Achieving the Featured Offer can be a powerful way to boost visibility for products and help increase sales for your ecommerce business.
The Featured Offer (formerly Buy Box) is a window that appears at the top right of a product detail page above the Buy Now button. This automated component lifts products above the competition to help customers find what they need and compare alternatives based on factors like product price, condition, and shipping speed.
If customers prefer the Featured Offer, they can add it to their cart or click “Buy Now” to place a purchase immediately. They can also compare the Featured Offer to other options below the offer, or explore the “Used & New” link if they’re looking for comparable offers with different conditions and price points.
What products make it into the Featured Offer? Let’s dive into the details.
Amazon Featured Offer eligibility
Some items, like books, aren’t eligible for the Featured Offer. For qualifying product categories, items can make it into the Featured Offer based on criteria that can vary from category to category. Here are some examples of factors that can influence Featured Offer eligibility:
- Amazon account – You’ll need an active Professional selling plan and an account in good standing.
- Competitive prices – Featured Offer prices are typically lower than or equal to comparable options.
- Stocked inventory – Running out of stock can knock an item out of the running for the Featured Offer.
- Fast delivery – Quick delivery times can appeal to customers. Products should also arrive within expected timeframes.
- Product condition – The Featured Offer is for new or like-new goods.
Another factor that counts? Happy customers. We’ll explore customer satisfaction rates and other criteria relevant to the featured merchant algorithm, next.
How to become the Featured Offer
Landing products in the prized Featured Offer (formerly Buy Box) position can dramatically increase sales and profits. But how do you get there in the first place? Here are several best practices you can try.
1. Offer fast and free shipping
If you choose to fulfill orders yourself through Amazon’s Merchant Fulfilled Network, then you’re responsible for shipping rates and delivery times. You can adjust shipping fees and details by visiting Shipping Settings in your seller dashboard. Note that standard shipping is required for all products, so make sure that’s an option for customers.
Another option is to sign up for Fulfillment by Amazon in order to offer fast, free shipping to Prime members. FBA is an opportunity to leverage Amazon’s global fulfillment networks and get orders to customers within two days—or even provide next-day or same-day delivery.
2. Price products competitively
Featured Offer prices are commonly at or below the lowest priced alternatives. To help with adjusting prices, you have a few options when it comes to ecommerce tools.
- Pricing Dashboard – Visit this price tracking tool in your seller dashboard to see real-time data on prices for Amazon sellers competing for the Featured Offer.
- Selling Coach Pricing Report – See price recommendations for products and get alerts for adjusting prices to remain competitive.
- Automate Pricing – Use Amazon’s automated pricing tool to adjust prices for select products or across your entire catalog. Choose “Predefined Automated Pricing” rules to have Amazon set prices for you, or use “Customized Automated Pricing” rules to set your own parameters.
When pricing products, be sure to take into account the total price for the product (including shipping costs).
3. Provide excellent customer service
Several metrics can play into evaluating customer service:
- Order Defect Rate – ODR measures account activity components such as negative feedback rate, A-to-Z Guarantee Claim Rate, and credit card chargeback rate.
- Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate – CR calculates frequency of seller-canceled orders (not including customer-canceled orders and refunds).
- Late Shipment Rate – LSR tracks orders that ship after the expected ship date.
- Valid Tracking Rate – VTR is based on tracking information (such as incorrect tracking numbers, which can disrupt the buying experience).
Monitor these metrics under Account Health within Seller Central, where you can find details for each, as well as an overall account rating from 1 to 1,000 (the higher, the better).
Account Health detail page
4. Keep stock levels up
Maintain adequate levels of inventory to meet customer demand at all times. For instance, if you expect an uptick in orders, order a surplus to avoid a shortfall. Monitor stock levels in Seller Central by going to Inventory and then Inventory Planning.
If you won’t be able to manage an Amazon storefront for a period of time, then set your account to inactive to avoid out-of-stocks and unhappy customers. You can also set up notifications of dwindling inventory levels using the Amazon Selling Coach page.
Other alerts you can create include:
- Inventory opportunities – See if products are getting low in stock
- Product opportunities – Find trending products with limited availability
- Fulfillment opportunities – With FBA, see recommendations to attract customer interest with Prime shipping
How to monitor your Featured Offer presence
Are you working on improving your odds of becoming the Featured Offer? Or maybe you have several items featured and want to keep it that way?
You can monitor Featured Offer performance and product eligibility. Here’s how:
- From the top left-hand menu in Seller Central, go to “Inventory” and click “Manage All Inventory”
- Click “Preferences” button on the top right-hand side
- Select “Featured Offer Eligible”
- Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page
Now, you’ll see a new column showing ASINs and eligibility.
Manage Inventory product list
Use this to see if you can make adjustments in price, shipping offers, customer service, or other improvements. Then take this data and guide your strategy and next steps with it.
Increase your Featured Offer sales potential
The Featured Offer can be a total game-changer when it comes to reaching broader audiences and seeing sales go up. Use the tips and tools we’ve covered to gain traction and grow visibility for products. For more inspiration on adjusting your strategy to meet eligibility and grow your business, check out this beginner’s guide for Amazon sellers.
FAQ: Amazon Featured Offer
What is the Amazon Featured Offer?
Why does my Amazon listing not have a Featured Offer?
- You ran out of stock
- The price is too high
- You’re a new seller
- Sales volume for the product is too low (lack of performance data)
