Glossary of Advertising Terms and Acronyms: Amazon

3PL – Third-party logistics, a partner or service that helps merchants manage warehouse and inventory management, order fulfillment, shipping, distribution, customer exchanges, and returns.

7-Day Deal – A time-bound promotion offer featured on Amazon’s Best Deals page.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: A

• A+ Content – A product description page containing enhanced content and branding that features graphics and embedded images. Formerly known as EBC or Enhanced Brand Content.

• AA – Amazon Associate.

• ACoS – Advertising Cost of Sale. Total sales spend divided by ad sales, the percentage of attributed sales spent on advertising.

• ACS – Amazon Creative Services

• Affiliates – Social media (e.g., YouTube, Facebook, blogs) marketing referrals that drive traffic and sales to Amazon.

• AGS – Amazon Global Selling.

• AMG – Amazon Media Group.

• AMZ – Amazon’s stock listing abbreviation.

• AMZL – Amazon Logistics.

• Andon (aka, Andon Cord) – When an Amazon support agent pulls a product from buyable status due to a significant issue, usually related to safety and quality. The term refers to a process at Toyota factories in Japan to pull a physical cord to immediately stop production when a problem occurred.

• API – Application Program Interface, a standard industry term than is not Amazon-specific.

• AR – Amazon Robotics.

• ARA – Amazon Retail Analytics.

• ARAP – Amazon Retail Analytics Premium. An add-on option to ARA with more detailed and varied reports that look at vendor traffic and customer behaviors.

• ASIN – Amazon Standard Info Number. A unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier. ASINs can have parent and child ASINs, e..g, a product style (the parent) with multiple choices when it comes to color, size, pack size, etc. (child).

• ASN – Advanced Shipment Notification. Indicates a shipment’s tracking number and information to Amazon in advance of delivery.

• ASP – Average Selling Price. Calculated by net sales divided by the number of products sold.

• AWS – Amazon Web Services

Amazon Glossary of Terms: B

• Best Deal – A time-bound promotional offer type for vendors on Amazon.

• BISS – Business Industrial & Scientific Supplies.

• Blue Badge – An Amazon full-time employee (as opposed to a temporary or contract worker.)

• BOGO – Buy One Get One.

• Brand Analytics – A suite of features available to brands enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry.

• Brand Registry – Amazon’s program for brands to verify and control their brand.

• Brand HQ – Sellers on the Amazon Brand Incubator and Amazon Exclusives program can connect with other brands via a forum, expand their knowledge with Amazon’s eLearning courses and ask pressing questions. Brands can also submit Best Deals and merchandising opportunities such as category page placements.

• Brand Store – A customized page that features logos, products, and a curated brand experience for an Amazon seller. The page is created using a free tool.

• Browse Node – Numerical codes to identify Amazon product categories. Nodes may be top-level and contain subcategories (sub-cats) that can change. Amazon uses thousands of these per location, which are unique to each location, (i.e., UK and US numbers are not the same).

• BSR — Best Seller Rank The order and ranking of a product in the category where it is listed, taking into account both recent and past sales history. Updated hourly. If the product listing is new, the BSR is “None.”

• Bundle – A group of complementary products sold as one ASIN unit.

• Buy Box (BB) – White box on the right-hand side of the Amazon product detail page is used for customers to purchase items in their cart. When a customer makes the purchase from the Buy Box, the selected seller is said to “win the Buy Box.” Buy Boxe listings are determined through complex algorithms.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: C

• CA – Canada.

• CAGR – Compound Annual Growth Rate.

• Category Page – A landing page for a specific group of products, such as books, electronics, or toys & games.

• CCR – Counterfeit Complaint Rate.

• CD – Continuous Deployment.

• Child ASIN – An option of a parent ASIN, such as size or color. All child ASINs are on one detail page under the parent ASIN.

• Climate Pledge Friendly – A badge that indicates an eco-friendly, sustainable product.

