The Benefits of Amazon’s Virtual Product Bundles Pilot Program
Learn how the new, invite-only tool for FBA inventory can help brand owners boost their average order rate and increase revenue.By Dawn JenksJuly 20, 2020
Stay on top of the latest e-commerce and marketplace trends.
Creating a bundle with multiple items from your Amazon product catalog has long been a smart selling strategy. However, merchants have previously had to physically package different but related products together, send the bundled packages to FBA warehouses, assign the bundle its own UPC, and go through all the other hurdles involved, as if they were launching a brand-new single product.
Now, Amazon is offering select sellers in its U.S. marketplace the ability to virtually bundle multiple products and sell them together through its Virtual Product Bundles pilot program.
What Is the Virtual Product Bundles Program?
The Virtual Product Bundles tool for FBA lets brand owners create virtual bundles of two to five complementary ASINs purchased together from a single product detail page. This allows sellers to offer bundles without having to package items together or change their FBA inbound inventory.
The program was rolled out at the end of 2019 and is still in the beta testing phase. It is currently available by invite-only to select sellers who are enrolled in Brand Registry 2.0.
With access to this new tool, you can pick the products that you would like to bundle together, and it automatically becomes its own stand-alone product listing. Amazon assigns the bundle a unique SKU, and from there you can create the bundle’s title, bullets, product description, and selling price. You can also upload up to nine product images, in which the main image would display all the bundled products together.
Amazon will automatically update your bundle quantities based on the availability of the lowest-stock item within the bundle. In addition, there is no need to physically put these items into one package, as FBA will send the multiple products together in one shipment to the customer.
How Can You Use Virtual Product Bundles to Your Benefit?
Virtual Product Bundles are an easy, cost-effective, labor-less way to increase your digital share of Amazon shelf space. Bundles are excellent for cross-promotion of your products and are featured more prominently than the “Frequently Bought Together” box.
The “main component,” which is the main product in the bundle, will have a widget placed on its individual product listing, right under its main image and above the “Frequently Bought Together” section, that directs shoppers to the bundle listing.
Some examples of Virtual Product Bundle opportunities in various categories include bundling together shampoo and conditioner, mixing bowls and measuring cups, pet training pads and puppy treats, and other such products that complement each other or are often used together.
Whichever products customers tend to buy from your brand together will make an outstanding bundle and may have the potential to be one of your best-selling SKUs. Another consideration for creating bundles is to move inventory that tends not to sell that well. For instance, if you have excess inventory resulting from the COVID-19 slow-down, you can bundle them together to help sell your sitting stock faster.
Seasonal shopping trends also present incredible opportunities for product bundles. With back-to-school, Halloween, and holiday shopping just around the corner, you can bundle items around these shopping themes.
How Do Virtual Product Bundles Differ From Regular Product Listings?
While Virtual Product Bundles may look like regular product detail pages to the consumer, there are some differences that sellers should be aware of.
For starters, you cannot add backend search terms to the bundle. When you create the bundle, you choose which will be the main component ASIN, and the bundle will inherit the search terms from that main product. Of course, you can place your top relevant keywords within the listing’s copy to help it rank for those high-priority search terms.
You cannot run regular PPC sponsored ads for Virtual Product Bundles, but you can run Sponsored Brands ads.
When you set the price for the bundle, it must be the same or discounted from the price a consumer would have paid if the product had been purchased individually.
There is no sales reporting for the bundle ASIN, as the sales are attributed to each product component ASIN. Also, there are no FBA fees or shipping discounts for bundles. The same fees apply as if shipping each product separately.
Bundles cannot yet be a variation of another ASIN in your catalog. The bundles have their own customer reviews and ratings separate from the reviews and ratings of the individual component products. Also, individual components may be returned separately by the customer.
About the Author
Dawn Jenks is a copywriter for Feedvisor, where she develops SEO e-commerce product descriptions and is a contributing blog writer. She was previously a travel public relations executive, and enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and reading.
Final Thoughts
Virtual Product Bundles seem to be an effortless way to get more exposure for your products and move inventory quicker without any risks or costs involved. Virtual Product Bundles are a win-win for all, as it saves Amazon precious space at its FBA warehouses, saves sellers the hassle of having to package the bundles themselves, and saves customers the time of having to purchase each product separately. Plus, depending on whether you offer a discount, consumers may be able to save money, too.
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