Pricing competitively is an essential concept at Amazon, and it refers to setting a price for a product that is equal to or lower than the price found at other reputable retailers outside of Amazon. If a retailer has priced a three-pack of Clorox wipes at nine dollars, you would need to price it at nine dollars or below to be considered competitively priced on Amazon.
Even a one-cent difference above the price outside Amazon is considered uncompetitive. The price on Amazon includes any shipping charges to account for the total price paid by the customer.
Why Does Amazon Want You to Price Your Products Competitively?
Amazon encourages competitor price analysis and competitively pricing your product because it aligns with Amazon's mission of being the most customer-centric company. Amazon knows that building confidence with customers is vital. They wish to ensure that customers see competitive prices when they visit the Amazon store.
When customers trust that they will consistently find competitive prices, they return to the Amazon store more frequently and make more purchases. This positive cycle of competitor price monitoring and pricing competitively benefits not only customers but also selling partners and Amazon itself.
What is the Featured Offer? What is the Connection to Competitive Pricing?
The featured offer at Amazon is the product listing displayed prominently and chosen as the default option when a customer clicks the "add to cart" button.
To emphasize the significance of competitor price analysis and pricing competitively, Amazon has made it a prerequisite for winning the featured offer. Being selected as the featured offer can significantly boost sales, with observed accelerations of up to 50 percent. Therefore, competitor price monitoring and pricing competitively as a business owner is highly advantageous. It increases eligibility to become the featured offer and reap the associated benefits.
If an offer is not competitively priced, it will not be featured or have a buy box. In such cases, customers need to click the "see all buying options" button, which takes them to the offer listing page, displaying all available offers. Amazon may also showcase similar products with lower prices to encourage customers to find a great deal.
Tools for Competitive Pricing
Amazon provides several tools for competitor price analysis. These tools help sellers ensure their offers are competitively priced and increase their chances of becoming the featured offer.
Email Notification
One such tool is the email notification sent by Amazon Selling Coach, which informs sellers when they have uncompetitive offers. The email includes up to 50 uncompetitive ASINs and provides a competitive price for each item. Sellers can restore eligibility for the featured offer by clicking the "update price" link in the email. It will direct them to the Seller Central page to modify their prices.
Pricing Health Page on Seller Central
This page provides valuable information about the business, including the number of offers that are ineligible for the featured offer due to non-competitive pricing. This competitor price analysis tool also indicates the number of offers currently eligible but with a lower price available from another seller. This information helps sellers make informed pricing decisions.
On the Pricing Health page, sellers can view a list of ASINs that are not competitively priced, including their current price, shipping charges, and competitive price. Sellers can update their prices by clicking the blue "update" button, which you will find on the right side of the page.
Automate Pricing
This competitor's price analysis tool is Amazon's repricer. Automate Pricing enables sellers to automate their pricing strategies, saving time and ensuring competitive prices. Sellers can enroll their listings in Automate Pricing and utilize predefined repricing strategies created by Amazon.
Amazon has designed these strategies to increase the chances of winning the featured offer by matching the competitive price or the featured offer price. Customizable options allow sellers to set repricing rules based on fulfillment type, item condition, feedback ratings, and other factors. Automate Pricing respects sellers' minimum and maximum price settings, ensuring prices remain within their desired range.
Sellers can access Automate Pricing directly from the Pricing Health page or the Pricing tab in Seller Central. For sellers using third-party repricers, we recommend consulting with the repricer integrator. It will set up the pricing algorithm to account for the competitive price.
Amazon is planning improvements to competitor price analysis tools such as the Automate Pricing tool. It will address these needs and will communicate updates through the news feed in Seller Central and periodic email updates.
Informed Pricing Decisions with Pricing Health Page
Amazon acknowledges that not all sellers can always set a competitive price due to their cost structure or pricing strategy. However, their goal is to provide sellers with the necessary information to make informed pricing decisions. Sellers can access pricing-related notifications, including high-price errors, low-price errors, and notifications about prices exceeding the maximum designated price. This competitor price analysis helps sellers account for competitive pricing factors when making pricing decisions.
Amazon enables file downloads within the Pricing Health page to facilitate action on pricing notifications. This competitor price analysis feature allows sellers to view and act on pricing notifications more easily. Sellers utilizing Automate Pricing can see clear instructions from themselves and other users to raise prices in specific situations. It includes price increases on Amazon and when competing offers go out of stock.
Conclusion
Understanding the importance of competitively pricing your product allows businesses to thrive on Amazon. They provide a great customer experience, ensure trust, and maximize sales opportunities. By consistently performing competitor price analysis and offering competitive prices, sellers can position themselves as trusted partners within the Amazon ecosystem.
If you require competitor price analysis and monitoring services, consider contacting Vserve Amazon Listing Services. This team of skilled experts can assist you in conducting comprehensive competitor price analysis and monitoring to gain valuable insights. Their expertise will enable you to make informed pricing decisions and stay competitive.
This blog is inspired by the video ‘Pricing Competitively on Amazon’ by ‘Amazon Seller University.’