A shopper on the 2-ounce tin is deciding between buying it and leaving. The comparison chart is the one place on the page that can offer them a third option.
Every other A+ module argues for the product the shopper is already looking at. The comparison chart is the only one that links out, to your other ASINs, and that makes it the only A+ module with a job beyond conversion: it can change which product gets bought and how many. Most charts we audit are spec tables that treat the six columns as a catalog dump. This post is the version built to make a decision happen.
Evolve Media Agency designs A+ Content, so we have an interest in you rebuilding your chart. Module limits below (six columns, roughly ten rows in the Standard chart, cell types) describe the module's long-standing shape; Amazon adjusts pixel dimensions and limits without announcement, so confirm them in A+ Content Manager the day you build. Examples use Bear Basics, the brand I own.
The A+ Content guide covers the full module set and how to build a page; this post is one module, in depth.
What The Module Is And Why It Is Different
A+ comparison chart module. An A+ Content module that displays up to six of the brand's own ASINs as columns, each with a product image, a title and a link to that ASIN's detail page, against a set of attribute rows (up to about ten in the Standard chart) whose cells can contain short text, a check mark or be left blank. Only ASINs in the brand's catalog can be included; competitor products cannot. It is the only Standard A+ module that links to other products, and the Premium tier offers a larger-format version with bigger images.
Two properties follow from the definition. The chart is a navigation element as much as a content element, so it is measured by where shoppers go rather than by what they read. And because every column is a live link, a chart that includes the wrong products sends traffic away from the page that earned it. Column choice is the whole game, and it comes before anything about design.
The Three Jobs A Chart Can Do
Shopper is on the entry product; the chart shows the larger size, the multi-pack or the higher tier with the row that makes it obvious (uses per pack, cost per use, what the tier adds). The goal is a higher AOV order on the same visit.
Shopper landed on the wrong variant (wrong scent, wrong size, wrong use case). The chart shows the siblings with the rows that separate them (skin type, room size, device fit). The goal is the right product and a lower return rate.
Shopper is buying the core product; the chart shows what it is used with (the refill, the applicator, the case). Rows describe what each adds. The goal is a second line item.
Six unrelated products with a feature grid does none of the three; it splits attention across links the shopper did not want and lowers conversion on the page they are on.
A page can only carry one chart in Standard A+, so the job is decided per ASIN. The entry-size product gets an upsell chart; the mid-tier product gets a route chart to its siblings; the flagship gets a complete chart. The same catalog, three different charts, and the one on each page is the one that serves the shopper who is on it.
Choosing The Columns
The module allows six. Three or four convert better in everything we have tested, because a phone shows about three columns without horizontal scrolling and a shopper compares two or three things, not six.
- Column one is the product on the page. The shopper needs an anchor, and the module lets you highlight the current ASIN. Without it, the chart reads as an advertisement for other things.
- Column two is the product you want them to buy. Under an upsell job, the larger size; under a route job, the most common correct alternative; under a complete job, the companion most often bought with it. Eye-tracking on three-column layouts favors the middle, and the second column is where the decision is made.
- Column three is the bracket. The option that makes column two look like the sensible middle: the biggest bundle in an upsell chart, the other sibling in a route chart, the second accessory in a complete chart.
- Column four only if it earns it. A fourth option that a real segment buys. A fourth added for completeness costs conversion on the first three.
Every column must be a live, in-stock ASIN under your brand. A column for an out-of-stock or suppressed product is a dead link inside your own A+, and one for a product outside your Brand Registry is a rejection. The variations architecture guide covers which siblings should be one listing and which should be separate ASINs, which decides whether a route chart is needed at all.
