Understanding how to win the Takealot Buy Box plays a crucial role in the success of all sellers on the Takealot Marketplace. This article will explain what the Buy Box is, how it works, and how you can win it.
What is the Buy Box
One of the unique features of selling on the Takealot marketplace is that the same product can be sold by multiple sellers.
When a seller creates an offer for a product in the Takealot Seller Portal they set a selling price and Stock On Hand Levels they also have the option to send stock to the Takealot Warehouses. This offer then appears on the Product Listing Page along with all the other sellers who have created an offer for the same product.
When a customer visits the product page they’re able to purchase any one of the offers created by sellers. However, there is always a single offer that is displayed more prominently than the others, and this is the offer that is displayed in the ‘Buy Box’.
The Buy Box is the “Add to Cart” section of the Takealot Product Listing Page and all offers competing for the buy box are displayed in the other offers section. As a seller, it is vital to win the Buy Box as more than 80% of sales on Takealot happen through purchases from sellers who are winning the Buy Box. This is because the ‘Add to Cart Button is the first call to action that a customer will see when they land on a product page. Most customers simply never see the ‘other offers’ section and while the Buy Box provides information on who is selling the product and the lead time of the product this is unlikely to factor into a customer’s decision-making process as they know they all purchases they are made through Takealot are backed by Takealot’s Terms and Conditions.
Understanding the Buy Box algorithm
Takealot has a proprietary algorithm that determines who wins the Buy Box. Since this is their secret sauce they provide very little insight as to the exact factors. Additionally, the factors that determine the Buy Box winner shift depending on the specific product and the category in which the product is listed.
The only information that Takealot has provided regarding their Buy Box algorithm is that the factors comprise “price, stock levels, shipping times, and other indicators of customer preference.”
Price is the most important factor in winning the Buy Box. The lower your price, the more likely you are to win the Buy Box.