The Newegg buy box may look and act like Amazon’s. But don’t be fooled: Newegg’s Buy Box follows a unique set of rules and uses a variety of Newegg-specific signals to surface the right products. While similar to Amazon’s buy box, it is by no means identical.
That said, winning the buy box is still one of the best ways to maximize your visibility on the marketplace, as well as earn more conversions. Here’s what you need to know about Newegg’s buy box algorithm and how to land this coveted placement.
First Thing’s First: Where Is the Buy Box on a Newegg Listing?
The buy box is the small white box on the right side of a Newegg listing that shows the price and an “Add to cart” or “Buy now” button (a.k.a. the buy box button). The buy box button is connected to a specific listing by a specific seller; when a customer clicks it, the sale is attributed to the current buy box winner and sent to the seller for fulfillment.
The beauty of the buy box is that it reduces customer choice paralysis and streamlines the overall shopping experience. However, it can be problematic for the remaining sellers who don’t win the sale, because customers may never stumble across their brands before making a final purchase. So, what levers should sellers pull and how exactly do various factors influence your buy box win rate on Newegg?
Newegg House Rules for Winning the Buy Box
All marketplace sellers have a chance to win the buy box, provided that their items are eligible. Eligibility is contingent on Newegg’s Item policy, which covers products like medical devices that are prohibited from being sold on the marketplace.
The buy box winner is based on a number of influential factors including price, fulfillment, seller rating, content and more. Of these, pricing and fulfillment are the highest priorities since they have a cascading effect on the other factors.
Winning the buy box requires a blend of art and science. The best approach is to make sure your listings are optimized across each factor, specifically by following the below steps:
- Offer competitive final pricing
- Ensure timely fulfillment
- Maintain healthy seller ratings and performance
- Don’t neglect the content
- Watch your inventory levels
1. Offer Competitive Pricing
As one of the largest contributing factors to buy box readiness, the final price doesn’t necessarily have to be the lowest price. However, it should be on par with the rest of your competition, whether on the Newegg marketplace or elsewhere online.
The final price is inclusive of the product price, shipping and handling. Of course, when it comes to pricing on any marketplace, the last thing you want is to get caught up in a price race to the bottom, especially in industries that typically see lower profit margins. Consider the following when creating a pricing strategy:
- Newegg seller fees
- Your margins
- Shipping and return costs
- Advertising fees
Pro Tip: Pay attention to the suggested price notifications for your products in your Newegg Seller Portal account. This powerful piece of information offers insight into how your competitors are pricing similar products. With this information, you can consider lowering your SKU’s price for a brief promotional campaign while setting up pricing safeguards. Newegg’s Pricing Safeguard tool further protects you from getting into price wars by allowing you to set limits on how low your product can be priced based on predefined rules.
2. Ensure Timely Fulfillment
You can choose to fulfill orders yourself or take advantage of Newegg’s Shipped by Newegg (SBN) service. Regardless of which method you use, free and expedited shipping is the new norm and earns priority in the buy box.
Of course, some methods are better at meeting those expectations than others. In most cases, leveraging SBN has more benefits. SBN products generally have a higher chance of winning the buy box, since Newegg can guarantee order timeliness, accuracy and good customer service.
Case in point: Prior to leveraging SBN, a laptop company specialized in selling refurbished products sought to save costs by fulfilling orders themselves. However, their operational infrastructure became strained by a growing number of orders. They soon discovered that the savings from in-house fulfillment were being offset by problems stemming from unmet customer expectations. Despite owning numerous buy box positions for nine months prior, they quickly lost their positions to new entrants that could fulfill faster.
The company turned to SBN in hopes of improving ship times and earning back consumer confidence. The SBN team immediately functioned as their logistics arm: once the inventory was received, SBN stored, picked, packed and shipped orders. All SBN orders received before three p.m. were shipped out on the same day, with most deliveries arriving within two days.
SBN’s ability to reduce turnaround time from purchase to shipment translated to happier customers, which, in turn, contributed to the seller’s rise in buy box positioning.
3. Maintain Healthy Seller Rating and Performance
If you choose to fulfill your own orders, your seller performance is imperative to winning the buy box. This not only includes meeting shipping expectations, but also addressing customer inquiries quickly and completely. (SBN sellers, on the other hand, benefit from outsourced fulfillment, returns management and customer service.)
This requirement is a core pillar of Newegg. By developing excellent customer experiences and a reputable brand, you help to grow consumer trust in the marketplace and attract repeat purchases. Newegg therefore takes a hands-on approach to helping sellers unlock new revenue streams by tailoring solutions to fit their specific needs. Category and merchandising managers can coach you on what campaigns are right for your products; identify which solutions to use and how to use them; and help you make quick adjustments to drive optimal performance.
