How To Create A Profit Boosting Amazon Bundle

In our article Amazon Professional Selling Plan: Is It Right For Me?, we discussed the many benefits of choosing an Amazon Professional Program over the Individual Program. One such benefit is that Professional Sellers have the ability to create new product listings and product bundles (Individual Sellers cannot).

But why is that so important?

What can bundles do to help grow your business and optimize your Amazon exposure and rankings?

What is an Amazon Bundle?

An Amazon bundle is a collection of related, complementary units listed and sold together in a single package. For example, a baseball could be bundled with a baseball glove or a blender blade with a blender cap. It is not a collection of identical baseballs or even a slight variation of baseball (different colors, sizes, etc). Bundles are complementary items, whereas multi-packs are collections of a single type of product.

Bundles have more financial value for the consumer when bought together as opposed to bought separately (there is usually a discount for the bundle). Bundles are treated as single listings and items, so they are sold as a pack, reviewed as a pack, and returned as a pack.

Ensure you are compliant with Amazon’s bundling rules, such as listing your bundle in only one category and not putting generic brands within a bundle. Look here for a complete list of Amazon bundling guidelines here.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF AN AMAZON BUNDLE?

Creating an Amazon bundle takes some time, effort, and knowledge of the competitive sphere—which is why you won’t find your competitors creating them very often. Because bundles aren’t as common, putting in that extra time immediately gives your business a competitive advantage and works to increase your sales.

Bundles drastically reduce your buy box competition. Bundles have their own unique UPCs, allowing them to show up as their own listings in searches, which gives you more visibility to consumers. It is also harder for competitors to track your bundle and create similar ones themselves.

Consumers can get more, complementary items at a discounted price. It can also help them reach the $25 price point for Super-Saver shipping if they are buying lower priced goods. Consumers love the convenience and value that comes with quality bundles, and they love to purchase from companies that offer them these kinds of deals.

Bundles can also help you move more inventory and boost your cost-per-transaction rate. You can bundle slow-moving merchandise with complementary bestsellers to unclog your shelves and boost your margins. If consumers were already looking to buy your bestseller, they are more likely to buy the complementary product in the bundle at a discount than if they were to buy it separately at full price. Increased product movement, increased sales, increased margins, and increased profits.

But how do you create an Amazon Product Bundle?

Determine Your Bundle

You’ve decided to devote the time to bundling some of your products in order to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The first thing you should think about is what you will bundle. Search your competitors’ bundles (if they exist). What kinds of bundles are already in the marketplace? How can you make your bundle better or more unique? The more distinct your bundle is, the more likely it is to attract customers—and the less competition there will be.

If you need to get some ideas, take a look at the “frequently bought together” section at the bottom of one of your product listings. This will help you see the items customers most often buy together. So why not give them the option to bundle it at a discount? This will make it more likely to convert those customers into multiple-item purchases.

Create a New Product Form

The next step in creating your bundle is to create a new product form and list the bundle as its own unit (which only Professional Sellers can do). You can do this by going to Inventory à Add a Product à Create a New Product. Fill in the category with which the bundle best coincides. Then fill out the form as you would with a product listing, accounting for all of the products in the bundle as a single “unit.”

Get a New Bundle UPC

Amazon requires that bundles have new UPCs that are separate from the products’ individual UPCs. You can buy UPCs directly through GS1 or a third party such as BuyABarCode (just be sure to do your research first).

However, not all Amazon categories need separate UPC bundles. Amazon doesn’t require this for Grocery & Gourmet Foods, Sports & Outdoors, and Home & Garden. You may want to purchase a separate UPC nevertheless in order to gain more visibility and to disable competition.

Create a Great Bundle Listing Title

Similar to traditional Amazon listing optimization (SAO), you want to optimize your bundle listings in accordance with Amazon rules and in accordance with customer search patterns.

Your bundle titles should be descriptive but not keyword stuffed. Your title must include the word “bundle,” and it must list the items bundle as well as a brief description of each product.

The format should look like this:

Main Product Title + “Bundle With” + Product Components

A (fabricated) example might be:

Red Bikes4Kids Bicycle Bundle With Bikes4Kids Safety Helmet, Knee Pads, and Elbow Pads

A second format could be:

Main Product Title + “Bundle With” + Bundle Components Summary + (# of Items)

This would look like:

Red Bikes4Kids Bicycle Bundle with Safety Accessories (4 items)

Create a Bundle Description

The bundle description should be optimized for Amazon searching, while also specifically describing each of the products in the bundle.

The first bullet must state that it is a bundle of x number of items, and then list those items for simple readability. You can then use the other 4 bullets to sell your bundle by verbally demonstrating how your consumers can use this product in their daily lives.

Have Appropriate Bundle Photos

Amazon requires that the primary photo is a picture of all of the items in the bundle with a white background. You can then have more photos showcasing each individual product. Never put products in a picture that are not included in the bundle—or your customer may be confused and dissatisfied.

Package the Bundle Properly for Fulfillment

Whether using Amazon FBA or your own fulfillment, you need to ensure you are properly packaging your bundles for shipping and handling. The correct bundle UPC barcode must be prominently shown, and all other individual product UPCs should be covered up. Put all the products in the same bag or wrapped together so the handlers know it is contained and shipped as one unit.

You may even want to put a sticker on the outside that helps to determine that it is sold as a set, such as a neon sticker that says “DO NOT SEPARATE.” You want to make shipping and handling the bundle as pain-free as possible to ensure your customer’s experience is also pain-free.

Bundling some of your home and lifestyle products can give you a leg-up on the competition, boost your visibility, and increase your sales. Taking the time to create a bundle takes your online business to the next step, putting in a bit of work and reaping a great reward.

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