Amazon Glossary: Your Complete Guide to Amazon Acronyms.

As a new seller on Amazon, it is crucial to understand the terms associated with your business. We have created this Amazon glossary, including Amazon acronyms and abbreviations to help you navigate the world of selling on Amazon.

Calculate Your Amazon Sales Margin

What is Amazon Sales Rank?

Glossary

Amazon sales rank (also known as Amazon Best Seller), measures item popularity across categories. How does sales rank work, though? Keep reading!

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A

A+ Content:

Amazon’s program for sellers allows you to use additional images, videos, and text to create more detailed product descriptions.

A9:

A ranking algorithm that determines how products appear in search based on titles, images, video, copy, inventory, and more.

A/B testing:

A method of testing out two different listings and then comparing their performance.

Account health:

A page in Seller Central that gives you an overview of your seller account’s adherence to performance targets and policies.

ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale):

Ad Spend / Ad Revenue

Ad daily budget:

The average daily amount you are willing to spend on an advertisement.

Ad impressions:

The number of times an ad is shown to users.

Ad orders:

The number of orders made by users who clicked on the product’s ad.

Ad sales:

Total product sales generated in one week from users clicking on your product’s ad.

Ad spend:

Total click charges for an Amazon ad campaign.

Ad status:

The current status of your ad group.

Ad targeting:

A setting that allows you to select keywords for an ad campaign or allows Amazon to choose keywords for the campaign automatically.

Affiliate marketing:

An arrangement where an online retailer pays a commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated by referrals.

Alibaba:

Ecommerce platform that helps connect private label businesses and global suppliers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.

Amazon 1P:

1P (first-party relationship) refers to selling in a 1P capacity. Amazon is the retailer, and your company operates as a supplier. Amazon sends a direct invite with a purchase order that must be fulfilled and shipped to Amazon. Product ownership is transferred to Amazon, and then Amazon controls pricing for the products.

Amazon 2P:

Amazon 2P, as a second-party seller, you are in control of selling your own products, but they are stored in Amazon warehouses, and Amazon fulfills orders. These items appear on the marketplace saying “Sold by (brand), shipped from Amazon”.

Amazon 3P:

Within the 3P (third-party) model, as the retailer, you sell products directly to consumers from the Amazon marketplace. You control your inventory, pricing, and shipping operations and are just selling products through Amazon’s network.

Amazon 3PL:

Third-party logistics services allow businesses to utilize Amazon’s infrastructure to fulfill orders and outsource different elements of e-commerce selling.

Amazon 3PS:

Third-party sellers sell their products on Amazon’s marketplace other than Amazon itself. This can include both retailers who are selling to make a profit or manufacturers selling at wholesale cost.

Amazon advertising:

Includes all Amazon advertising services.

Amazon’s Choice:

Recommendations by Amazon of highly rated, well-priced products ready to ship.

Amazon Live:

A live streaming service allowing brands and influencers to debut products, chat with customers, and offer expert advice in real-time.

AMZ (Amazon):

An ecommerce and cloud computing company. The largest Internet retailer in the world measured by revenue and market capitalization.

Amazon marketing

Amazon marketing is the process of using promotional strategies and tactics to make your Amazon products more visible. This includes helping your products rank better in search results, creating relevant ads, and more.

API (Application Programming Interface):

A code allowing two platforms or software programs to communicate with each other.

Amazon sales rank

Amazon sales rank is a metric explaining how well a product is selling in its respective category. A lower rank indicates a higher-selling product, while a higher rank means a lower-selling product.

ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number):

A unique 10-character string identifying products on Amazon.

A-to-Z Amazon Guarantee:

Amazon program that guarantees the condition and timely delivery of third-party products.

Automatic targeted ads:

Ads targeted by Amazon to relevant search terms automatically.

B

B2B (Business-to-business):

Business conducted between companies.

B2C Amazon marketing

B2C Amazon marketing is the process of marketing your B2C company and products on Amazon. Using B2C Amazon marketing can help you promote your business and products to millions of active Amazon users.

Bid+:

Allows you to raise bids in a campaign up to 50% more than your default bid when ads are eligible to show at the top of search results.

BOGO:

Refers to the ‘Buy one get one’ promotion, which allows you to offer two products for the price of one.

Brand:

A specific type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.

Brand Registry:

An Amazon program that enables you to represent your brand accurately, find and report violations, and share information to help Amazon prevent violations.

Brand store:

Allows sellers to create a brand-dedicated platform with a more immersive experience familiar to users on Amazon.

