How Amazon Buy Box Grows the Behemoth's Market Share

B. Amazon's Online Superstore

80. Shoppers typically reach Amazon using an internet browser or a dedicated Amazon shopping application (‘“mobile app“) on an internet-connected device, Each month in the United States, 126 million people visit Amazon on a mobile device, and more than 42 million people access Amazon on a desktop computer.

81. There are more than (redacted) different products available for sale on Amazon. To navigate (redacted) product catalog, Amazon offers a search bar. When shoppers enter a search, Amazon’s systems generate a “Search Results Page“ that displays product listings interspersed with advertisements (discussed in more detail in the next section). Product listings on the Search Result Page typically show a name, picture, price, star rating, shipping speed estimate, and Prime status (or lack thereof) for each item, as shown in Figures 3a (desktop) and 3b (mobile).

Figure 3a. Amazon Search Results Page, Desktop Browser.

Figure 3b. Amazon Search Results Page, Mobile App.

82. If shoppers want to learn more about or purchase an item displayed on the Search Results Page, they must click the product listing, which brings them to the “Detail Page” for that item. An item’s Detail Page typically includes a detailed product description, additional pictures, product dimensions or specifications, and customer-generated ratings and reviews.

83. Importantly, the Detail Page usually includes a “Buy Box.” The Buy Box displays a single offer for that specific item, as shown in Figures 4a (desktop) and 4b (mobile). Shoppers can use the Buy Box to add the displayed item into their online shopping cart (“Add to Cart”) or buy the item immediately (“Buy Now”).

Figure 4a. Product Detail Page with Buy Box Enlarged in Red, Desktop Browser.

Figure 4b. Product Detail Page with Buy Box Enlarged in Red, Mobile App.

84. An item may be offered by more than one seller on Amazon. When there are multiple offers for a single item, Amazon uses the “Featured Merchant Algorithm” to choose one offer to display in the Buy Box. Amazon calls this displayed offer the “Featured Offer.“ Being chosen as the Featured Offer is commonly known as “winning“ the Buy Box.

85. Nearly (redacted)% of all purchases on Amazon are made using the “Add to Cart“ and “Buy Now“ buttons in the Buy Box. As result, winning the Buy Box is essential to making sales on Amazon.

86. Amazon deliberately steers shoppers away from offers that are not featured in the Buy Box. If a shopper using a computer wants to see an offer from a seller that is not featured in the Buy Box, the shopper must either click a link that identifies only the number of additional offers, which takes the shopper to the "All Offer Display," as shown in Figure 5a, or scroll down the page to see "Other Sellers on Amazon," which includes a list of additional sellers Amazon has selected. Shoppers using Amazon's mobile app must click on a link labeled "Other Sellers on Amazon" to access the All Offer Display, which opens another page that displays multiple offers, as shown in Figure 5b.

Figure 5a. All Offer Display, Desktop Browser.

Figure 5b. All Offer Display After Clicking “Other Sellers On Amazon,” Mobile App.

87. Amazon makes it similarly difficult for shoppers to make a purchase when Amazon has removed the Buy Box from an item’s Detail Page. Amazon’s page layout prevents shoppers from adding to a shopping cart or buying any offers directly from the Detail Page, as shown in Figure 6a.

88. If there is no Buy Box for an item, then shoppers must navigate to the “All Offer Display” by clicking on a link labeled “See All Buying Options,” shown in Figures 6a (desktop) and 6b (mobile), above.

89. Fewer than (redacted)1% of pm-chases on Amazon are made from offers outside the Buy Box.