As an Amazon seller or customer, you probably encounter all sorts of acronyms while navigating their platform.
If you use Seller Central, interact with other people on Amazon-related Facebook groups, or do Amazon-related Google searches, you might also see quite a number of unfamiliar acronyms that leave you scratching your head.
What does POPS mean? COW? SKU?
And wow… there’s even an Amazon acronym called CRAP!
In this article, I have compiled a comprehensive Amazon acronyms list to help you out, especially if you are new to Amazon.
What Are The Amazon Acronyms?
Amazon has its own unique e-Commerce language. They sometimes make use of complex acronyms and abbreviations in different segments of their business.
Abbreviations are shortened forms of words that are used to represent the whole, such as 3P, AMZL, or FBA.
Acronyms, on the other hand, usually contain a set of initial letters to form a new word, such as MAP, BOLO, or ASIN.
Let’s get to the list.
Amazon Acronyms And Abbreviations List
3P – Third Party Seller
Also referred to as retailer. Third party sellers sell products directly to consumers on Amazon under their own business name.
3PL – 3rd Party Logistics
Also referred to as 3rd Party Fulfillment. 3PL companies are involved in assembling, preparing, and/or shipping products on behalf of a seller.
7-Day Deal
A promotion type available for Amazon sellers. This limited-time offer is featured on Amazon’s Best Deals page.
A+ Content
This is an Amazon product detail page that has enhanced brand content, or EBC.
Compared to a regular listing, A+ content allows sellers to include graphics and images to their product detail page.
AA – Amazon Associate
Also referred to as the Amazon Affiliate program.
This is a free Amazon program for website owners and bloggers who want to advertise products from Amazon.com on their sites by creating links. They earn referral fees when customers click the link and purchase the advertised product on Amazon.
Amazon Associate can also mean a person working for Amazon.
AAP – Amazon Advertising Platform
An ad buy platform, which allows brands to target Amazon shoppers off of Amazon.com and Amazon-owned sites.
Online retailers can work an in-house Amazon team to plan and execute their programmatic ads, or choose the self-service Amazon Advertising Platform.
ACOS – Advertising Cost Of Sale
This is related to Amazon sponsored product ads and its metrics that show how well your products are performing relative to their cost.
The formula for this is total spend / ad sales = ACOS.
ACS – Amazon Creative Services
This is available in the advertising dashboard for Amazon sellers and vendors.
It allows you to check out and book different services with trusted service providers for policy-compliant and highly-engaging creative assets.
Affiliates
An Amazon program where referrals can earn money by driving traffic and sales via Amazon Marketing Services.
Affiliates use a variety of sites for this, such as individual blogs, forums, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
AGS – Amazon Global Selling
Another program that allows sellers to list and sell their products on Amazon’s global marketplaces.
AM – Area Manager
This term typically refers to an Amazon Fulfillment Center position.
Area managers are responsible for all budgetary, people development, and operations objectives for a specific area in a Fulfillment Center.
AMG – Amazon Media Group
A program that offers advanced Amazon advertising, both on and off Amazon’s site.
It also lets you run ads on Amazon devices, like Kindle, to drive traffic to the site.
AMZ – Amazon
AMZ is Amazon’s stock abbreviation. This may also be abbreviated as AZ.
AMZL – Amazon Logistics
Also known as Amazon Shipping or Amazon Delivery.
AMZL refers to any product deliveries made in the US through Amazon’s own logistical arrangements and delivery service.
Andon or Andon Cord
Adopted by Amazon around 2012, Andon Cords allow any Support Agent to issue a warning or pull a product from buyable status.
These are sent out when a product has been discovered to have a significant safety or quality issue.
API – Application Program Interface
A code that allows 2 platforms or software programs to communicate with each other.
AR – Amazon Robotics
Sophisticated machinery and software that are designed to optimize efficiency in an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
ARA – Amazon Retail Analytics
This features a selection of basic reports and product performance statistics for Amazon sellers.