• COGs – Cost of Goods Sold.

• Concessions – Customer refunds.

• Coupon/Voucher – A limited promotional deal for a percentage or monetary amount off to purchase a product.

• COW – Consumer Order Workflow.

• CP – Contribution Profit.

• CPC – Cost Per Click. The charge for whenever a customer clicks on a sponsored ad.

• CPT – Critical Pull Time. The time when an order is in danger of not shipping in time for customer delivery cut-offs.

• CPS – Costs Per Shipment.

• CPU – Contacts Per Unit.

• CRAP – Can’t Realize a Profit. Based on Amazon algorithms, a product is CRAP factors such as shipping costs, too much inventory or pricing issues make it unlikely sales can generate profits.

• CTI – Category Type Item.

• CTR – Click Through Rate. The number of clicks per impression of an advertisement.

• CS – Customer Service.

• CWGR – Compound Weekly Growth Rate.

• CX – Customer Experience.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: D

• DEA – Dynamic eCommerce Ads. Contain extra features such as retail price and review ratings.

• DEA – Delivery Estimate Accuracy.

• DOTD – Deal of the Day. As shown on Amazon’s Gold Box or Deals page, a single item or set of closely related items is discounted for one day only.

• DNR – Delivered Not Received.

• DMG – Damaged.

• Dropship – A fulfillment method for when a merchant does maintain inventory, but places orders with a third party that ships it directly to the customer. This can save on costs associated with storage and fulfillment.

• DP – Detail Page. A product page for an ASIN on Amazon that displays relevant product information such as price, title, description, customer reviews, etc.

• DPMO – Defects Per Million Opportunities.

• DPV – Detail Page Views. The number of impressions per a detail page.

• DPVR – Detail Page View Rate.

• DSP – Demand Side Platform. Amazon’s display advertising program.

• DSP – Delivery Service Provider.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: E

• EAN – European Article Number. A 13-digit number system that identifies retail products in Europe.

• Early Reviewer Program – Incentive program to encourage Amazon customers to write honest reviews.

• ECR – Executive Customer Relations.

• EDD -Estimated Delivery Date.

• EDI – Electronic Data Interchange.

• EFN -European Fulfillment Network. Allows Amazon Europe Marketplaces sellers can store inventory in their local fulfillment center and fulfill orders coming from other European marketplaces.

• EOD – End of Day.

• EXSD – Expected Ship Date.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: F

• FBA – Fulfillment by Amazon. Amazon picks, packs, ships, and provides customer service on behalf of Amazon sellers.

• FBM – Fulfilled by Merchant. When Amazon sellers handle all logistics, warehousing, order fulfillment, and inventory management.

• FC – Fulfillment Center. An Amazon warehouse.

• FNSKU – Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit. An Amazon product identifier for Amazon fulfilled products.

• FFP – Frustration-Free Packaging. Eliminates excessive packing and over boxing to improve sustainability.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: G

• Gated Category – Requires prior approval to sell in this category on Amazon. Access is limited.

• Glance Views – Number of times a detail page is viewed.

• GLN – Global Location Number. Unique identification code of a physical location.

• Global SKU – A SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) that is part of a shared inventory pool available to multiple marketplaces.

• GL String – Codification system to allocate costs to the correct P&L (Profit and Loss) statement.

• Goldbox – Landing page containing Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals, and a selection of categories’ best promotions and savings. Also known as Today’s Deals.

• GTIN – Global Trade Item Number. Globally unique 14-digit number to identify products, and services.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: H

• Hazmat – Hazardous materials that special precautions and regulations for transportation and storage.

• Hijacking – When a seller jumps on a brand’s listing to sell a counterfeit product at a lower price. This causes the legitimate brand to lose the Buy Box and compromise the legitimate brand’s reputation.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: I

• AT – Inbound Andon Tracker.

• IB – Inbound.

• ICQA – Inventory Control Quality Assurance.

