What Does Sales Rank Mean on Amazon?

If you are selling a product on Amazon, you may have wondered what sales rank means. Simply put, it is a number representing how popular a particular product is within its category. The sales rank changes only periodically and not in real time. For this reason, one additional sale might not instantly increase your sales rank.

It is a vote of confidence in the popularity of a product

Amazon‘s sales rank is an indicator of how well a product is selling relative to other similar items. For example, a product with a sales rank of one means that it’s the most popular product in its category. Conversely, a product with a sales rank two means that it’s the second most popular.

Although Amazon doesn’t disclose how it calculates its sales rank, it’s believed that it’s based on a number of factors, including sales volume, number of reviews, and retail price. The exact method varies between products, but it is generally based on sales data over a specified period of time. Some theories conclude that sales from the past twelve hours are considered, while others suggest that sales over a period of 24 hours or more are considered.

It is based on sales of a product and sales history

An Amazon sales rank indicates a product’s popularity based on recent sales and its sales history. Higher ranks indicate a higher sales volume, and lower ranks reflect a lower sales volume. For example, a product with a sales rank of one is the top selling product in its category. Conversely, a product with a sales rank of two is the second highest selling product in its category.

Amazon doesn’t disclose exactly how it determines a product’s sales rank, but the basic methodology involves looking at the product’s sales history, retail price, and number of reviews. The sales rank also takes time into consideration. Some theories conclude that a product’s sales rank is calculated based on the past 12 hours, while others contend that the sales history is based on a longer period.

It isn’t updated in real time

The sales rank on Amazon is not updated in real time, but rather, on a weekly or daily basis for products in the top 10,000. As a result, even if you make an extra sale, you shouldn’t expect the rank to jump up instantly. In fact, you should expect it to drop over the course of several weeks.

The sales rank is calculated by taking into account the volume of sales, the number of reviews, and the retail price of a product. However, Amazon doesn’t reveal how it comes up with the ranking. There are a variety of theories regarding how the sales rank is calculated. Some conclude that only sales in the last twelve hours are considered, while others propose a time period that stretches to 24 hours.

It isn’t an indicator of sales velocity

A product’s sales rank on Amazon indicates how frequently a particular product sells. However, this number is not necessarily indicative of its sales velocity. This is because the same product may have different ranks in different categories. A product may have a high sales rank in one category and a low sales rank in another.

Amazon’s sales rank is constantly changing because millions of products are sold on the site. This causes the rank to fluctuate and allows sellers to compete with each other. It is also a relative number, so a sales rank of 5,000 in February 2020 means something completely different from a ranking of 5,000 in April 2020, when COVID-19 changed the economy.