Generated information are based on trends, operations, customer behavior, and overall sales.
ARAP – Amazon Retail Analytics Premium
An add-on option available on Amazon Vendor Central. This analytics tool provides more detailed product performance reports compared to those generated by ARA Basic.
ARS – Amazon Robotics Sortable
A type of Fulfillment Center where Amazon employees often work alongside robots in picking, packing, and shipping small- to medium-sized customer orders.
ARSAW – Amazon Robotics Semi-Automatic Workstation
Technology used in Fulfillment Centers that automates the process of sorting customer orders with the help of robots and complex conveyor belt systems.
ASC – Associate Safety Committee
ASC members work like safety specialists in Amazon’s Fulfillment Centers.
They help ensure safety in an Amazon warehouse by looking out for hazards, broken equipment, or unsafe employee behavior.
ASIN – Amazon Standard Info Number
A unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier that works just like a UPC Universal Product Code.
ASINS, however, are exclusively used for identifying retail products sold within Amazon.
ASN – Advanced Shipment Notification
This is an electronic packing list that vendors send to Amazon in advance of delivery.
An ASN can be created in the Vendor Central Portal or by EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).
ASP – Average Selling Price
This refers to the average retail price that a seller sells their items for.
ASP is calculated by taking the total sales for a time period divided by the number of items for the time period.
Associates
As an Amazon Associates affiliate, you get to earn a commission every time a customer makes a purchase through an affiliate link in your content.
Associates can also mean people who work for Amazon.
ATOP – At Time Of Posting
This refers to the retail price of an item at the time the post was created.
You will most likely see this abbreviation on Amazon related Facebook groups that sell products and goods.
AWS – Amazon Web Services
AWS is a cloud platform offered by Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, enterprises, and government agencies.
It offers cloud-based services that provide email, data storage, networking, servers, remote computing, mobile development, and security.
AZ – Amazon
Also abbreviated as AMZ, and used to refer to Amazon.
AZ or AMZ – Amazon
AMZ is the stock abbreviation for Amazon. AZ is also an abbreviation used to refer to Amazon.
B2B – Business To Business
B2B refers to the relationship between 2 businesses, rather than between a business and a consumer.
B2C – Business To Customer
B2C refers to the relationship between a business, a firm, or a company, and an individual or a consumer.
BB – Buy Box
The Buy Box is the button Amazon customers use to purchase a product on an Amazon detail page.
Best Deal
A limited-time promotional offer available for Amazon vendors.
BISS – Business Industrial & Scientific Supplies
A specific selling category on Amazon, which is restricted to most sellers.
BL – Big Lots
An American retail company with more than 1,400 stores in 47 states. This discount store is frequented by many FBA sellers.
Blue Badge
An Amazon full-time employee (as opposed to a temporary or contract worker).
BM – Brick & Mortar
The exact opposite of an online retail store. BM refers to the traditional way of shopping at a store that has a physical location.
BOGO or BOGOF – Buy One Get One or Buy One Get One Free
A type of promotion where sellers get one additional item free for the price of one.
BOLO – Be On The Lookout
This acronym is used to refer to a profitable item that you might be able to find in nearby stores.
Brand Analytics
A wide variety of features available to brands that are enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry.
Brand HQ
This system can be accessed by sellers on the Amazon Brand Incubator and Amazon Exclusives program.
In Brand HQ, sellers can connect with other brands through a forum, gain more knowledge with Amazon’s eLearning courses, or ask an Amazon Associate any kind of question.
Brand Registry
This program gives you access to a variety of tools for building and protecting your brand, as well as creating a better experience for your customers.
Brand Store
An Amazon Brand Store is made using a free, self-service tool, which allows you to create a customized brand experience within Amazon.
Browse Node
These are numerical codes used to identify specific Amazon product categories. Amazon uses thousands of these per locale, and these are unique to locale (UK codes are different from US codes).
