Understanding Amazon’s analytics ecosystem can feel overwhelming due to the number of metrics, acronyms, and dashboards involved. This glossary consolidates the most important Amazon Seller Central, Vendor Central, and Advertising metrics into one structured resource.
Use this as a quick reference to better interpret performance data, identify growth opportunities, and align your strategy across SEO, advertising, inventory, and profitability.
📊 Master Glossary Table
1. Sales & Revenue Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Ordered Revenue |
— |
Total value of orders placed within a period, regardless of shipment status; useful for demand tracking and forecasting pipeline revenue before fulfillment |
Vendor Central → Sales Dashboard |
|
Shipped Revenue |
— |
Revenue from orders that have been shipped to customers; aligns more closely with realized/recognized sales and cash flow |
Vendor Central → Sales |
|
Ordered Units |
— |
Number of units ordered by customers but not yet shipped; helps anticipate future fulfillment volume and inventory needs |
Vendor Central → Sales |
|
Shipped Units |
— |
Units that have been shipped; reflects actual completed sales and operational throughput |
Vendor Central → Sales |
|
Gross Merchandise Value |
GMV |
Total sales value before fees, returns, and deductions; used as a top-line growth indicator across both organic and paid channels |
Seller Central + Ads |
|
Average Selling Price |
ASP |
Average price per unit sold (Revenue ÷ Units); helps evaluate pricing strategy, discounting impact, and positioning vs competitors |
Vendor Central |
|
— |
Units returned after purchase; affects net revenue, margin, and can signal product or listing issues |
Vendor Central |
|
|
Ordered COGS |
— |
Cost of goods associated with ordered units; used to estimate projected margins and future profitability |
Vendor Central |
|
Shipped COGS |
— |
Cost of goods tied to shipped units; used for calculating actual margins and contribution profit |
Vendor Central |
|
Average Order Value |
AOV |
Average revenue per order; helps evaluate bundling and pricing strategies |
Business Reports |
2. Traffic, Visibility & Conversion Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
— |
Number of times your product or ad is shown in search results or placements; indicates visibility and keyword reach |
Ads Console |
|
|
Click-Through Rate |
CTR |
Percentage of impressions that result in clicks (Clicks ÷ Impressions); measures how compelling your listing or ad is to shoppers |
Ads Console |
|
Detail Page Views |
DPV |
Total visits to a product page including repeat visits; reflects shopper interest and traffic volume |
Business Reports |
|
Glance Views |
GV |
Vendor equivalent of page views; used to measure PDP traffic and demand signals |
Vendor Central → Traffic |
|
Featured Offer Page Views |
— |
PDP views when your offer holds the Buy Box; reflects high-quality traffic with purchase intent |
Vendor Central → Traffic |
|
Conversion Rate |
CVR |
Percentage of visitors who complete a purchase (Orders ÷ Visits); critical for ranking and revenue efficiency |
Business Reports |
|
Unit Session Percentage |
USP |
Amazon’s conversion metric (Units ÷ Sessions); commonly used in Seller Central performance analysis |
Business Reports |
|
— |
Percentage of time your listing wins the Buy Box; directly impacts conversion and sales velocity |
Business Reports |
|
|
Lost Buy Box Percentage |
— |
Percentage of time competitors win the Buy Box; indicates pricing, fulfillment, or competitiveness issues |
Business Reports |
|
Share of Voice |
SOV |
Visibility share across keywords vs competitors; helps benchmark ranking dominance |
External + Ads |
3. Advertising Performance Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Advertising Cost of Sales |
ACoS |
Ratio of ad spend to ad-attributed revenue; used to measure efficiency and profitability of campaigns |
Ads Console |
|
Return on Ad Spend |
ROAS |
Revenue generated per dollar spent (Revenue ÷ Ad Spend); inverse of ACoS and used for scaling decisions |
Ads Console |
|
TACoS |
Ad spend relative to total revenue (paid + organic); measures how ads influence overall business growth |
Blended reporting |
|
|
Cost Per Click |
CPC |
Average amount paid per ad click; influenced by bidding strategy, competition, and keyword demand |