Brand voice:

The personification of your company.

BSR (Best Sellers Rank):

The score assigned by Amazon to a specific product based on historical sales data.

Buy Box:

A widget seen on most product pages that allows users to purchase products they are searching for quickly.

C

Category:

Product division based on shared characteristics and uses.

CCC (CamelCamelCamel):

Online site where buyers can see the price and rank history of a product.

Child listing (child ASIN/ASIN):

Product tied to a Parent Listing, allowing it to appear on a single product detail page with other variations of the same product.

COGS (Cost of Goods Sold):

The total costs to create a product or service that has been sold.

Conversion rate:

The percentage of visitors who completed a desired action.

Coupons:

Used to offer discounts on your products through Amazon marketing services.

CPC (Cost-per-click):

Spend / number of clicks

CPM/CPI (Cost-per-mil/thousand/impression):

Cost advertisers pay for 1000 views.

Creative Asset Library:

Tool within Amazon’s A+ content builder that makes uploading, archiving, and optimizing content much more manageable than previous methods.

Crowdfunding:

Funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large group of people.

CTR (Click-through-rate):

Clicks/number of impressions

D

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid):

The supplier is responsible for arranging carriage and delivering the goods at the named place, cleared for import with applicable tariffs and duties paid.

Deals of the Day:

An item or set of related items discounted for the day.

Display ads:

Visual ads served on and off Amazon through the demand-side platform.

DS (Dropshipping):

Allowing a third party to fulfill orders to customers on your behalf.

Drip campaign:

Method of direct marketing where sellers can reach out to users after they make a purchase.

Duty tax:

Type of tax on international goods.

E

EAN (European Article Number):

A 13-digit string used to identify a product traded globally.

Early Reviewer Program:

A program encouraging Amazon users to leave authentic feedback for products they have purchased.

Ecommerce Amazon marketing

Ecommerce Amazon marketing refers to how you promote your Amazon products and store online on Amazon’s platform itself or elsewhere on the Internet. Its purpose is to make people aware you’re selling on Amazon and persuade them to buy your products there.

EFN (European Fulfillment Network):

Option for European third-party sellers that allows them to sell in other Amazon marketplaces while fulfilling their orders from fulfillment centers in their home location.

Enterprise Amazon marketing

Enterprise Amazon marketing is the process of using strategies aimed at promoting your store and products on Amazon. The goal of enterprise Amazon marketing is to spread awareness of your products on Amazon and persuade people to buy them.

Export:

Process of sending goods or services to another country for sale.

EXW (EX Works):

International trade term meaning when a seller makes a product available at a designated location, the buyer must cover the transport costs.

F

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon):

Service allowing third-party sellers to store products in Amazon fulfillment centers where Amazon will pick, pack, ship, and handle customer service on their behalf.

FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant):

Sellers who store, pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service to buyers who purchase their products.

FC (Fulfillment Center):

Amazon’s storage warehouses.

FCA (Free to Carrier):

This means the seller is responsible once the shipment is in the carrier’s hands.

File feed:

Bulk upload through Seller Central that is used to create and update listings.

First-party sellers (1P):

Brands that are distributed and sold by Amazon on its platform.

FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit):

A unique 10-character string used by Amazon to identify a seller shipping and storing their items in a fulfillment center.

FOB (Free On Board):

The supplier is responsible for getting your goods from the factory to the port.

Free shipping promo:

Amazon promotion template allowing you to offer a free shipping offer for a limited time.

Freight forwarder:

Third-party shipping service

Fulfillment fee:

Amazon’s fees and rates for filling orders that are based on the size of the shipment.

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G

Gated category:

Division of restricted products locked to sellers without prior approval from Amazon.

Gateway Placement:

Ad placement within a category’s specific landing page.

Giveaway promo:

Promotion template allowing you to offer free products to generate traffic and build a social media following.

Gross profit:

Net sales – COGS

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number):

Identifiers used to look up product information.

I

Import:

Bringing goods or services into a country to sell.

Incoterms:

Standard terms used for international shipping agreements.

Inventory:

Products listed and available for sale.

IPI (Inventory Performance Index):

Metric used by Amazon to gauge your overall performance over time.

ISBN (International Standard Book Number):

10- or 13-digit strings used to identify a specific book.

K

Keywords:

Words or phrases related to a product or category that helps searchers find products.

L

Landed cost:

Cost of a single item, plus freight and customs charges.

Launchpad:

A program that provides education, merchandising, and global infrastructure to entrepreneurs and startups to sell and deliver products.