BSR – Best Seller Rank
This abbreviation is often used interchangeably with Sales Rank. BSR gives an idea of how well an item is selling compared to others.
BTS – Back To School
BTS refers to a calendar period used by merchants to promote and boost product sales that are related to school supplies and school-related services.
Bundle
A bundle means a group of complementary products that are sold as 1 ASIN unit.
CA – Canada
CA is the abbreviation used for the Canadian marketplace.
CAGR – Compound Annual Growth Rate
This is the rate of return needed for an investment to grow from its starting balance to its ending balance, assuming the profits were reinvested at the end of each year of the investment’s lifespan.
Category Page
A landing page for a specific group of products within the Amazon website. Examples would be: Books, Electronics, or Toys & Games.
CCC – CamelCamelCamel
A free online tool for Amazon sellers that allows users to keep track of Amazon price and rank history charts, price watches, and price drop alerts.
CCR – Counterfeit Complaint Rate
CCR refers to the rate by which sellers get complaints about their products being fake or counterfeit.
CD – Continuous Deployment
In Amazon’s Marketplace Web Services, CD is a software development practice where code changes are automatically prepared for a release to production without explicit approval.
Child ASIN
A buyable variant of a parent ASIN, when the customer has to select an option, such as size or color to purchase.
Child ASINS have to be on one Amazon detail page under the parent ASIN.
Climate Pledge Friendly
Launched in 2020, this Amazon program is meant to give customers an easier time shopping for eco-friendly, sustainable products on its sites.
CM – Change Management
In cloud computing, CM is one of the processes that help control the life cycle of IT infrastructure.
CM allows changes to be made while ensuring minimal IT service disruptions.
CMBR – Change Management Bar Raiser
Amazon bar raisers are responsible for ensuring that hired candidates “raise the performance bar”.
Bar raisers make sure that candidates hired are better than at least 40% of the existing employees in the same position.
COGS – Cost Of Goods Sold
This refers to the cost of goods sold during a certain time period.
Concessions
The amounts Amazon has refunded to customers related to your products or orders.
Contra COGS
COGS including all backend, such as Vine, ARA Premium, MDF, etc).
Coupon/Voucher
An Amazon promotional deal where Amazon marketplace sellers offer an amount of percentage off for a limited time.
COW – Consumer Order Workflow
This refers to the entire process that takes place when a buyer adds your product to their shopping cart and checks out.
CP – Contribution Profit
CP computes the profitability of each and every shipment that gets shipped out of Amazon.
CPC – Cost Per Click
CPC refers to Sponsored Ads and the amount Amazon charges sellers or vendors whenever customers click on their ad.
The formula for CPC is total ad cost / clicks.
CPH – Cost Per Head
Also known as “price for each person”.
CPS – Cost Per Shipment
Also known as the “amount spent on each shipment”.
CPT – Critical Pull Time
CPT refers to the time period in which an order is in danger of not getting shipped in time for customer delivery cut-offs.
CPU – Contacts Per Unit
CPU is a way to measure your customer service performance.
It is the number of contacts that consist of order-related customer inquiries that Amazon handles on your behalf per self-fulfilled shipped unit.
CRAP – Can’t Realize Any Profit
Based on Amazon algorithms, a product is deemed CRAP if it has no way of making a profit due to high shipping costs, too much inventory, or pricing issues – just to name a few.
CS – Customer Service
CS refers to the support a company provides to customers who have inquiries, service requests, complaints, or returns.
CTI – Category, Type, Item
The hierarchical structure for categorization with multiple layers of classification.
Traditional hierarchical structure starts from creating a category list first, then different types per category, then different items per type.
CWGR – Compound Weekly Growth Rate
CWGR is the weekly growth of your investments over a specific period of time.
It is a measure of how much you have earned on your investments every week during a given interval.
CX – Customer Experience
CX is also referred to as User Experience.
This is defined as the totality of a customer’s feelings, impressions, and insights toward the company after buying its goods or receiving its services.
