Most Frequently Used Amazon Terms

FBA

Fulfillment by Amazon: Amazon stores, picks, packs, and ships your inventory.

FBM

Fulfillment by Merchant: You store and ship orders yourself.

SKU

Stock Keeping Unit: Your internal product identifier.

ASIN

Amazon Standard Identification Number: Amazon's unique product identifier.

FNSKU

Barcode Amazon uses to identify FBA inventory at the unit level.

Inbound Shipment

A shipment of inventory sent to an Amazon fulfillment center.

Long-Term Storage Fee

Extra fee for inventory sitting in FBA over 365 days.

Stranded Inventory

Inventory in FBA with no active, buyable listing.

Reserved Inventory

Units tied up in processing, transfers, or unfulfilled orders.

Removal Order

A request to have Amazon return or dispose of inventory.

Replenishment

Restocking inventory before it runs out.

Sell-Through Rate

Units Sold ÷ Average Units in Inventory (over a period).

Product Listing

A product's page on Amazon, tied to one ASIN.

Parent/Child Listing

A parent listing groups variations (child listings) like size or color.

Buy Box

The featured purchase button/section on a listing; multiple sellers can compete for it.

Bullet Points

The five feature lines below the title.

Backend Search Terms

Hidden keyword field used for search indexing, not shown to shoppers.

A+ Content

Enhanced visual/text content, available to brand-registered sellers.

Brand Registry

Amazon program giving brand owners more listing control and protection tools.

Browse Node

The category/subcategory a product is classified under.

Variation

Different versions of a product (size, color) grouped under one listing.

Catalog

Amazon's master database of all product listings.

Suppressed Listing

A listing hidden from search due to missing or non-compliant info.

Sponsored Products

Ads for individual product listings shown in search/product pages.

Sponsored Brands

Ads featuring your brand logo, headline, and multiple products.

Sponsored Display

Retargeting-style ads shown on and off Amazon.

Impressions

Number of times an ad is shown.

Search Term Report

Report showing actual customer searches that triggered your ads.

Negative Keyword

A keyword you exclude so ads don't show for irrelevant searches.

Match Type

Broad / Phrase / Exact — controls how closely a search must match your keyword.

Bid

The maximum amount you're willing to pay per click.

Campaign

A set of ad groups with a shared budget and targeting strategy.

Placement

Where an ad appears (top of search, product pages, rest of search).

Dayparting

Adjusting bids or ad activity based on time of day.

ACoS

Advertising Cost of Sale = Ad Spend ÷ Ad Revenue × 100

TACoS

Total ACoS = Ad Spend ÷ Total Revenue × 100

ROAS

Return on Ad Spend = Ad Revenue ÷ Ad Spend

CPC

Cost Per Click = Ad Spend ÷ Clicks

CTR

Click-Through Rate = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100

Conversion Rate

Orders ÷ Clicks × 100

Referral Fee

Amazon's commission on each sale, category-dependent.

FBA Fulfillment Fee

Per-unit fee Amazon charges to pick, pack, and ship FBA orders.

Storage Fee

Monthly fee for space your inventory occupies in Amazon's warehouses.

Settlement

A periodic payout summarizing sales, fees, and refunds.

Reimbursement

Amazon's repayment for lost, damaged, or miscounted inventory.

Net Proceeds

Revenue − (Referral Fee + FBA Fulfillment Fee + Storage Fee + other fees)

Account Health Rating

AHR: Amazon's overall score of seller account compliance and performance.

A-to-Z Guarantee Claim

A buyer complaint escalated to Amazon for resolution.

Seller Feedback

Buyer ratings of the seller (separate from product reviews).

Review

Customer's rating/opinion on a specific product.

IPI Score

Amazon's proprietary rating of FBA inventory management (no public formula).

ODR

Order Defect Rate = Defective Orders ÷ Total Orders × 100

Late Shipment Rate

Late Shipments ÷ Total Shipments × 100

Valid Tracking Rate

Orders with Valid Tracking ÷ Total Orders × 100