Every feature on Amazon is tailor-made to either improve a customer’s shopping experience or make the platform seller-friendly. However, provisions like the Amazon frequently bought together feature achieve both of these objectives.
So, what exactly is the Amazon frequently bought together feature? How does it benefit shoppers and sellers? How can you gain the most out of it?
Well, wonder no more. Do pull up a chair and read on as we demystify this feature and provide helpful insights on how to leverage it.
What Is Amazon’s Frequently Bought Together Feature?
The Amazon frequently bought together feature is a recommendation system. It displays products that complement the item that a customer is viewing or has added to their cart.
For example, if you look up fitness products like yoga mats, the Amazon frequently bought together feature may recommend an item like a towel as you will likely need one as you exercise.
This feature improves customers’ shopping experiences by highlighting products that they need but may not have considered buying. They can thus choose to buy the complementary items altogether which is often more convenient and cost-effective.
On the other hand, it benefits sellers because it encourages shoppers to buy more than one item. This, in turn, drives sales and leads to higher revenues for sellers.
How Does Amazon’s Frequently Bought Together Feature Work?
Amazon’s frequently bought together recommendations are picked out by an algorithm.
However, like most Amazon features, the company does not disclose the metrics that the algorithm considers. This is probably to prevent abuse by sellers and maintain the feature’s objectivity.
Still, we can deduce some of the factors the algorithm weighs from research and the little information that Amazon discloses.
First, the Amazon recommendations algorithm works in real-time. This ensures that every customer gets up-to-date recommendations that are uniquely relevant to their needs and the products they are shopping for.
Further, the algorithm uses a broad pool of metrics to find relevant products to suggest to shoppers. Such factors include:
- A customer’s shopping habits – this includes items that they have bought, looked up, rated, or reviewed before.
- Other customers’ purchases – the algorithm monitors items that other shoppers buy together. It then uses such insights to make similar suggestions to other shoppers who look up those products.
The combination of these two data sets is often referred to as item-to-item collaborative filtering. It provides more relevant recommendations than using only one set of information.
After the algorithm scans and picks the best recommendations, Amazon includes them below the product details of the item that a customer is viewing. In some instances, they may also come up on the checkout page.
It is then fully up to the customer to decide whether they would like to use the recommendations.
How to Leverage Amazon’s Frequently Bought Together Feature to Increase Sales
So far, we know what the Amazon frequently bought together feature is, its objectives, and a bit about how it works.
Still, competition on Amazon is quite stiff. It is thus wise to find ways to optimize your listings and selling strategies so that you align with the algorithm and increase the odds of your products being recommended to buyers.
Here are some optimization methods worth considering.
Maintain Good Amazon Account Health
Good Amazon account health indicates that you serve sellers well and mostly receive positive feedback. You can achieve this by:
- Ensuring timely and safe delivery of your customers’ orders
- Maintaining good inventory levels if you are an FBA seller
- Resolving disputes fast and amicably
- Maintaining low return rates
- Committing to high standards of customer service that merit positive reviews
Good account ratings make you more eligible for consideration whenever Amazon is evaluating listings for recommendations, rankings, or special badges.
In contrast, low rankings diminish the chances of Amazon recommending your listings; it would be bad business to suggest a seller that may provide a subpar experience to shoppers.
Run Product Campaigns
Product campaigns make your products more visible to shoppers. This could drive more traffic to your listings which may, in turn, make you stand out as the algorithm scans through products to recommend.
Create and Market Product Bundles
Product kitting entails identifying two complementary items in your inventory and selling them as a package at a discounted price.
For example, if you sell shoes you could pair different units with various complementary items like lace options, shoe trees, or heel cushion pads.
As more customers buy your bundles, the Amazon algorithm may start to associate those items with each other. Subsequently, even when you no longer offer the bundle, it may still recommend your products to shoppers buying shoes or shoe accessories.
Create Competitive Listings
Ensure that you:
- List your product in the right category
- Use ranking keywords
- Have the right ASINs
These details keep you firmly in competition with other sellers in your niche because they ensure that your listings are discoverable during algorithm searches.
Consider Strategic Partnerships
The idea here is to work with a seller that sells products that complement yours.
Take, for example, that you sell pilates equipment while another seller specializes in private label activewear.
These products belong in fairly different Amazon niches but they are related. So, you and the activewear seller could help each other out by working together.
You could, for instance, start selling leggings bundled with your pilates accessories. In return, they could offer discounted bundles including your exercise mats alongside their activewear.
Make Your Products Prime-Eligible
Most Amazon Prime shoppers look out for Amazon’s frequently bought together recommendations because buying complementary items or product bundles:
- Offers them good value for money
- Could enable them to meet a spending threshold that makes them eligible for free shipping
Making your products eligible for prime could, therefore, give you access to this niche of shoppers and earn you rewarding returns.
FAQs about Amazon’s Frequently Bought Together Feature
How Can I Include My Products in Amazon Frequently Bought Together Section?
Sellers do not have control over the Amazon frequently bought together feature. It is wholly controlled by the Amazon algorithm.
You can only create optimal listings, use some of the tips we have outlined above, and hope that your products merit such recognition.
What Can I Do If My Products Are Not Selected by the Amazon Frequently Bought Together Algorithm?
You could:
- Try to improve the quality of your listings
- Evaluate your Amazon KPIs and make improvements, if necessary
- Refer to the selling strategies we have suggested above and identify those that may work for you
That said, your products not being recommended does not necessarily mean that you are doing anything wrong. Stiff competition is sometimes hard to overcome. Focus more on driving sales and delivering top-tier service. Your rewards will come with time.
What Is the Difference between Amazon Frequently Bought Together and Amazon Sponsored Products?
Amazon frequently bought together recommendations are based on certain standards of merit and relevance i.e. the suggested product has to be complementary to what a customer is shopping for. Sellers cannot pay to earn the recommendation.
In comparison, sponsored products are ads that sellers pay for. They come up when customers run product searches and are positioned to catch the eye of a buyer over other search results.
They are chosen based on what a customer is looking for and not due to complementarity or an attempt to upsell the shopper.
In Conclusion
Any opportunity that can help you make better sales on Amazon is certainly worth pursuing. So, take the tips you have learned and leverage the Amazon frequently bought together feature as best as you can.
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