DEA – Dynamic eCommerce Ads
A component of Amazon DSP where product display ads will have integrated eCommerce features, such as retail price and review ratings.
DEA can also mean Delivery Estimate Accuracy.
DMG – Damaged
DMG is an abbreviation for “Damaged”.
DNR – Delivered Not Received
This term is used when order tracking shows that is has been “delivered”, but the customer hasn’t actually received it.
DOTD – Deal Of The Day
A single item or bundle on Amazon’s Gold Box or Deals pag that is discounted for a period of 24 hours.
DP – Detail Page
An Amazon detail page displays important product information, including its price, title, bullet points, desription, customer reviews, and more.
DPMO – Defects Per Million Opportunities
This is the ratio of the number of defects in a sample to the total number of defect opportunities multiplied by 1 million.
It also measures the error rate of a process, indicating how good your process with regards to committing mistakes.
DPV – Detail Page Views
A metric showing the number of impressions of a single detail page.
DPVR – Detail Page View Rate
This refers to the total number of promoted product Amazon Detail page views, divided by the number of ad impressions – presented as a rate.
Dropship
Or dropshipping, which is the process of selling a product without the responsibility of carrying inventory or shipping the goods.
When you dropship, you don’t own any merchandise and act as a middleman between suppliers and customers.
DSP – Delivery Service Provider
A third-party service provider contracted to deliver goods to a customer.
DSP – Demand Side Platform
Previously known as Amazon Advertising Platform, Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that allows you to programmatically buy ads to reach new and existing audiences on and off Amazon.
EAN – European Article Number
This refers to a 13-digit number system used for identifying retail products in Europe.
Early Reviewer Program
An Amazon program that incentivizes customers who have purchased a product to leave an honest review.
EBC – Enhanced Brand Content
An Amazon product detail page where the product description includes graphics and images embedded into the page.
As of 2020, EBC is obsolete and has been replaced by A+ Content. Here’s a full guide about the A+ content.
ECR – Executive Customer Relations
A branch within Amazon that is tasked to resolve the most highly escalated customer contacts received by Amazon.
EDD – Estimated Delivery Date
The estimated date when the customer is expected to receive the order.
EDI – Electronic Data Interchange
A method for companies and businesses to send digital information to one another digitally.
EFN – European Fulfillment Network
Allows sellers with an Amazon Europe Marketplaces account, who are also registered with Amazon, to store their inventory in their European Fullfilment Center, and fulfill orders coming from other European marketplaces from the same local inventory pool.
EOD – End Of Day
EOD refers to the close of a particular working day.
Existing Customers
Individuals who have purchased or re-purchased your goods or services on Amazon.
EXSD – Expected Ship Date
The system’s estimate of when an item will leave the Fulfillment Center and corresponds to a delivery truck’s critical pull time.
FB – Facebook
An acronym used to refer to Facebook.
FBA – Fulfillment By Amazon
FBA means that Amazon will pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for your product.
FBM – Fulfilled By Merchant
Also referred to as “Merchant Fulfilled”, FBM means that the seller will ship products directly to the customer.
FC – Fulfillment Center
Also known as an Amazon warehouse.
FFP – Frustration-Free Packaging
An Amazon sustainability program that eliminates excessive packing and overboxing.
FNSKU – Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit
An Amazon product identifier for products that are fulfilled by Amazon.
FPY – First Pass Yield
A measure of quality in a process that reflects the percentage of product made correctly without needing any rework or corrective activity.
Gated Category
This is a category that requires Amazon’s approval for sale. Amazon might require performance checks, additional fees, or other qualification for certain products and categories.
GL String
This refers to Amazon’s codification system for allocating costs to the correct Profit & Loss Statement.
Glance Views
Just like DPV, “glance views” refers to the number of times a detail page has been viewed.
GLN – Global Location Number
A unique identification code of a physical location that is used to identify locations and legal entities.
Global SKU
An SKU that is part of a shared inventory pool, and is available to be sold and shipped in multiple marketplaces.
