Looking For The Lowest Prices On Amazon? You May Have To Dig A Little.

Amazon.com has become a juggernaut of e-commerce thanks in part to its promise of speedy shipping and massive selection but also because of its reputation for low prices. Now, new research has found that if you fill up your digital shopping cart the way most Amazon customers do, you may not be finding your way to the rock-bottom prices that might have lured you to the site in the first place. Researchers at Northeastern University tracked pricing of 1,640 of the best-selling products on Amazon’s site over four months. In particular, they were examining what prices were featured in what’s known as the “buy box,” the area on the right side of an Amazon product page that invites you to add an item to your cart. It is coveted real estate for the millions of third-party sellers on Amazon, and for good reason: Landing there practically guarantees that users are going to find the seller easily. It has been estimated that about 82 percent of sales on Amazon are made through that box. Read more at The Washington Post.