• IDQ – Item Data Quality.

• Impressions – A measure of views determined by the number of single times a page is located and loaded.

• IP – Intellectual Property.

• IRDR – Inventory Record Defect Ratio.

• ISBN – International Standard Book Number. A 13-digit identity number is assigned to individual books.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: K

• KPI – Key Performance Indicators. A measurable value that determines how well a business compares against set objectives.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: L

• LBB – Lost Buy Box.

• LD – Lightning Deal. Promotion is offered in a limited quantity for a short time, only available once per customer until either the deal’s promotion period expires or all the available inventory is claimed.

• Less Than Container Load – Shipment of less than 18 cubic meters.

• Less Than Truckload – Shipment of more than 30 cartons in a combined load with other merchants shared on the same transport.

• Listing Optimization – Use of bullet points, images, and other features to improve an Amazon detail page and product information to attract more shoppers.

• Long-Term Storage Fee – Amazon’s chargeback for inventory stored in a fulfillment center for more than 365 days.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: M

• Marketplace – Locale or domain, a country (UK, DE, etc.) or third-party merchants.

• MAP – Minimum Advertised Price. In the US, a retailer that buys inventory from a manufacturer that has a MAP policy cannot sell the product below that price. This is not legal in Europe.

• MCF – Multi-Channel Fulfillment. Some inventory is fulfilled by Amazon and other inventory by other sales channels or the merchants themselves.

• MF – Merchant Fulfilled.

• MNR – Manifested Not Received.

• MOM – Month Over Month.

• MOQ – Minimum Order Quantity.

• MTD – Month To Date.

• MSRP – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: N

• NAFN – North American Fulfillment Network. Vendors in North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) may find their products shipped to any of these countries using Amazon’s fulfillment channels.

• NDA – Non Disclosure Agreement

• NIS – New Item Setup. The initial creation of a product, from accepting terms and agreements, to developing an ASIN and filling out detailed page info.

• NP – New Product. A newly listed item.

• NR – Non-Replenishable. An item that is not available.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: O

• OA – Online Arbitrage. Businesses that purchase products at lower prices resell them online for a greater price to reap profits.

• OB – Obsolete. When referring to stock.

• OB – Outbound. When referring to the FC schedule.

• ODR – Order Defect Rate. The percentage of orders that have received negative feedback, an A-to-Z Guarantee claim, or a service credit card chargeback. It allows Amazon to measure overall performance with a single metric.

• OLR – Organization and Leadership Review. This review process is done at Amazon during Q1 and Q3.

• OM – Operations Manager. FC position.

• OOS – Out Of Stock

• OP – Order Picker

• Ops – Operations, the abbreviated term

• ORDT – On-Road Dynamic Transfer. For warehouse deliveries.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: P

• P&L – Profit and Loss.

• PA – Process Assistant. An Amazon warehouse supervisor position.

• Parent ASIN – An ASIN with group variations (such as size, color, flavor) on one detail page. The variants are referred to as child ASINs.

• PCOGS – Product Cost of Goods Sold. Shipped units times cost price.

• PED – Prime Exclusive Discount. Available only to FBA sellers for Prime-eligible items. Can be an amount or percentage off, a limited-time deal.

• PDA – Product Display Ads. An ad that appears throughout Amazon on category and product pages.

• PNOV – Preliminary Notice of Violation.

• POD – Proof of Delivery.

• POPS – Proactive Outbound Problem Solve.

• PPC – Pay Per Click. A fee is paid each time an ad is clicked.

• PPE – Personal Protective Equipment.

• PPM – Pure Product Margin. The formula for calculating this is (Revenue – PCOGS) times Revenue.

• PPV – Product Price Variance. When a vendor raises an invoice and the item price on the invoice differs from what is listed in the Amazon system.

• PQV – Product Quantity Variance. The vendor sends inventory shipped to Amazon that differs from the amount Amazon records as received.