Goldbox
This refers to Amazon’s landing page, which contains the Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals, and a selection of categories’ best promotions and savings.
GTIN – Global Trade Item Number
A globally unique 14-digit number that is used to identify items, products, and services.
Hazmat – Hazardous Materials
Such items may be flammable, dangerous, corrosive, pressurized, etc. Hazmat require special precautions and regulations when being transported or stored.
HBA – Healthy & Beauty Aids
These consist of products related to health and beauty, including skin moisturizers, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail polishes, makeup, shampoos, hair colors, toothpastes, deodorants, permanent waves, etc.
Headline Search Ads
These are advertisements located on top of a search results page. Headline Search Ads have been renamed to Sponsored Brands.
Hijacking
This happens when another seller jumps on a brand’s listing to sell a counterfeit product at a lower price.
This results in the legitimate brand losing the Buy Box. Read this guide if you want to remove Amazon listing hijacking.
HTF – Hard To Find
HTF items are often associated with BOLO posts. You will usually see this term used for an item that is rarely seen in stores anymore.
IAT – Inbound Andon Tracker
Used by Support Agents to keep track of Andon Cord tickets.
IB – Inbound
Another term used for “incoming”.
ICQA – Inventory Control Quality Assurance
A department in an Amazon warehouse that is responsible for keeping track of inventory and making sure that all stowed items are accounted for.
IDQ – Item Data Quality
This refers to the condition of an item’s information, for example, if the product has bullet points and images.
Impressions
A measure of views or ad views. This is determined by the number of single times a page is located and loaded.
IP – Intellectual Property
This refers to trademarks, copyrights, and patents. These allow a rights owner to control how their materials are used, sold, or distributed.
IRDR – Inventory Record Defect Ratio
A random inventory count, where the virtual is matched with the physical in a bin.
If IRDR is high, then a picker could be sent to a bin to pick a unit, but it won’t be there.
ISBN – International Standard Book Number
A 13-digit identity number assigned to individual books by standard book numbering agencies.
KPI – Key Performance Indicators
A measurable value that determines how well your business performs against set objectives.
LBB – Lost Buy Box
Used when a product loses the Buy Box button to another seller who has a better offer, as determined by Amazon’s algorithm.
LD – Lightning Deal
A promotion on Amazon offered in a limited quantity for a short period of time.
These deals are found throughout Amazon, and are available on the Today’s Deals or Prime Day page.
Less Than Container Load
A shipment measure that means less than 18 cubic meters.
Less Than Truckload
A shipment measure for ground transport that means more than 30 cartons in a combined load with other merchants.
Lightning Deal
Also called “LD”, Lighting Deals are promotions on Amazon offered in limited quantities for a short period of time.
These deals are found throughout Amazon, and are available on the Today’s Deals or Prime Day page.
Listing Optimization
The process of improving an Amazon detail page and product information, including titles, bullet points, features, description, and images. Here’s a guide on how to optimize it completely.
Long-Term Storage Fee
Amazon’s chargeback for inventory that has been stored in a Fulfillment Center for over 365 days.
MAP – Minimum Advertised Price
As an example: In the US, if a retailer buys inventory from a manufacturer that has a MAP policy, the retailer must not sell the product below that specified price. If they do, they risk no longer working with that manufacturer.
Marketplace
This refers to the specific locale or domain you are selling in. It could refer to a country (UK, DE, CA, etc) or overall third-party merchants.
MCF – Multi Channel Fulfillment
A fulfillment type where storage is not limited to a single company.
Some inventory may be fulfilled by Amazon through FBA and other inventory by other sales channels or by the seller themselves.
MF – Merchant Fulfilled
Also referred to as “FBM”, Merchant Fulfilled means that the seller will ship products directly to the customer.
MNR – Manifested Not Received
This could mean that the product has been handed over to the courier partner, but has not yet been delivered to the customer.
