AMAZON RECOMMENDS

For several months now, I’ve seen the Amazon’s Choice label beside select products in search results at Amazon.

So far, I haven’t seen it for book results. For example, I just searched for dictionary, but none were Amazon’s Choice.

Evidently, for the time being, it is just for certain types of products, which doesn’t include books.

Specifically, it appears to be for common everyday items.

As an example, when I searched for toothbrush, one of the top results was labeled as Amazon’s Choice (see the picture for this post).

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR PRODUCT LABELED AS AMAZON’S CHOICE?

According to Amazon’s Seller Central discussions, sellers can’t request this.

Rather, Amazon selects their “choice” based on ratings (not the same thing as reviews), price (“well-priced” products), and Prime shipping.

When you proceed to leave a product review, in addition to rating the product, you sometimes get the chance to rate it based on other criteria.

For example, if you leave a customer review for a pair of pants, you may be able to rate “How does the product fit?”

So if Amazon has data on other types of ratings for a product, it’s possible that the product rating (the stars left with reviews) may not be the only rating to make a difference.

FEATURED PRODUCTS

Obviously, having a product labeled as Amazon’s Choice is a huge advantage.

But it’s not the only way that products get featured on Amazon.

Being the bestseller in a category or subcategory also gets a product featured in search results (even for books).

The Bestseller label that appears in search results is just as prominent as the Amazon’s Choice label.

The Amazon’s Choice label says, “Amazon recommends this product.”

The Bestseller product says, “Customers prefer this product.”

Even the “small guys” can get featured in a variety of ways.

On most product pages, you can find “Customers Also Bought” lists.

When you purchase a product, you find other product recommendations.

In general, Amazon recommends products (via Customers Also Bought lists, for example) that have good ratings, are priced “well” (not necessarily the cheapest, but affordable may help), have a proven track record of organic sales (as opposed to referrals from external websites), and have a history of customer satisfaction (Amazon tracks customer satisfaction metrics, a point that is made clear in the Seller Central help pages).

ADVANTAGE, YES; BUT IT ISN’T EVERYTHING

Obviously, not every customer will go with Amazon’s Choice.

It’s certainly a big advantage for a product to be featured on Amazon (whether it’s Amazon’s Choice, a Customers Also Bought list, or some other way).

But it’s not the only criteria.

In fact, on several occasions I have discovered products that were Amazon’s Choice, but which weren’t the Bestseller in their category.

It is possible for similar products to compete with Amazon’s Choice, at least to a degree.

Sometimes, customers purchase many similar items at once.

I sometimes wind up purchasing Amazon’s Choice, but I sometimes prefer a different product.

I’m a customer who tends to take my time making a decision.

I like to look at a variety of products, then give my favorites a closer inspection.

One thing I like about Amazon’s Choice is that I trust Amazon more than a review left by someone I don’t know.

I still read some reviews to get an idea for the kinds of things that have appealed (or not appealed) to other customers.

But all other things being equal, I’m more apt to trust Amazon’s Choice.

The good news for other sellers is that very often, all other things aren’t equal.

Sometimes another product has a feature that I’m looking for. Sometimes another design appeals to me more.

There are many different factors that go into buying decisions. Amazon’s Choice, though it is prominently placed, is just one factor.

YOUR CHOICE

It’s ultimately your decision.

It’s interesting to compare perspectives.

Do you like Amazon’s Choice as a customer? If you were selling a product on Amazon, how would you feel about it?

Write happy, be happy. 🙂

Chris McMullen

Copyright © 2018

Author of A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon and Other Online Booksellers

• Volume 1 on formatting and publishing
• Volume 2 on marketability and marketing
• 4-in-1 Boxed set includes both volumes and more
• Kindle Formatting Magic (coming soon)

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