Amazon Acronyms: Glossary Guide | 75 Words You Must Know

Working with and selling on Amazon requires learning a new language. When I first started working at Amazon, one of the biggest learning curves I faced was learning all the acronyms; luckily Amazon provided Vendor Managers with an internal Wiki page. To help decipher Amazon’s vernacular, I have put together a non-exhaustive list of 75 acronyms you must know to do business on Amazon, broken out into three main sections: Sales & Pricing, Inventory, and Advertising.

SALES & PRICING

1. 1. 1. 1P | First-party: one of two ways for a brand to sell on Amazon. Also known as being a Vendor, or selling direct, part of a wholesale relationship to Amazon in which Amazon purchases inventory at cost and ships to the consumer. Messaging on Amazon is “Ships from and sold by Amazon,” and platform used is Vendor Central.
      2. 3P | Third-party: the other of two ways for a brand to sell on Amazon, also known as being a Seller. Within 3P, there are two ways to sell: FBA and FBM (see definition below). Brands use their own warehouses or Amazon’s warehouses to fulfill their inventory, while selling their products directly to the consumer. Platform used is Seller Central.
      3. A9 | A9 Algorithm: the algorithm that Amazon uses to rank products on search pages. The algorithm takes both organic and paid traffic into account, and considers product copy, content, sales, traffic, conversion, etc.
      4. AOV | Average Order Value: the average sales price for an order for a given period of time. Formula = Revenue / Orders.  
      5. ARA | Amazon Retail Analytics: a group of business reports within Vendor Central available to Amazon Vendors that include basic reports such as sales and inventory (sometimes referred to as ARA Basic).
      6. ARAP | Amazon Retail Analytics Premium: an enhanced version of ARA reporting within Vendor Central, that features additional reports such as Amazon Search Terms, Market Basket Analysis, Purchase Behavior, etc.  
      7. ASIN | Amazon Standard Identification Number: a unique identifier consisting of a 10-character alphanumeric used specifically for and within Amazon, assigned to each product. The general rule is for each UPC to have its own ASIN. ASINs can be further broken down into Parent and Child ASINs for products that have one overall item or style (Parent ASIN) with multiple choices when it comes to color, size, pack size, etc. (Child ASIN).
      8. ASP | Average Selling Price: the average sales price for a unit for a given period of time. Formula = Revenue / Units.
      9. AVS | Amazon Vendor Services: a vendor-funded support service that provides a Brand Specialist at Amazon to support a Vendor’s business on Amazon (previously known as SVS (Strategic Vendor Services)).
      10. BB | Buy Box: a feature within Amazon’s algorithm that determines the winner of the sale for a particular product at a given moment in time. The algorithm consists of several factors including product availability, price, shipping speed, shipping fee, and seller rank and can fluctuate often.
      11. BD | Best Deal: a promotional offer type for vendors on Amazon usually spanning several days to a week on a select group of ASINs. 
      12. BSR | Best Seller Rank: the order and ranking of a product on Amazon within its category and subcategory, found at the bottom of each detail page. The rank is updated hourly and accounts for several factors such as sales, traffic, conversion, etc. The lower the rank, the better the product is performing (i.e.,—the goal is to rank as close to #1 as possible). 
      13. COGs | Cost of Goods Sold: the wholesale value of goods sold to Amazon for Vendors
      14. CRAP | Can’t Realize Any Profit: a product that is deemed unprofitable for Amazon based on its algorithms (reasons can include shipping costs, pricing issues, unhealthy inventory, etc.); can result in getting delisted.
      15. DOTD | Deal of the Day: a coveted deal offering from Amazon that includes one or more ASINs discounted for a period of one day only.
      16. EAN | European Article Number: 13-digit-number for identifying products when uploading to Amazon.
      17. EBC | Enhanced Brand Content: A portion of the product detail page, below the fold, that includes enhanced content featuring product features and benefits with graphics and images. EBC is obsolete and has been replaced by A+ Content for both Sellers and Vendors.
      18. GTIN | Global Trade Item Number: globally unique 14-digit number for identifying products when uploading to Amazon.
      19. GVs | Glance Views: The number of times a detail page has been viewed, a metric within Amazon reporting.
      20. LBB | Lost Buy Box: the percentage of time that a brand loses a sale to another seller within the buy box algorithm, for reasons such as pricing, lack of inventory, etc.
      21. LD | Lightning Deal: a promotion on Amazon offered in a limited quantity for a short period of time such as several hours. Lightning Deals are available until either the deal’s promotion period expires or all of the available inventory is claimed.
      22. MAP | Minimum Advertised Price: the lowest price a retailer can advertise the product for sale. Generally, Amazon does not abide by MAP policies.
      23. MSRP | Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: the price that a product's manufacturer recommends that it be sold for at point of sale, also known as “list price” on Amazon. As pricing is at the discretion of the retailer, Amazon has a price-matching strategy; product will not always be sold at MSRP.
      24. NIS | New Item Setup: the document used to upload new products on Amazon, by filling out detail page information such as cost, dimensions, category, etc.
      25. OPS | Ordered Product Sales: Amazon’s sales to the end consumer, also referred to as ordered revenue​.
      26. PDP | Product Detail Page: the listing page where an ASIN is sold on Amazon, also referred to as a Detail Page; may contain a single ASIN or a parent ASIN with variations (child ASINs). 
      27. PD | Prime Day: a major shopping event created by Amazon that typically occurs in June or July.
      28. PPM | Pure Profit Margin: a Vendor’s product margin after cost of goods sold and various agreed upon fees, such as damage allowance and COOP fees, are deducted.
      29. SC | Seller Central: the portal Amazon uses for Sellers.
      30. SDS | Safety Data Sheet: a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health of products, used most often to identify information regarding the composition of Hazardous (Hazmat) products on Amazon.
      31. SnS | Subscribe and Save: a subscription service on Amazon that allows customers to auto-order delivery on certain products at a discounted price. Bundling more of these products increases the discount level. DSP tracks SNSs as the number of new Subscribe & Save subscriptions for promoted products.
      32. VC | Vendor Central: the portal Amazon uses for Vendors.
      33. VPC | Vendor Powered Coupons: a promotional offer on Amazon in the form of digital coupons that can be “clipped” on a detail page, available to both Amazon vendors and sellers. Coupons can be featured on a select group of ASINs, with a budget cap on the amount of funding.
          

