Understanding the “Buy Box” Feature from Bol

Bol (previously known as bol.com) is a web store headquartered in the Netherlands. It currently serves more than 11 million online customers, and these shoppers have access to well over 23 million unique items. From music and jewellery to baby products and gardening, Bol is indeed a one-stop-shop for discriminating buyers.

This is also why many European businesses choose to make their presence known within Bol, especially if they are hoping to increase their digital footprint and to resonate with a larger audience. There are several ways in which Bol can be used to your advantage, and we will spend some time examining one feature known as the Buy Box.

What is the Bol Buy Box?

Success in eCommerce is all about visibility. After all, potential customers will never take any further action if they are unaware of your product or service. This is when the power of the Bol Buy Box comes into play. The Buy Box is simply a widget that displays a “buy now” option immediately over the retailer that displays the best offer.

We can think of the Buy Box as a streamlined means to cut through the “fluff” and to encounter great deals without having to perform a manual search. Consumers tend to gravitate towards such options, and there is little doubt that any product attached to a Buy Box will enjoy enhanced popularity.

How to Make the Most Out of this Feature

So, how does Bol determine which products qualify for the Buy Box? Their algorithms evaluate several variables, including price, seller ratings (from other customers), delivery times, and availability. It can still be argued that the most important metric is the price itself. This is why retailers often choose to install the Bol Repricer offered by Channable.

The intention of this software package is to optimise product prices in relation to the competition, to keep abreast of the latest market trends, to evaluate customer reviews, and to increase existing sales pipelines. Simply stated, leveraging Bol Repricer is a great way to augment existing efforts in the Bol marketplace without needing to perform lengthy (and potentially confusing) market analyses.

Bol Buy Box products naturally obtain more recognition from the general public, so it makes a great deal of sense to strive for this vaunted status. The ability to employ third-party software packages will enable you to appreciate the results of your efforts and to remain ahead of the competition.

How to Improve Your Competitive Pricing on Bol

60% of online buyers treat competitive pricing as their highest priority when making a buy decision, so it’s one of Bol’s highest priorities, too. Repricing tools allow you to achieve higher buy box rankings without stooping to the lowest possible price. If you’re not making a profit, even a 100% buy box ranking won’t serve you. A tight pricing strategy requires constant monitoring, but most users can’t adjust their pricing 24/7. The Bol Repricer tool automates this process, amplifying your odds of dominating the buy box. You control your minimum and maximum price, and the technology will handle the rest. This way, outlying market conditions won’t set your prices off balance.

How to Improve Your Performance Score

Top performers spend more time in the Bol Box. The better your service standards, the higher your odds. You can improve your score by:

• Hitting your delivery targets at least 93% of the time. Three or more late deliveries a week can be detrimental to your score.
• Using PostNL drop-off points.
• Using an optimal shipping method. Those who use the Logistics Via Bol service needn’t be measured for performance scores since Bol is responsible for achieving delivery deadlines. The Verzenden via Bol service requires you to drop off items on deadline.
• Marking your items as sent in your API. This allows your buyers to trace their items.
• Bearing weekends and holidays in mind when making delivery promises.
• Gathering insights from your seller dashboard. Your performance page tells you whether you’re meeting your delivery promises and whether any of your carriers are letting you down.
• Keeping your inventory full so that products are always available for shipment.

How to Make Sense of Industry Influence

Every product line has its own level of delivery urgency, so the buy box weighs the three performance factors differently for every industry. Customers tend to expect daily-use products to arrive faster than luxury items. They also pay more attention to pricing on expensive items like laptops and furniture. For these reasons, buy block criteria are managed algorithmically. You can’t see your exact score, but you can assess your competitors’ pricing and delivery ratings.

Buy Box Strategies that Work

Buy Box success relies on more than just pricing and delivery deadlines. Your credibility and visibility are highly influential in winning the buy box. It pays to use keyword-rich product titles that will improve your search visibility. Your seller performance metrics are, of course, also crucial to your success. If you can reduce your order defect and pre-fulfilment cancellation rates, your ranking should improve. If your pricing is letting you down, consider bundle deals and bulk buy discounts to add appeal while pushing up your performance. Optimisation tools like Channable can support your efforts by repricing and optimising your inventory while feeding you key performance data.

Buy boxes are usually the default for buyers, so it’s no surprise that 86% of eCommerce sales are processed via this tool. Today’s online shopping industry is highly dynamic, requiring you to optimise your pricing and revenue constantly. This should be an hourly pursuit that adjusts to every competitor and industry change. Even so, buy box algorithms are more than mere digital optimisation. They measure factors that have been crucial to the sales process for centuries. Tightening your strategy will make you a stronger seller with happier customers — And that would serve you even if the internet didn’t exist.