How to Better Measure Success with Repricing

At Aura, we've identified a significant issues with how success is traditionally defined. Many sellers have been overly focused on metrics like buy box ownership or simply increasing sales volume. But do these metrics really tell the whole story?

Yes, these types of metrics are easy to measure, but they're also easily manipulated. For instance, just slashing prices can temporarily boost these metrics, but at what cost? This approach often leads to reduced profitability, which no one wants.

This simplistic approach is problematic because it creates an environment that leads to a race to the bottom with prices. Given how competitive Amazon is, there's a constant downward pressure on prices. This makes sense economically—more sellers leads to lower prices—but isn't sustainable.

Realizing these shortcomings, we wanted to develop a better, more comprehensive, way to define success. This led us to develop a more nuanced metric we call the Optimal Price. The Optimal Price is not just another number to track; it carefully balances two critical factors: sales velocity and profitability. It adjusts in real-time, taking into account a variety of variables that impact pricing decisions on Amazon.

As a quick aside—we redesigned the listing pages to include a performance section. This section of the page includes four charts side-by-side, which gives you a better macro picture on how things are going.

The Optimal Price is continually recalibrated based on market conditions, competitor actions, consumer demand, and other relevant factors. For instance, the ideal price for a popular toy might be higher during the Q4 holiday rush than in Q1 when demand is typically lower. This strategy ensures that you're not only selling more but also earning more—without engaging in destructive price wars.

This advanced approach to pricing is central to Maven, Aura's AI. Maven is crafted to mitigate some of the unnecessary competitive pressures that often push prices down. By targeting the Optimal Price, often above the Buy Box price, Maven enhances your margins. If you search social media, you'll see sellers sharing screenshots of sales well above the buy box.