          INVENTORY

      34. ASN | Advanced Shipment Notification: a notice used to communicate a shipment’s tracking number and information to Amazon in advance of delivery.
      35. BTR | Born to Run: a program available to Amazon Vendors that allows brands to initiate purchase orders through Vendor Central.
      36. DF | Direct Fulfillment: also known as Dropship, a fulfillment method for Amazon vendors, in which Amazon doesn’t physically buy the inventory from the Vendor. The Vendor directly fulfills the order to the consumer once an order is placed on Amazon.
      37. EDI | Electronic Data Interchange: the exchange of business documents, such as purchase orders and invoices in an automated, electronic format (within Vendor Central).
      38. EFN | European Fulfillment Network: a fulfillment option that allows selling in other E.U. marketplaces, while logistics and shipping are fulfilled through the home country.
      39. FBA | Fulfilled by Amazon: one of two methods of selling as a 3P seller. In the case of FBA, a Seller will store their products within Amazon’s fulfillment centers, paying storage and fulfillment fees. Amazon will pick, pack, and ship the products to the end consumer, providing full customer service. For the most part, FBA ASINs are Prime eligible.
      40. FBM | Fulfilled by Merchant: one of two methods of selling as a 3P seller. In the case of FBM, a Seller will ship their products to the end consumer directly from their warehouse, bypassing Amazon’s fulfillment centers and saving on storage fees. For the most part, FBM ASINs are not Prime eligible, unless they are Seller-Fulfilled Prime-eligible (see SFP below).
      41. FC | Fulfillment Center: an Amazon warehouse used to pack, prep, and ship products to the consumer.
      42. FNSKU | Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit: an Amazon product identifier for products that are fulfilled by Amazon. An FNSKU can be used in lieu of a UPC at the discretion of either Amazon or the Seller. When FNSKUs are used in lieu of a UPC it prevents inventory from being commingled with units of the same product sold by another seller.
      43. IPI | Inventory Performance Index: an Amazon-assigned score from 0 – 1000 that measures how efficiently and productively Sellers manage their FBA inventory (in Seller Central). Top influencing factors include excess inventory, sell-through rate, stranded inventory, and in-stock inventory. Sellers should strive to maintain a minimum IPI of 400 at all times.
      44. LTL | Less-Than-Truckload: Shipments to Amazon’s FCs that do not fill an entire truck, leaving space for other small shipments; typically range from 100 to 5,000 pounds.
      45. LTSF | Long Term Storage Fees: fees that a seller is responsible for when product is in Amazon’s warehouse for longer than 365 days.
      46. MCF | Multi-channel Fulfillment: an Amazon fulfillment method that fulfills both FBA as well as other sales directly (such as the brand’s website).
      47. NP | New Product: a replenishment term within Vendor Central that is assigned to a new ASIN to indicate to Amazon’s ordering algorithm that the ASIN is available to order. After the first order has been received, NP code will switch to PR.
      48. OB | Obsolete: a replenishment term within Vendor Central that is assigned to ASINs that are obsolete and should not be ordered. 
      49. OOS | Out Of Stock: when a product is not available to be purchased on Amazon due to lack of inventory. Rep OOS (replenishable out of the stock) is a key metric within Vendor Central that calculates the percentage of out-of-stock inventory within a given time period.
      50. PR | Planned Replenishment: a replenishment term within Vendor Central that is assigned to ASINs that are available to be reordered.
      51. SFP | Seller Fulfilled Prime: a method for 3P sellers that allows them to ship from their own warehouses or third-party logistics partner. SFP sellers must abide by strict selling guidelines that commit to fulfilling orders with two-day delivery, therefore becoming Prime-eligible
      52. SNL | Small and Light: an Amazon fulfillment program for small and lightweight FBA inventory priced under $7 that results in reduced shipping costs if it qualifies.
      53. VM | Vendor Manager: the business owner of a category or categories for Amazon Vendors. VMs are responsible for vendor relationships, driving negotiations, P&L management, and identifying growth opportunities for their set of Vendors.
      54. WOS | Weeks of Supply: an inventory metric showing how long the current inventory will last based on the current demand.
          

