Walmart Marketplace gives sellers the opportunity to put their products in front of millions of online buyers. However, with high visibility comes steep competition. Whether you’re selling pet products or housewares, there are countless other sellers marketing products similar to yours. This begs the question: how do you make your products stand out from the crowd?
One of the most effective ways to do this is by winning the Walmart Buy Box. Sellers who secure this coveted piece of online real estate see a significant boost in visibility. Over time, this can translate to a major increase in lifetime sales, which can help propel your business toward long-term success. In this guide, we’ll talk more about what the Buy Box is, how it can enhance your campaign strategy, and what you can do to snag it.
Key takeaways
- The Walmart Buy Box is the featured section on an item page, listed above all the other products. It’s often the first thing customers see, so landing here can drive more traffic to your product listing.
- Winning the Walmart Buy Box can significantly boost the visibility and sales of your products. Pricing competitively, offering free shipping, and getting more reviews can help increase your chances of winning.
- The Buy Box is easy to shop from and garners the most sales by far. Its accessibility and visibility make it a major asset for Walmart sellers.
What exactly is the Walmart Buy Box?
The Buy Box is a featured section on a designated item page. It showcases the item’s name, price, seller, and buying options. If multiple sellers have the same product within the same category listed on Walmart Marketplace, their products will all be displayed on the same item page. However, the seller ranking the highest on the item’s page will be featured in the Buy Box. Many customers won’t bother to look further into this section of the page, so having your product featured there will guarantee much higher visibility.
What does “winning” the Buy Box mean?
If you win the Buy Box, your brand will be displayed by default on the page. When a customer adds the product to cart, it will automatically add the product from the brand that is selected. If your product is displayed in the Buy Box, it can make a major difference in your overall sales as it is the most streamlined buying experience. The easier it is for a customer to purchase your product, the more likely they’ll do so.
Requirements to win the Buy Box
To win the Buy Box, you’ll need to meet certain thresholds. Walmart considers these to be the most basic requirements for earning the Buy Box. Keep these stipulations in mind to ensure that your product meets them:
- Deliver the product on time or earlier,
- Offer a competitive price point,
- Provide low-cost or free shipping,
- Always keep your product in stock,
- Have positive product reviews from customers.
Because these are the most basic requirements for securing the Buy Box, it’s crucial to ensure that you meet all of them. Once you’ve covered these points, you can begin adopting strategies to further increase your chances of winning this coveted spot.
How to win the Walmart Buy Box
Once you’ve fulfilled all the requirements, it’s important to strategize to increase your chances of winning the Buy Box. You should also pay attention to sales velocity throughout this process, as this metric provides insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of your efforts, indicating how quickly you are generating revenue. With that said, here are some guidelines for earning a spot at the top of your product page.
Price products competitively
Walmart overwhelmingly favors sellers who price their products competitively. By strategically choosing price points for your goods based on competitor prices, you can attract more customers to your product page and set yourself apart from other sellers. When pricing your products, it’s also important to account for perceived value and customer demand.
Keep an Inventory
Needless to say, you need to keep your products in stock to boost your chances of winning the Buy Box. Luckily, Walmart Fulfillment Services makes keeping and managing your inventory easy. Whenever you need to, you can track the number of units currently in stock and the number of unfulfilled orders. Check and analyze these metrics regularly to show Walmart that you’re serious about keeping your items in stock.
Offer free or low-priced shipping
It isn’t a surprise that Walmart customers tend to gravitate toward the cheapest, most affordable options. With so many sellers offering free or low-priced two-day shipping on Walmart Marketplace, setting yourself apart from the crowd can be tough if you demand a higher shipping cost than customers are willing to pay. Even if you’re offering a high-quality product, you’ll likely lose out on a competitor’s product if they offer free shipping. It’s best to stick to free or low-priced shipping if you want to maximize your chances of winning the Buy Box.
Optimize your product listing
To optimize your product listing, there are four key factors to keep in mind:
- Content & Discoverability,
- Offer,
- Ratings & Reviews, and
- Post-Purchase Quality.
When you focus on these central points, you can optimize each aspect of your product listing for increased sales and visibility. In addition, Walmart Marketplace rewards sellers who optimize their listing for each of the four factors by making it easier for customers to find your product.
Get more customer reviews
Reviews help lend credibility to your product. That’s why Walmart is more likely to reward the Buy Box to a seller with a large number of reviews. So, before you try to win this coveted spot, it’s well worth your time to get more product reviews. You can do this by sending a friendly follow-up email to customers who have purchased your product encouraging them to leave a review. Some sellers also send products to customers at no charge in exchange for honest reviews.
Why is winning the Buy Box so important?
As we discussed earlier, winning the Buy Box can increase your sales and bolster the success of your business as a whole. Here are three key reasons why winning the Buy Box is so important to Walmart sellers.
It’s easier to purchase from
The way the Buy Box is set up allows for a simple, hassle-free shopping experience. Given how busy most people are, the easiest, fastest option is the one that most customers will choose. By winning the Buy Box, your product will be selected by default. When there are as few steps as possible to selecting your product than your competitors, customers are far more likely to purchase yours. This can help maximize your sales in the long run.
Customers are unaware of Walmart Marketplace
When people shop on Walmart.com, it’s rare for buyers to go out of their way to view multiple sellers and really weigh their options. For the vast majority of consumers, Walmart Marketplace is something that goes on behind the scenes without their knowledge. If you want as many shoppers to see your product as possible, you must win the Buy Box. Otherwise, your product will likely fade into the background along with dozens of other items like yours.
It’s also worth noting that the product displayed in the Buy Box is typically viewed by consumers as the most “legitimate” version of the product. Many customers don’t purchase any products from other sellers listed at the bottom of the Buy Box, especially if they have very few or negative reviews.
Most sales go to whoever owns the Buy Box
The most obvious benefit of the Buy Box is that the majority of sales go to the seller who wins it. Since it’s so easy to purchase from and is highly visible to customers, most buyers will opt for the product featured in the Buy Box. Additionally, if you maintain a positive seller reputation and your product continues to perform well, your products might occupy the Buy Box for a long period. This can translate into a significant number of sales.
In Summary: boost your business’s success by winning the Walmart Buy Box
When combined, each of these selling strategies can significantly increase your sales on a long-term basis. First and foremost, remember to ensure you’ve fulfilled all of the core requirements for winning the Buy Box. Once you’ve met them all, take the time to optimize your product listing and overall campaign strategy. You can achieve this in many ways, and Trellis can help. Our platform helps optimize the 4 Ps—Price, Product Content, Placement of Advertising, and Promotion—to increase your chances of landing this coveted spot on Walmart.com. Reach out to us.