Here are a few things you should carefully monitor to keep your seller performance high:
- Track your seller rating
- Answer as many customer questions as much as possible
- Rectify reoccurring order issues immediately
- Consider integrating customer or shipping services offered by the marketplace if the issue is too big to tackle on your own
4. Don’t Neglect Content on Your Listings – Content Is Still King
Newegg customers are consumers of content. Between reading blogs highlighting a product to scouring product reviews and watching unboxing videos, Newegg customers are regularly consuming content to inform their purchases, especially when it comes to tech goods.
This is why it’s essential for you to prioritize well-written, information-rich listings. A few guidelines to get you started: provide descriptive product titles that include you brand name, category and a key benefit. Highlight the remaining benefits of your product in the bullet point description section. Don’t forget to integrate hi-res imagery and/or video.
For additional assistance, request Newegg’s A+ Content services. A+ Content helps to dress up your listings with engaging elements. For example, you can add touchpoint imagery that highlights different benefits of the product, alongside in-depth video reviews and descriptions to give your customers the informative experience they’re looking for.
5. Watch Your Stock Levels
Running low on inventory signals to customers and Newegg that you’re not ready to be in a prime-time location. After all, imagine that you’re a customer ready to add an item to a cart, only to find that it’s out of stock. Not a great experience, is it?
For this reason, the buy box favors those who have more inventory on hand. If you’re fulfilling your own orders, you should make sure that your inventory and fulfillment are all aligned to ensure accurate quantities and smooth transactions. If you’re using SBN, check that you have enough inventory at Newegg’s warehouse. As you’re restocking, you’ll additionally want to factor in delivery times and delays between current and replenishment stock to prevent surprises. Allocate enough inventory and keep your eyes peeled for low stock or inaccurate counts.
What Should You Do If You’re Still Not Winning the Buy Box?
The buy box position is in constant flux, given the number of variables influencing the outcome. If you aren’t winning the buy box position, don’t be discouraged. This doesn’t mean your fate is sealed and that you’ll never win the buy box. Spend some time enhancing your listings and customer service to give your company a nudge in the right direction—and heed the below tips.
Get Featured in the ‘Best Sellers’ Section
Newegg also strives to reward sellers who put in the honest work. Beneath the buy box is a section that gets just as much attention: the “Best Sellers” section. This section is reserved for top sellers (excluding the winner of the buy box) who follow the best practices listed above and are just shy of winning the buy box. The section features the seller’s name, product price and ratings with a call-to-action button, giving them a second chance of winning the customer’s attention. Remember that customers are sometimes willing to pay more for a product if they see it’s coming from a reputable seller. This is one of the main reasons why monitoring your seller performance is so important.
Advertising Profitably and Efficiently
Wining the buy box is huge part of a more comprehensive digital strategy but positioning your products throughout the shopper’s entire journey is just as critical as the buy box, if not more. The goal is to reach your right customers at the right time.
Newegg’s Sponsored Product Ads (SPA) are designed to do just that. SPA is based on search terms that you define and believe are best associated with your products, as well as bids you place on them. When a customer performs a query, Newegg will show the product attached to the winning keyword bid at the top of search engine results pages. Note that these ads can target customers who have a higher intent to purchase based on their search behavior.
When a customer clicks on your ad, your product will automatically own the buy box position. You don’t necessarily have to offer the lowest price to win the buy box, either, allowing you to maintain a premium price while winning the sale.
Furthermore, when you implement the best practices above, you can expect your ads to yield a higher ROI. You can gain access to valuable actionable insights as well with the ability to monitor clicks, conversion and other key metrics. Easily determine what product assortment resonates best with Newegg’s seller base and incorporate that into your organic efforts.
One More Tip on Advertising
Another advertising tool that may be beneficial for you, especially if you own a brand or are an authorized reseller, is the Sponsored Headline Ads (SHA). These placements give your brand a stellar position above-the-fold on results pages. Depending on their search query, customers will be served an ad consisting of your selected flagship models and tagline. Customers can either visit your product pages directly or your store front from the banner. SHA also targets customers in different parts of the purchasing funnel—not just those who are ready to purchase.
Utilizing both SPA and SHA is a surefire way of owning multiple buy box positions and increasing your potential for new customers. It’s a win-win situation.
Final Thoughts
Winning the buy box isn’t an end but a means to driving a solid customer experience that’s rewarded with a purchase.
Take stock of where your products and operations stand today. Do you have the operational and marketing infrastructure to support competitive pricing? What are your seller ratings like? Identify any gaps and figure out if the solutions you’re using are getting the job done.
If you’re stuck, consider collaborating with Newegg’s dedicated support team for additional help. Members of this support team are readily available, ensuring that you can always reach and consult a real person for tips on approving your buy box win rates.
The best practices outlined above have cascading benefits, like enabling you to win a spot in the ‘Best Sellers’ section and getting your listings ready for SPA or SHA, which guarantee that you’ll own the buy box. This is why the journey to winning the buy box is more important than winning the buy box itself. It sets you up for long-term success and allows you to reap the fruits of what you sow.
For more information on becoming a seller on Newegg, visit us at Newegg.com/sellers.
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