          ADVERTISING

      55. AE | Account Executive: a key member of the Amazon Advertising team assigned to a set of brands, responsible for helping drive advertising performance through identifying new Amazon Ads opportunities.
      56. ACOS | Advertising Cost of Sales: an advertising metric that measures the percentage of revenue spent on advertising. Formula = Advertising Spend / Advertising Revenue (AcoS is the inverse of ROAS).
      57. AMS | Amazon Marketing Services, the suite of Amazon Advertising services related to Search, now known as Sponsored Ads.
      58. ATC | Add to Cart: the number of times shoppers added a promoted product to their cart, attributed to an ad view or click.
      59. CPC | Cost Per Click: this is the average amount paid for each click within a search advertisement. Formula = Advertising Spend / Clicks. 
      60. CPM | Cost per thousand impressions.
      61. CTR | Click Through Rate: The number of click-throughs relative to the number of impressions. Formula = clicks / impressions.
      62. CTV | Connected TV: Any television set used to stream video content over the internet. These are most often videos that are streamed via apps downloaded on devices such as smart TV’s, connected devices (Fire Stick, Apple TV) or gaming consoles (PS5, XBox).
      63. CVRT | Conversion rate: the number of conversions (units sold) divided the number of ad clicks.
      64. DEA | Dynamic Ecommerce Ads: a component of Amazon DSP where ads will have ecommerce features built within the display ad, such as retail price and review ratings.
      65. DPV | Detail page views: number of detail page views for promoted products, attributed to an ad view or click.
      66. DSP | Demand Side Platform: Amazon’s display advertising program (formerly AAP = Amazon Advertising Platform). Amazon DSP uses Amazon’s first party data to programmatically buy display and video ads to promote products across both Amazon-owned sites and leading publishers’ sites.
      67. NTB | New to Brand: orders that have been placed by consumers who have not previously shopped the brand in the past 365 days.
      68. O&O | Owned-and-operated: websites owned by Amazon—such as Zappos, Shopbop, and IMDB—that allow for DSP targeting.
      69. OLV | Online Video: Video ads that appear across browsers and apps on devices such as desktop, mobile, and tablet. Online video ads can appear in both in-stream and out-stream formats.
      70. OTT | Over-The-Top: describes the delivery of TV content through the internet and over the standard, closed TV system without traditional. Traditional cable or satellite provider subscriptions are not required to watch television content via “OTT.” 
      71. ROAS | Return on Advertising Spend: an advertising metric that measures the efficiency of a campaign by measuring the amount of revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising. Formula = Advertising Revenue / Advertising Spend (ROAS is the inverse of ACoS).
      72. SD | Sponsored Display: a campaign type within Amazon’s Sponsored Ads that features display advertising to target relevant audiences on Amazon.
      73. SB | Sponsored Brand, a campaign type within Amazon’s Sponsored Ads that features keyword-targeted ads that promote a specific brand, and are on a cost-per-click basis.
      74. SP | Sponsored Products: a campaign type within Amazon’s Sponsored Ads that features keyword-targeted ads that promote an individual product and are on a cost-per-click basis.
      75. TACOS | Total Advertising Cost of Sales: measures advertising spend relative to the total revenue generated. Formula = Advertising Spend / Total Revenue.

…and a bonus acronym—and maybe the most important one: SR = Stella Rising!

The dedicated team at SR navigates Amazon every day, testing betas, driving strategy, and growing revenue. If you are seeking to take your brand to the next level on Amazon, connect with us.