Lightning deals:

A time-bound promotional offer featuring a product on the Amazon Deals page.

Live deals:

Streaming for Amazon sales.

Long-tail keyword:

Phrase containing two or more words focusing on a specific niche.

LTSF (Long Term Storage Fees):

A fee that is charged for inventory that has been in fulfillment centers for over 365 days.

M

Manually targeted ads:

Ad campaigns where you choose the keywords you wish to target.

Marketing funnel:

A model that illustrates a customer’s journey leading up to the purchase of a product.

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity):

The lowest possible order volume allowed for a product.

MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price):

Price at which manufacturer suggests products to be sold.

MCI (Multi-Country Inventory):

Allows FBA sellers to choose which countries to send their inventory to and have orders filled by a local fulfillment center.

MWS (Marketplace Web Services):

Where you can access API/MWS keys.

N

Net:

Profit after working expenses — not included in the calculation of gross profit — have been paid.

O

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer):

A company that produces parts and equipment that are allowed to be marketed by another manufacturer.

Onsite associates:

Extension of Amazon Associates Program that serves product-related content from third-parties onto Amazon.

P

Pan Eu:

An option that allows sellers to send their products to one fulfillment center. Then, Amazon will ship them to fulfillment centers around the continent.

Parent listing (Parent ASIN/PASIN):

Listing that is not available for purchase but ties together variations of the same product.

PDP (Product Detail Page):

Landing page where customers can read details and other information about a product.

Performance notifications:

Page in Seller Central showing how you are doing based on customer satisfaction.

PL (Private Label):

A product manufactured for sale under the retailer rather than the manufacturer.

Posts:

A browse and directory experience on Amazon focused on brand shopping.

PPC (Pay-per-click):

Promotion that charges the seller of the product each time one of their ads is clicked.

Prime:

An Amazon membership including benefits like free shipping, streaming of movies, shows, music, and more.

Product tracker:

Tool to help sellers increase standards to improve product ranking.

Promotions:

Discounts and giveaway options offered by Amazon to promote sales and social media growth.

R

Referral fee:

Percentage-based cost for selling on Amazon.

Return rate:

Number of returns / number of units sold

ROI (Return on Investment):

Loss or gain an investment generates.

RoAS (Return on Ad Spend):

Revenue generated / advertising cost

S

Sales page:

Page created to coerce viewers into making a purchase.

Sample:

Single product shipped to a buyer to show the quality, service, and competence of a manufacturer, supplier, or wholesaler.

SC (Seller Central):

Web interface used by Amazon marketplace sellers to manage their Amazon Professional or Individual seller accounts.

Seller feedback:

A rating given to Amazon third-party sellers by users who have recently purchased their products.

SEO (Search engine optimization):

An online marketing strategy that generates online traffic by increasing your ranking in the search engine results pages.

SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime):

A program that allows FBM sellers to display the Prime badge on their listings.

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit):

Machine-readable codes that identify a specific product, usually for inventory purchases.

SMB Amazon marketing

SMB Amazon marketing is the process of promoting your company’s Amazon store online. It includes a series of tactics such as Amazon SEO, Amazon PPC, Amazon review management, and more that help get your company’s products in front of interested customers.

SOV (Share of Voice):

The amount of the market your brand owns compared to competitors.

Squeeze page:

Landing page designed to capture opt-in email addresses from potential subscribers.

Storefront:

Service that allows sellers to create their own brand stores on Amazon.com

Subscribe & Save:

A feature allowing customers to save five to 20% on products by signing up for auto-shipments.

T

Third-party sellers (3P):

Merchants unrelated to the owners of an ecommerce platform.

U

Unverified reviews:

A review left from a user who has not purchased the product.

UPC (Universal Product Code):

A machine-readable code that identifies a specific product and tracks basic information about it.

Upsell:

Sales technique where a seller convinces customers to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, etc., to make more profit.

V

VA (Virtual Assistant):

Someone who provides administrative help remotely.

Variable closing fee:

Fixed charges on certain products from Amazon.

Variation theme:

The way the relationships between Parent and Child listings are defined.

VC (Vendor Central):

Amazon interface for first party sellers

Verified reviews:

A product review verified by Amazon, ensuring the reviewer purchased the product.

Vine:

Amazon’s review generation program offered to 1P vendors

VPN (Virtual Private Network):

Encryption technology that allows information to be sent safely across a less secure network.

W

WS (Wholesale):

Selling products in large quantities and at low prices.

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