MOM – Month Over Month
Month-over-month growth shows the change in the value of a statistic as a percentage of the previous month’s value.
MOQ – Minimum Order Quantity
MOQ is the minimum amount of items a consumer can order. This usually applies to orders from wholesalers or distributors.
MSRP – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price
The price at which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product.
MTD – Month To Date
Refers to the time from the beginning of the month until this time of the month.
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
This covers items such as what is confidential, who the information can be shared with, breach of contract, amendments, and other important parts of every NDA.
NIS – New Item Setup
All the steps involved in the initial creation of a product, such as accepting terms and agreements, developing an ASIN, and filling out product detail page information.
NP – New Product
A newly listed item on Amazon.
NR – Non Replenishable
An item that is not available and could be deleted from the catalog.
NTB – New To Brand
An advertising metric used by Amazon to determine whether an ad-attributed purchase was made by an existing customer or one buying a brand’s product on Amazon for the first time over the prior year.
OA – Online Arbitrage
Also referred to as “Retail Arbitrage”. This means purchasing items from online retailers to resell on Amazon.
OB – Obsolete
This term is used for a product that will no longer be available, and will not be ordered and located in Amazon’s Brand Analytics on Vendor Central.
OB – Outbound
Outward bound or leaving a particular place.
ODR – Order Defect Rate
The percentage of orders that have received negative feedback or significant issue on, an A to Z Guarantee claim, or a service credit chargeback.
OLR – Organization and Leadership Review
This review process involves senior managers in Amazon debating the strengths and weaknesses of subordinates for promotions, or in some cases, whether or not to fire worst performing employees.
OM – Operations Manager
An employee in an Amazon warehouse who is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of their assigned department.
OOS – Out Of Stock
A term used when items are out of stock in retail stores or Amazon themselves being out of stock.
OP – Order Picker
An Amazon warehouse worker tasked to retrieve items from storage areas or the warehouse floor, and packing them for shipment.
OPS – Operations
Mostly used to refer to the operations department.
ORDT – On Road Dynamic Transfer
This term is mostly used for warehouse deliveries.
OTC – Over The Counter
Also known as off-exchange trading. This trading practice is done directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange.
P&L – Profit and Loss
Also referred to as Profit and Loss Statement or Income Statement.
This financial statement summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a specified period, usually a fiscal quarter or year.
PA – Process Assistant
An Amazon warehouse position who works as a supervisor under the Area Manager.
Parent ASIN
An ASIN used to group variations on one detail page.
Each main ASIN can have multiple variants, such as color, size, flavor, scent, etc. These variants are referred to as child ASINs.
PCOGS – Product Cost Of Goods Sold
This is the amount needed to procure an item or a product.
PDA – Product Display Ads
A type of display advertising where a product’s ad appears throughout Amazon on category and product pages.
PED – Prime Exclusive Discount
A deal type available only to Amazon FBA sellers for Prime-eligible items. This can be an amount or percentage off for a limited time period.
PMV – Process Map Visuals
Planning and management tools that visually describe the flow of work.
PNOV – Preliminary Notice Of Violation
A notification from Amazon informing sellers of their probable violation.
POD – Proof Of Delivery
A customer-signed document from the shipping company that indicates that the item has been delivered.
POPS – Proactive Outbound Problem Solve
An Amazon worker tasked to investigate outbound processes to find and create solutions for issues that create quality errors.
PPC – Pay Per Click
A term used for Amazon Advertising, in which advertisers pay a fee each time an ad is clicked.
PPE – Personal Protective Equipment
Often required for working in certain job roles at an Amazon Fulfillment center.
PPM – Pure Product Margin
This is calculated by using this formula: Revenue – PCOGS/ Revenue.
PPQA – Process Path Quality Assurance
The steps followed to ensure that quality regulations are met in an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
PPV – Product Price Variance
This happens when a vendor raises an invoice and the item price on the invoice differs from what Amazon has in the system.