• PR – Planned Replenishment.

• Prime – Amazon Prime. A paid subscription service for free, fast delivery as well as a range of services and streaming entertainment options.

• Private Label – Products made by other manufacturers sold by a retailer or supplier under their own brand name.

• Professional Seller – Amazon selling account where a business pays a monthly fee (but no per-item fee). Allows access to a range of tools, discounts, and reports that are not available as an individual seller.

• Project Zero – An Amazon program for Brand Registry businesses to identify counterfeits and IP infringement.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: Q

• Q1 – First quarter. Jan-March.

• Q2 – Second quarter. April – June.

• Q3 – Third quarter. July – Sept.

• Q4 – Fourth quarter. Oct-Dec.

• QA – Quality Assurance.

• QBR – Quarterly Business Review.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: R

• RA – Retail Arbitrage. The practice of purchasing products at lower prices to resell at a higher price.

• RoAS – Return On Ad Spend.

• ROI – Return on Investment.

• RRP – Recommended Retail Price.

• RSR – Reserve Stow Racks.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: S

• Sales Rank – Ranking of products in Amazon’s search and browse.

• SB – Sponsored Brands. Keyword-targeted ads that promote a specific brand on a cost-per-click basis.

• SBC – Simple Bin Count.

• SEO – Search Engine Optimization. A process to increase web search traffic and visibility. Refers only to “organic,” or unpaid or free results, as opposed to paid ad placement.

• Sessions – One session is a group of interactions/page views/loads that one user takes on a website within a certain time, used to evaluate customer habits.

• SFP – Seller Fulfilled Prime. Sellers that use Amazon Prime, but ship from their own warehouses and control their own fulfillment.

• SIOC – Ships in Own Container.

• SKU – Stock Keeping Unit. A unique code to identify a product.

• SLA – Service Level Agreement.

• SLAM – Shipping Label Auto Manifest.

• SnS – Subscribe and Save. Allows customers to routinely auto-order delivery on certain products at a discounted price.

• Small and Light – Fulfillment program to bundle smaller items to reduce shipping costs.

• Sponsored Brands – Keyword-targeted ads to promote a brand’s products.

• SP – Sponsored Products. Keyword-targeted ads that promote an individual product on a cost-per-click basis.

• SPN – Service Provider Network.

• SPOO/SP00 – Shipping Package Number.

• SRC – Simple Record Count.

• SRP – Suggested Retail Price.

• Storefront – An Amazon brand store.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: T

• Third-Party Seller – A merchant that sells a product that is not their own brand or product directly to consumers on Amazon under their own business name.

• TOS – Terms of Service.

• Twister – Amazon’s detail page function for merging ASINs of various colors and sizes onto one page.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: U

• Unverified Review – A product review from someone who may or may not has actually purchased the item.

• UPH – Units Per Hour.

• UPC – Universal Product Code. A 12-digit number is displayed with the barcode on most retail products.

• UR – Universal Receive.

• URP – Universal Receive Prep.

• URS – Universal Receive Sort

• UTA – Unable to Access.

• UTL – Unable to Locate.

• UX – User Experience.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: V

• VAT – Value Added Tax. Applies to products sold in the UK and EU.

• Verified Review – A review obtained from a genuine purchaser of the product.

• Vendor – Wholesalers that sell products to Amazon for sale to end consumers.

• Vine – Program for vendors or sellers to obtain verified reviews.

• VIR – Volume Incentive Rebate.

• VIS – Video In Search.

• Voucher/Coupon – A promotional deal for an amount or percentage of a product for a limited time.

Amazon Glossary of Terms: W

• Warehouse Deals – Quality “used” (usually just items with damaged packaging or returned) products sold by Amazon Warehouse.

• WOW – Week Over Week.

• YOY – Year Over Year.

• YTD – Year To Date.

We hope this blog post was beneficial!

Thank you,

Commerce Canal Team

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