Choosing And Ordering The Rows
The module allows about ten rows. Five to seven is the working limit, because rows below the fold on a phone are rows nobody reads. Order them the way a shopper decides.
| Row Position | What Goes There | Upsell Example | Route Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | The single differentiator: the row where the columns are most different and the difference decides the purchase | Size / count ("2 oz / 4 oz / 3-pack") | Best for ("dry skin / sensitive / babies") |
| Row 2 | The reason column two wins: per-use economics or the fit criterion | Approximate uses ("60 / 120 / 360") | Scent ("unscented / lavender / unscented") |
| Row 3 | The shared fact that reassures: what is the same across all columns | Ingredients (identical, check marks) | Base formula (identical) |
| Row 4 | The second differentiator | Includes ("tin / tin / 3 tins + travel tin") | Size available |
| Rows 5-7 | Specs and logistics that answer a specific doubt: dimensions, weight, shelf life, care | Shelf life, dimensions | Fragrance-free, dimensions |
| Rows 8-10 | Usually empty. If you have to fill them, cut them. | n/a | n/a |
Two row rules. A row where every cell is identical belongs in row three (it reassures) and nowhere else; three identical rows in a row is padding. And a row where every cell is a check mark is a row with no information; either one column lacks the attribute, in which case the blank is the point, or the row should go.
Writing The Cells
Cells hold a few words or a check mark, and they render small. The same discipline as infographic copy applies: digits, units, facts, nothing else.
The row that tempts every brand is "Value" or "Best for most people" with a check under column two. Amazon reads it as a claim, the reviewer rejects it, and the shopper did not need it: a well-ordered row two already made the case. Let the numbers do it.
Images And Titles In The Chart
Each column carries a product image and a title, and both are small. The image spec is set per module and differs between the Standard chart and the Premium table; read it in the module when you build, because a wrong dimension is an image rejection.
- Same angle, same framing, same background for every column. The chart is read by scanning across; images that differ in angle make the products look unrelated. Shoot the family together, or composite from the same angle.
- Show the difference the row-one label states. If row one is size, the images should show relative size (all at the same scale, or the packs visibly different). If row one is scent, show the label color. The image confirms the row.
- Titles are short and parallel. "Unscented Balm 2 oz / Unscented Balm 4 oz / Unscented Balm 3-Pack." Not the full listing title; the chart cell truncates and the shopper needs the differentiator rather than the keywords.
- Alt text describes the image ("2 oz tin of balm on white"), never a claim. A+ review scans it.
The photography for a chart is a half-hour add-on to a listing shoot when the family is in the studio together, which is the reason to shoot families together; the graphic design service page lists it as a line in the A+ package.
Standard Chart vs Premium Comparison Table
| Aspect | Standard Comparison Chart | Premium Comparison Table |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | All Brand Registry sellers | Premium A+ eligible brands only |
| Columns | Up to six | Up to six |
| Images | Smaller, portrait-leaning column image | Larger square image; the products read at a glance on mobile |
| Rows | Up to about ten | Similar; check the module |
| Mobile behavior | Horizontal scroll past three columns | Wider, cleaner layout; still scrolls past three or four |
| Worth switching for? | n/a | Only if you already qualify for Premium; the table is a nicer version of the same decision, and the column and row logic above is what moves the number |
The chart is not a reason to pursue Premium A+ on its own; the video and hotspot modules are. The Premium vs Standard framework covers the eligibility criteria and the cost of qualifying. If you have Premium, use the table; if you do not, the Standard chart built right does the same job.
Three Worked Examples
Three charts, three pages, one catalog. The columns overlap and the rows do not, because each chart is answering the question the shopper on that page is asking. The objection-mapping method from the A+ teardowns earlier in this series is where the "best for" rows come from.
Where The Chart Sits In The A+ Page
Last, or second to last. The chart's job is to route a shopper who has already decided the brand is right; placed early, it routes shoppers away before the page has made that case. Our default page order puts the chart in slot five of five, after the modules that answer the top objections, so the shopper arrives at it convinced and choosing among your products rather than between you and a competitor.
The exception is a route chart on a page with a high wrong-variant return rate. If reviews on the lavender balm say "did not realize it was scented," the route chart moves up to slot two, because getting the sensitive-skin shopper to Unscented before they scroll is worth more than the conversion the page loses on shoppers who wanted lavender. Read the returns before deciding.