PQV Product Quantity Variance
This is when a vendor sends inventory to Amazon and the amount they shipped differs from the amount Amazon received.
PR – Planned Replenishment
A standard code that indicates a product will be reordered automatically.
Prime – Amazon Prime
A paid subscription service for free and fast delivery on millions of items.
Prime also includes a range of services and streaming entertainment options, such as Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Pantry, Twitch, and more.
Private Label
Products legally owned by a retailer or supplier, and sold under their own brand name.
Professional Seller
An Amazon seller account where a business pays a monthly fee (no per-item fee).
This grants access to different tools, discounts, and reports that are not available as an individual seller.
Project Zero
An Amazon program for Brand Registry businesses that is meant to weed out counterfeits and IP infringement through self-service reporting, serialization, and more.
Q1 – First Quarter
January to March of any given year.
Q2 – Second Quarter
April to June of any given year.
Q3 – Third Quarter
July to September of any given year.
Q4 – Fourth Quarter
October to December of any given year.
QA – Quality Assurance
A process of preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products, and avoiding problems when delivering products or services to customers.
QBR – Quarterly Business Review
A short planning process where you review your previous three months, evaluate your goal progress, and create a concrete plan of attach to finish each goal.
RA – Retail Arbitrage
This means purchasing items at lower prices from retailers to resell on Amazon for a greater price.
REPLEN – Replenishable Product
An item that a seller is able to replenish from a supplier and sell continuously.
ROAS – Return On Ad Spend
This tells you how much you will receive for every dollar you spend on advertising.
A metric that determines the effectiveness of an ad campaign.
ROI – Return On Investment
A performance metric used to determine the success of an investment relative to the costs.
RRP – Recommended Retail Price
Same with MSRP, RRP is the price at which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product.
RSP – Robotics Service Platform
Monitors robots, allocates work, distributes contents, and distributes robot S/W through the Cloud (Saas).
RSR – Reserve Stow Racks
An Amazon warehouse storage location where stock and inventory are placed.
Sales Rank
Amazon’s internal ranking of products in search and browse.
SB – Sponsored Brands
Formerly known as Headline Search Ads. These ads appear both in the search results, product pages, and other places, such as the checkout page.
SBC – Simple Bin Count
The total number of items in a bin after items are stowed.
SC – Seller Central
The online interface used by certain Amazon marketplace sellers for managing their Amazon Pro or individual seller accounts. You can access your Seller Central here.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
The process followed to increase traffic and visibility to a website, brand, or product through a search engine on the web.
Sessions
One session is a group of interactions/page views/loads that one user takes on a website within a certain time frame.
SFP – Seller Fulfilled Prime
A program for Amazon Prime sellers that allows them to ship from their own warehouses and control their own fulfillment.
SIOC – Ships In Own Container
An Amazon container packaging option where the product can be shipped in its own box and no over boxing is required in the Fulfillment Center to ship to a customer.
SKU – Stock Keeping Unit
An alphanumeric code used to identify items in a seller’s inventory.
SLA – Service Level Agreement
An agreement between two parties detailing how a service can be accomplished.
SLAM – Scan, Label, Apply, Manifest
This refers to the step at which shipment is weighed, the shipping method is calculated, and a shipping label is applied.
Small And Light
An Amazon fulfillment program for smaller items that, when qualified, results in reduced shipping costs.
SNS – Subscribe And Save
An Amazon service that allows customers to periodically auto-order delivery on certain products at a discounted price.
SP – Sponsored Products
Keyword-targeted ads that promote an individual product and are on a cost-per-click basis.
SPN – Service Provider Network
A network of more than 300 professional service providers who are trained and certified by Amazon.
This network enables sellers to launch, manage, and growth their Amazon business.
Sponsored Brands
Keyword-targeted ads that promote a brand with the logo, creative, and a collection of products.
SPOO/SP00
A barcode label applied to a box after an item has been packed.
SRC – Simple Record Count
Counting the number of specific items in a bin and surrounding bins.
