Price matching on Amazon across eCommerce platforms and other channels has recently gotten more severe - the great folks at Cleveland Research (s/o Jimmy Olson) even covered it in their recent Amazon report.

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While rooted in a nice idea - that consumers shouldn’t have to pay more for the same product at different retailers - such a policy loses its value in the modern marketplace where products have truly different costs to serve. It’s unreasonable to compare curbside pickup at Walmart to 1-day Prime Shipping to your door. Said in a simple way:

the economics to grab a single can off the shelf are different than shipping a single can to you.

It seems like Amazon’s crawlers have gotten more aggressive, perhaps utilizing more AI, and perhaps with a less consumer-friendly FTC. They’re starting to match not only variety packs and multi-packs, but even similar flavors and different sizes. They match by either suppressing your Buy Box (you can’t see price on the product page) or actually dropping the price for brands in 1P. This can have a devastating impact on a brand's margins, and it can easily erode profit if left unchecked.

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Here are some of our top tactics for avoiding these price matches, which ultimately make for a higher quality and more reliable customer experience.

Techniques to Break Amazon's Price Matching Algorithm

1. Change your unit count type - This one can be hit-or-miss, but it’s low lift and a good first step. You can sometimes trick Amazon out of matching your listing to other retailers by redefining your unit of measurement on the backend. Swapping from fluid ounces to milliliters or ounces to grams can make it harder for the algorithm to do an apples-to-apples comparison and (sometimes) breaks the pricematch.

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2. Change your hero image - If you can make your product look materially different than other listings, it can force Amazon to view your listing as unique. We often do this by changing the packaging; for example, if your product is sold in a bag, show several bags together in a box. If you go this route, you may want to include an “Actual packaging may vary” disclaimer to help protect against potential gripes.

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3. Include a digital asset - Adding a QR code to your product with a digital asset like a recipe book, app, or game allows you to say your Amazon listing is objectively different from what’s being offered elsewhere. Think about providing a fun or useful branded digital experience. A big bonus with this one is that you can sometimes keep your existing ASIN.

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4. Include an extra physical item - This is generally the highest logistical lift of the methods mentioned (you’ll 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 need to set up new ASINs/UPCs), but it’s also the most fool-proof. Again, think of something that makes sense for your brand; a small accessory, a sample of a related product, or even a branded keychain can all work. It makes your product listing unique compared to what’s available from other retailers.

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5. Include an alternate size in the kit - Adding a mini or travel pack of the same product should be very effective in breaking price match. Good way to sample new formats or move excess LTO product.