Ads Console |
|
Ad Sales |
— |
Revenue attributed to advertising campaigns; used to evaluate campaign contribution to total sales |
Ads Console |
|
Pay-Per-Click |
PPC |
Advertising model where advertisers pay per click; core Amazon ad structure |
Ads Console |
|
Demand-Side Platform |
DSP |
Amazon programmatic ad platform for display and audience targeting |
DSP Console |
4. Inventory & Supply Chain Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Sellable On-Hand Inventory |
— |
Units available for sale that meet Amazon’s criteria; critical for maintaining ranking and avoiding stockouts |
Vendor Central → Inventory |
|
Unsellable Inventory |
— |
Units that cannot be sold due to defects or compliance issues; ties up capital and reduces efficiency |
Vendor Central |
|
Sell-Through Rate |
— |
Speed at which inventory sells (Units Sold ÷ Avg Inventory); indicates demand vs supply balance |
Vendor Central |
|
Unhealthy Inventory |
— |
Overstock or slow-moving inventory that may incur fees or require discounts to move |
Vendor Central |
|
Aged 90+ Days Inventory |
— |
Inventory stored for over 90 days; increases storage costs and signals inefficiency |
Vendor Central |
|
Net Received Units |
— |
Units Amazon has received minus returns; reflects actual inventory inflow available for sale |
Vendor Central |
|
Open PO Quantity |
— |
Units in pending purchase orders not yet fulfilled; represents incoming inventory pipeline |
Vendor Central |
|
In-Stock Rate |
— |
Percentage of time a product is available for purchase; directly impacts SEO ranking and sales continuity |
Vendor Central |
|
Instock Percentage |
— |
Similar to in-stock rate; measures availability consistency across time |
Vendor Central |
|
Out-of-Stock Rate |
— |
Percentage of time a product is unavailable; negatively affects ranking, conversion, and revenue |
Vendor Central |
|
Third-Party Logistics |
3PL |
External logistics providers used for storage and fulfillment |
External |
5. Operational & Vendor Performance Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Vendor Confirmation Rate |
— |
Percentage of purchase orders accepted by the vendor; affects Amazon’s confidence in supply reliability |
Vendor Central |
|
Fill Rate |
— |
Percentage of confirmed units successfully delivered; measures operational execution and fulfillment accuracy |
Vendor Central |
|
Vendor Lead Time |
— |
Time between PO issuance and delivery; impacts replenishment cycles and stock availability |
Vendor Central |
|
Order Defect Rate |
ODR |
Percentage of orders with issues (returns, claims, complaints); key account health metric that can lead to suspension if high |
Account Health |
|
Inventory Performance Index |
IPI |
Amazon score evaluating inventory efficiency, sell-through, and storage balance; impacts storage limits |
Seller Central |
6. Forecasting & Demand Planning
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Mean Forecast |
— |
Baseline demand estimate based on historical trends; used for planning inventory and production |
Vendor Central → Forecasting |
|
P70 / P80 / P90 Forecast |
— |
Forecast ranges with confidence levels (70–90% probability); helps plan for different demand scenarios |
Vendor Central |
|
Available to Promise |
ATP |
Inventory available to fulfill future orders after current commitments; critical for planning fulfillment capacity |
Internal + Vendor systems |
7. Profitability & Financial Metrics
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Net Pure Product Margin |
Net PPM |
Final profit after all costs, allowances, and fees; core metric for vendor profitability Net PPM = (Shipped Revenue - Shipped CCOGS + CCOGS - sales discount) / shipped revenue. |
Vendor Central |
|
Cost of Goods Sold |
COGS |
Direct production or sourcing cost of products; baseline for margin calculations |
Vendor Central / Internal |
|
Contribution Profit |
— |
Profit after deducting Amazon fees, fulfillment, and marketing costs; indicates true contribution to business |
Vendor Central |
|
— |
Financial penalties for non-compliance with Amazon requirements (shipping, labeling, etc.) |
Vendor Central |
|
|
Co-op / Contra COGS |
— |