SRP – Suggested Retail Price
Same with MSRP, SRP is the price at which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product.
Storefront
Replaced by Brand Store. Storefront is a website within Amazon that is curated for your brand.
Third Party Sellers
A business or individual that sells a product or products using Amazon Seller Central.
TIA – Thanks In Advance
You will most likely see this term used in Amazon selling group pages requesting for information.
TOS – Terms Of Service
Also referred to as Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions.
This refers to the legal agreements between a service provider and a person who wants to use that service.
TOT – Time Off Task
A term used in Fulfillment Centers. This is used to determine the amount of time needed to complete a certain task.
TRU – Toys R Us
An American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer.
TTT – Tote Transition Time
A term used in Fulfillment Centers, which refers to the amount of time an Amazon worker takes to transition from one tote to another or swap it out.
Twister
Amazon’s detail page function for merging ASINs of different colors and sizes onto one page.
Unverified Review
A product review from someone who may or may not have actually purchased the item.
UPC – Universal Product Code
A 12-digit unique code used to identify a specific product.
This features a unique sequence of black bars that are detected by machines for easier processing.
UPH – Units Per Hour
The number of units produced or sold per hour, depending on the context of use.
UR – Universal Receive
An Amazon worker responsible for overseeing and managing all incoming and outgoing products, materials, items, and/or merchandise in the warehouse.
URP – Universal Receive Prep
The process of preparing a product for shipment.
URS – Universal Receive Sort
The process of sorting, scanning, and stacking packages on pallets.
UTA – Unable To Access
Not having access to something, such as a service or a location.
UTL – Unable To Locate
Not being able to identify or pinpoint a specific location.
UX – User Experience
UX is also referred to as Customer Experience.
This is defined as the totality of a customer’s feelings, impressions, and insights toward the company after buying its goods or receiving its services.
VA – Virtual Assistant
Someone who provides administrative help while working remotely.
Variation
Some products have one main item with options for size, color, flavor, pack sizes, and more.
The main product is the parent ASIN while the variations are the child ASINs.
VAT – Value Added Tax
Known in some countries as Goods and Service Tax.
This is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale.
Vendor
Vendors sell products to Amazon’s retail side to be sold by Amazon to end consumers, taking on the role of wholesalers.
Verified Review
A review made by a genuine purchaser of the product in question.
Vine
An Amazon program where vendors or sellers can enroll their products to obtain verified, legitimate reviews.
VIR – Volume Incentive Rebate
Also referred to as Growth Incentive Rebate, VIR is a type of discount or rebate linked to higher volume and growth.
VIS – Video In Search
Offers advertisers a content-rich medium in which to make a direct connection with Amazon customers through videos in mobile search results.
VNHO – Virtual New Hire Orientation
An onboarding program for new hires done online.
Voucher/Coupon
A promotional deal on Amazon where a vendor or seller offers an amount or percentage off for a limited time.
Warehouse Deals
Sold by Amazon Warehouse, a business of Amazon that sells quality “used” products and rents out used textbooks.
WHS – Warehouse Health And Safety
Alternatively, may also be shorthand for warehouse.
WM – Walmart
An American retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount supermarket stores, and grocery stores from the United States.
WOW – Week Over Week
Comparing data from one week to the previous week.
YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary
A chat lingo that you will most likely see in Amazon-related Facebook groups, which means that the post may not apply to everyone.
YOY – Year Over Year
Comparing data from one year to the previous year.
YTD – Year To Date
From the beginning of the year until this time of the year.
Final Thoughts
For a new seller, the Amazon marketplace is a literal jungle filled with unfamiliar terms, acronyms, and abbreviations.
I hope that this article clears away some of the confusion by laying out a comprehensive list of Amazon acronyms used on different platforms.
With this list, you are now able to navigate Amazon with more comfort and ease.
Now, be on your way to getting more sales and ranking #1 in the Amazon marketplace!
