Amazon prefers sellers who have enough inventory to deal with the demand which the Buy Box can create. Therefore, sellers with effective inventory planning, consistent sales, and good stock history gain a higher Buy Box share. It is imperative to plan the inventory well in advance, especially in the case of products that are more seasonal in nature. For example, products like sweaters that experience high sales velocity in the winter season must be planned efficiently to meet the rise in demand.
If the product is out of stock, the Buy Box is automatically lost and rotated to the next bestseller. Additionally, sellers that opt for FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime) have a much higher chance of winning the Buy Box.
At Growisto, we focus on demand sensing based on a host of factors such past sales, marketing plans, seasonal conversions, Amazon platform traffic behavior, etc.. Demand sensing leads to better inventory estimates thereby reducing the chances of product going out of stock.
For one of our clients in the Beauty & Personal Care category, we created rolling monthly inventory plans – which improved their inventory in-stock rate from 49% to 92% on their top seller products within 5 months.