The Brand Story module guide covers the other place your catalog appears on the page (the Brand Story carousel above A+), which links to products too and should agree with the chart rather than repeat it.
Compliance: What Gets A Chart Rejected
| Rejection | Trigger In A Chart | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Competitor reference | A column or row that names or implies another brand ("vs leading brand," "typical balm") | Your ASINs only; compare across your catalog |
| Pricing or promotional language | A price row, "best value," "save more," "bundle deal" | Remove; the listing shows price; let the uses row carry the economics |
| Unsubstantiated claim | "Most popular," "#1," "clinically proven," a health outcome in a "best for" cell | Facts and audiences only: "sensitive skin" passes, "eczema" does not |
| ASIN not in your brand | A column ASIN whose brand attribute does not match Brand Registry | Fix the listing's brand field first; then rebuild the chart |
| Image spec | Wrong dimensions for the module, text in the image, gallery image reused | Export to the module's spec; unique chart images; no text |
| Alt text | Keywords or claims in the column image alt text | Plain description of the picture |
| Formatting | All-caps cells, emoji, special characters as check marks, typos | Sentence case, the module's own check mark, proofread |
The chart is reviewed like every other module, and because it has more text fields than any other module (every cell is one), it is the module most likely to carry the word that bounces the whole submission. The A+ rejections guide earlier in this series covers each notice; the pre-submission scan there applies to every cell here.
Measuring Whether It Cross-Sells
Amazon does not report clicks on chart columns. The measurement is indirect and it is good enough.
The number to manage by is family-level contribution rather than the test ASIN's conversion, because a good upsell chart can lower conversion on the entry page (fewer people buy the small tin) while raising it on the family (more people buy the big one). The A/B testing guide covers running the experiment; read the family rather than the page.
The Ecom Profit Box
Our library of ecommerce growth guides, including the A+ and listing frameworks behind this module.
Get It FreeGet Your Chart Rebuilt
Send your family's ASINs and the current chart. We will pick the job, the columns and the rows for each page, and deliver the cells and images to spec.
Book A CallThe Chart Build Checklist
The counterweight, since we sell the build: the comparison chart is the cheapest A+ module to get right, because the work is choosing three products and six facts, and a founder who knows the catalog can do it in an hour with this checklist. Where a designer earns the fee is the family photography and the parallel image set. Choose the job and the rows yourself; that is the part that decides whether it sells.
One job, three columns, six facts, placed last. The chart is a decision made on the shopper's behalf, and a spec sheet is a decision refused.
What To Remember
- The comparison chart is the only A+ module that links to other ASINs, so it is measured by where shoppers go and by family AOV rather than by the entry page's conversion.
- Every chart does one job: upsell to a larger size or bundle, route a wrong-variant shopper to the right sibling, or complete the cart with companions; a catalog dump does none of them.
- Three or four columns beat six: current product first, the target second, the bracket third, and a fourth only if a real segment buys it.
- Five to seven rows, ordered as the shopper decides: the differentiator, the reason column two wins, one shared-fact row, then specs; no all-check rows and no padding.
- Cells are one to four words of digits and units, blanks for no, consistent across each row, with no prices, claims, rankings or competitor columns.
- Place it last unless it is fixing returns, shoot the family images from one angle, and confirm the module's column, row and image limits in A+ Content Manager the day you build.
- Measure at the family level with a before/after read or an A+ experiment; a chart that lowers entry-page conversion while raising family AOV is working.
Where This Came From
- Amazon Seller Central, A+ Content Manager module specifications for the Standard Comparison Chart and Premium Comparison Table, and the A+ Content guidelines (login required; cited by name). Column, row and image limits are stated here at the level that has held for several years; the module itself is authoritative for current pixel dimensions and counts.
- Evolve Media Agency A+ builds and A+ experiments for client catalogs, 2019-2026, and Bear Basics Co. listings. First-party; the three-jobs framework, column and row rules, worked examples and measurement proxies are ours.
- Inference note: the observations that three or four columns outperform six and that the chart converts better placed last are from our client tests and are not Amazon-published findings; run the family-level experiment on your own catalog.