Product bundling is a proven strategy to enhance average order value by simplifying the shopping experience. Curating bundles of frequently purchased items increases sales potential, as research indicates that 35% of Amazon purchases stem from product recommendations, which have a 60% success rate. This underscores the value of leveraging Amazon’s recommendation system to create effective bundles and increase Amazon sales that drive repeat purchases and boost revenue.
What Is the Amazon Virtual Product Bundles Program?
Amazon’s Virtual Product Bundles tool enables sellers to combine 2 to 5 complementary ASINs into a single listing without physical packaging. This feature is ideal for sellers looking to bundle items without logistical challenges. For example, you can bundle an electric guitar and a tuner under one ASIN. When a customer orders, Amazon manages the shipping from your inventory, streamlining the process and maintaining inventory accuracy.
Why Amazon Introduced This Tool
To stay competitive with retailers like Walmart, Amazon is enhancing its inventory management. The Virtual Product and Amazon FBA Bundles tool streamlines the selling process for FBA sellers by automatically updating stock levels based on the lowest-stock item in the bundle, preventing overselling. Each bundle receives a unique SKU for easy tracking. Currently in beta and invite-only, this program offers FBA sellers a valuable opportunity to engage customers and boost sales.
Benefits of Using Amazon Product Bundles
- No Prepackaging Required: One of the standout benefits of the Amazon Product Bundles tool is that it allows you to create combinations without the need to send prepackaged inventory to Amazon. This saves you time and resources, as you don’t have to deal with the logistics of bundling products before shipment. Additionally, you won’t need to create UPCs for the product bundles, simplifying the process further.
- Cross-Promotion Opportunities: Product bundles provide an excellent opportunity for Amazon cross-promotion within your product line. By offering variations and complementary items in a single bundle, you can effectively increase your digital portfolio without significant additional effort. This not only enhances your product offerings but also encourages customers to explore more of what you have to offer.
- Attract Price-Sensitive Customers: Bundling products can be particularly appealing to price-sensitive customers. When customers see a known price for individual items, they are more likely to be attracted to a bundle that offers a discount. Shoppers appreciate the convenience and savings that come with bundled deals, making it a win-win for both sellers and buyers.
Eligibility Requirements
To join the Virtual Product Bundles program, sellers must be brand-registered, and the ASINs in their bundles must belong to their brand and have active FBA inventory in ‘New’ condition. Certain items, like gift cards and used ASINs, cannot be included. The program is currently available only in the Amazon US store and works best on desktops using browsers like Chrome or Firefox.
Setting Up Your Product Bundle
Setting up your product bundle is a straightforward process:
- Sign in to Amazon Seller Central and go to the Product Bundle page.
- Choose 2-5 ASINs from your brand-registered products that you want to combine. Opting for complementary items that naturally pair well will increase the attractiveness of your bundle.
- Upload images for your listing. You can include up to 9 images, but it’s recommended to use an original image for the main listing that showcases the entire bundle.
- Enter the bundle’s title, description, and price. The title may be a maximum of 200 characters in length. To maintain Buy Box eligibility, make sure the price of your bundle does not exceed the total of the individual item prices. If the bundle price exceeds the total of the component items, it may lose its competitive edge.
- Monitor the ‘Bundled Price’ section to see how much discount you are offering compared to the total price of the individual items.
- Finally, enter the description, bullet points, and SKU for the product. After creating the listing, you can edit the title, description, price, images, and bullet points, but the main components and SKU cannot be altered once saved. Using relevant, high-volume keywords in your listing is crucial, as they drive the right traffic to your products. The more targeted the traffic, the higher the chances of converting visits into sales.
Keyword Optimization with SellerApp
To maximize your visibility, it’s essential to choose the right Amazon keyword optimization for your product bundle. Utilizing tools like SellerApp’s keyword tool can help you identify high-volume keywords relevant to your products. This free tool allows you to filter trending keywords based on search volume, cost-per-click (CPC), and competition, enabling you to optimize your listings effectively.
Tracking Your Performance
As of now, Amazon does not provide specific sales reports for virtual bundles within Seller Central. Instead, the sales data for bundles are attributed to each component. This means you won’t have a dedicated SKU to track bundle performance, which can make it challenging to assess the success of your bundling strategy. Amazon sends a weekly email with a link to download your bundle sales data from the last 90 days in CSV format. This report includes:
- Date: Presented in the format of Year/Month/Day. If there’s no date, it indicates that the bundle has not recorded any sales.
- Bundle ASIN: The unique identifier for your bundle.
- Bundle Title: The initial 100 characters of the bundle title.
- Total Sales: The total revenue generated from the bundles sold, is calculated as the bundle price multiplied by the number of bundles sold.
Keep in mind that the download link expires six days after the email is sent, so it’s important to download and analyze this data promptly.
The Catch: Flexibility Matters
While product bundling can boost sales, offering flexibility is crucial. Many consumers prefer the option to buy individual items rather than being limited to a bundle. Mixed bundling allows customers to choose between purchasing a bundle or individual products, enhancing sales. In contrast, pure bundling may result in fewer orders, as shoppers might wait for better deals or turn to competitors.
Conclusion
While it’s too early to assess the full impact of the Amazon Virtual Product Bundles program, it serves as a valuable tool for FBA sellers to enhance sales strategies. By creating appealing product bundles, sellers can increase order rates and drive revenue. Continually experimenting with combinations and monitoring performance is essential to align with customer preferences. With the right approach, this program can boost sales and foster long-term customer loyalty and satisfaction.
At E-Cosmics, we offer Amazon PPC and virtual assistant services to help sellers optimize their online presence and boost sales. Our team specializes in creating effective advertising campaigns and managing various e-commerce tasks, ensuring you reach the right customers efficiently. Whether you need help with PPC management or product listing optimization, our skilled professionals are ready to assist you.
