless, sellers offering pre-owned items can now vie for the Featured Offer slot on Amazon, which has been established as a separate entity from the primary Buy Box. This nuanced strategy allows sellers to tap into a distinct market segment and optimize their sales potential.

· Products need to be in stock, always

If you don’t have the product in stock, you simply can’t compete for the Featured Offer.

Even if you match the basic eligibility standard for Featured Offer, you may not be able to win or own it right away- especially if multiple sellers are trying to get the Featured Offer under the same listing. Furthermore, while Amazon doesn’t clearly mention what factors the Amazon algorithm takes into account when awarding the Buy Box to the sellers, fulfilling the points mentioned below is how you can get closer to the Featured Offer.

– Offer Competitive pricing

The price competition for the Featured Offrt is increasing day by day. Almost 66% of the sellers lost the Buy Box due to price competition. Amazon associates low prices with satisfied and happy purchasers. Moreover, you can boost your chances of getting the Amazon Featured Offer by setting your product price within 5% of the existing Buy Box price. In 99% of the cases, the Buy Box price is usually the lowest possible price to offer for a specific product. Sellers need to make sure they have competitive prices so that they have increased chances of winning the Buy Box. Don’t rely on manual repricing- sign up with the best Amazon repricer to win the Featured Offer. 

– Sell products in new condition

As mentioned above, the condition of your items matters. Usually, the Featured Offer winners sell new products on Amazon and you won’t come across sellers offering used items winning over those with unused products.

– Be a prime seller

While non-prime vendors can compete for the featured Offer, Amazon prioritizes its Prime sellers. Sellers that are signed up with FBA are automatically eligible for Prime, but FBM sellers can also become Amazon prime sellers and increase their chances of getting the Featured Offer

– Focus on your inventory levels

If you are offering an item that is low on stock, you won’t be able to deliver that product to your customers in the given time. For instance, one out of five sellers on Amazon lost the Featured Offer due to inventory issues (BlueBoard- 2019). That is why Amazon emphasizes having your inventory in stock at all times. If you are unable to fulfill your orders, you won’t get it.

– Customers should be your number. 1 priority

The entire world knows that Amazon is a customer-centric marketplace. Even if you offer fast shipping, it won’t count if your customers have complaints regarding your customer service or products.

Your Order Defect Rate is a major factor that Amazon is going to notice before assigning you the Featured Offer. To avoid product returns and negative feedback, make sure the quality of your product is A-one and delivered on time. Listen carefully to the issues your customers have in order to resolve them asap.

– Your seller feedback should be positive

Although it’s unknown how Amazon’s algorithm weighs seller feedback when deciding who gets the Featured Offer- it’s assumed that sellers with poor or unsatisfactory performance metrics have a lower chance of winning.

– Offer Fast shipping

If you are an FBA seller, you don’t have to worry about this. However, FBM sellers can’t afford to offer late shipping if they want to win the Featured Offer. The faster their customers get the products, the better. Make sure to ship within 2-3 days to stay highlighted.

In conclusion,

Winning the Featured Offer is like hitting the jackpot on Amazon, it gets you maximum sales and thus, maximum profit. Make sure to follow all the factors above- especially to offer the best product prices. Sign up with the best Amazon repricer to win the Featured Offer and keep your product prices competitive, while you focus on other aspects of your Amazon business. Try now!