Funds that Amazon collects from vendors for agreements related to Amazon’s purchase, customer sales, or marketing of the vendor’s inventory. This amount excludes Display Ads Contra-COGS. Total CCOGs Amount is also referred to as Vendor Funded Contra-COGS (VFCC). Total Contra Cogs amount = Vendor allowance amount. + Quick Pay Discounts Amount + Discretionary COOP Amount |
Vendor Central |
|
Net PPM Pre-Allowances |
— |
Profit before deductions like co-op or allowances; used for baseline margin analysis |
Vendor Central |
|
Net PPM Post-Allowances |
— |
Profit after all deductions; reflects true net profitability on Amazon |
Vendor Central |
8. Retail Analytics System & Views
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
ARA |
Suite of Vendor Central dashboards providing sales, traffic, and inventory insights |
Vendor Central |
|
|
Manufacturing View |
— |
Aggregated data across vendors or brands; useful for high-level performance analysis |
Vendor Central |
|
Sourcing View |
— |
Data specific to individual vendor accounts; used for operational and account-level insights |
Vendor Central |
9. Catalog, Listing & SEO Terms
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
ASIN |
Unique product identifier used by Amazon to track listings and catalog data |
Catalog |
|
|
Stock Keeping Unit |
SKU |
Seller-defined identifier used to manage inventory internally |
Seller Central |
|
Parent/Child ASIN |
— |
Structure grouping product variations (size, color, etc.) under one listing family |
Catalog |
|
— |
Enhanced listing content with rich media designed to improve conversion rate and brand storytelling |
Listing Editor |
|
|
KW |
Search terms customers use; core driver of Amazon SEO and discoverability |
Ads + Brand Analytics |
|
|
Best Sellers Rank |
BSR |
Ranking of product sales performance within a category |
Product Detail Page |
10. Logistics, Orders & Vendor Operations
|
Term |
Acronym |
Definition |
Where to Find Them on Amazon |
|
Purchase Order |
PO |
Order issued by Amazon to vendors requesting inventory replenishment |
Vendor Central |
|
Advance Shipment Notice |
ASN |
Pre-shipment notification sent to Amazon detailing incoming inventory |
Vendor Central |
|
Bill of Lading |
BOL |
Legal shipping document outlining contents, origin, and transport terms |
Logistics |
|
FC |
Amazon warehouse where products are stored, picked, packed, and shipped |
Reports |
|
|
Electronic Data Interchange |
EDI |
Automated system for exchanging documents like POs and invoices between vendors and Amazon |
Vendor Systems |
|
SIPP |
Amazon program where products are shipped in their own packaging without an additional Amazon box, reducing packaging waste and fulfillment costs |
Seller Central → FBA / Packaging |
|
|
FFP |
Amazon’s original sustainable packaging initiative, now largely replaced by SIPP; focused on easy-to-open, recyclable packaging |
Seller Central → Packaging Programs |
|
|
Standard Packaging |
— |
Default packaging method where Amazon adds an outer box or materials for protection during shipping |
Seller Central → FBA Settings |
|
Prep Requirements |
— |
Amazon-defined packaging and labeling rules required before sending inventory to fulfillment centers |
Seller Central → FBA Prep Guidelines |
|
Packaging Certification |
— |
Process of validating that product packaging meets Amazon’s SIPP or sustainability standards |
Seller Central → Packaging / Sustainability |
|
Dimensional Weight |
DIM Weight |
Shipping weight based on package size rather than actual weight; impacts FBA fees and logistics costs |
FBA Fee Reports |
|
FBA Prep Service |
— |
Amazon service that prepares products (labeling, polybagging, etc.) for fulfillment at an additional cost |
Seller Central → FBA Settings |
|
FBA |
Fulfillment method where Amazon stores, packs, and ships products on behalf of sellers |
Seller Central |
|
|
Fulfilled by Merchant |
FBM |
Fulfillment method where the seller handles storage and shipping |
Seller Central |
Need Help Navigating Amazon Analytics?
Amazon’s ecosystem is complex, and understanding the terminology is only the first step. Turning these metrics into actionable growth strategies requires deep expertise across SEO, PPC, inventory management, and retail analytics.
If you need help interpreting your data, improving performance, or scaling your brand on Amazon or Walmart, reach out to beBOLD Digital. Our team specializes in transforming analytics into measurable growth.
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