E-commerce & Marketplace Glossary

    Your comprehensive guide to Amazon, Flipkart, Q-commerce, and marketplace terminology. Master the language of e-commerce selling in India.

    Showing 37 of 37 terms

    A

    A+ ContentAmazon
    Enhanced product descriptions on Amazon that include rich media like images, comparison charts, and formatted text. Available to brand-registered sellers to improve conversion rates.
    ACOSAdvertising
    Advertising Cost of Sales — the percentage of attributed sales spent on advertising. Calculated as (Ad Spend ÷ Ad Revenue) × 100. A lower ACOS means higher ad profitability.
    ASINAmazon
    Amazon Standard Identification Number — a unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier assigned by Amazon to every product listed on its marketplace.

    B

    Brand RegistryAmazon
    Amazon's program that helps brand owners protect their intellectual property and create a better customer experience. Requires a registered trademark and unlocks A+ Content, Brand Store, and Sponsored Brands.
    BSRAmazon
    Best Sellers Rank — Amazon's ranking of products based on sales velocity within their category. A lower BSR indicates higher sales. Updated hourly.
    Buy BoxAmazon
    The prominent 'Add to Cart' button on an Amazon product page. When multiple sellers offer the same product, Amazon's algorithm determines which seller wins the Buy Box based on price, fulfillment, and seller metrics.

    C

    Catalog ManagementE-commerce
    The process of organizing, optimizing, and maintaining product listings across marketplaces including titles, descriptions, images, pricing, and variations.
    Conversion RateE-commerce
    The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (purchase). On Amazon, this is the ratio of orders to page visits. Average Amazon conversion rates range from 10-15%.
    CTRAdvertising
    Click-Through Rate — the percentage of people who click on an ad or listing after seeing it. Calculated as (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. Higher CTR indicates more relevant targeting.

    D

    D2CE-commerce
    Direct-to-Consumer — a business model where brands sell products directly to customers, bypassing traditional retail intermediaries. Often combined with marketplace selling for maximum reach.
    Dark StoreQ-Commerce
    A retail distribution center or warehouse exclusively used for fulfilling online orders, not open to walk-in customers. Used by quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.
    DSPAdvertising
    Demand-Side Platform — Amazon's programmatic advertising platform that allows advertisers to buy display, video, and audio ads both on and off Amazon properties. Used for retargeting and awareness.

    E

    EANE-commerce
    European Article Number — a 13-digit barcode standard used globally for product identification. Required for listing products on most Indian and international marketplaces.

    F

    FBAAmazon
    Fulfillment by Amazon — a service where Amazon stores, picks, packs, and ships products on behalf of sellers. Includes customer service and returns handling.
    FBMAmazon
    Fulfillment by Merchant — the seller handles storage, packing, and shipping of orders directly to customers, rather than using Amazon's fulfillment network.
    Flipkart AssuredFlipkart
    Flipkart's quality and delivery speed badge. Products with this tag are stored in Flipkart warehouses and eligible for faster delivery, often improving sales conversion.
    FSSAICompliance
    Food Safety and Standards Authority of India — the regulatory body for food safety. An FSSAI license is mandatory for selling food products on Indian marketplaces like Amazon, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart.

    G

    GMVE-commerce
    Gross Merchandise Value — the total value of merchandise sold over a given period through a marketplace, before deducting fees, returns, and cancellations.
    GSTCompliance
    Goods and Services Tax — India's indirect tax applied to the supply of goods and services. A GSTIN (GST Identification Number) is required for selling on all Indian marketplaces.

    I

    InwardingQ-Commerce
    The process of receiving and stocking inventory at a marketplace's fulfillment center or dark store. On Blinkit, inwarding fees apply per unit.
    IORInternational
    Importer of Record — a legal entity responsible for ensuring goods comply with local import regulations, paying duties, and handling customs clearance. Essential for international brands entering the Indian market.

    K

    Keyword HarvestingAdvertising
    The process of identifying high-performing search terms from automatic campaigns and adding them as targeted keywords in manual campaigns for better optimization.

    L

    Listing OptimizationE-commerce
    The process of improving product titles, bullet points, descriptions, images, and backend keywords to improve search visibility and conversion rates on marketplaces.

    M

    MAPE-commerce
    Minimum Advertised Price — the lowest price a retailer can advertise a product for sale. Used by brands to maintain pricing consistency across channels.

    P

    PPCAdvertising
    Pay-Per-Click — an advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. On Amazon, this includes Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaigns.

    Q

    Q-CommerceQ-Commerce
    Quick Commerce — ultra-fast delivery of groceries and essentials, typically within 10-30 minutes. Major players in India include Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and JioMart.

    R

    ROASAdvertising
    Return on Ad Spend — the revenue generated for every unit of currency spent on advertising. Calculated as Ad Revenue ÷ Ad Spend. A ROAS of 5x means ₹5 earned per ₹1 spent.
    RTOE-commerce
    Return to Origin — when a delivery attempt fails and the package is returned to the seller's warehouse. High RTO rates increase operational costs and hurt seller metrics.

    S

    Seller CentralAmazon
    Amazon's web-based dashboard where third-party sellers manage their selling accounts, list products, track orders, manage inventory, and access advertising tools.
    Seller HubE-commerce
    The unified seller dashboard used by a marketplace — Flipkart Seller Hub (seller.flipkart.com), Amazon Seller Central, Meesho Supplier Panel, and Myntra Partner Portal are the four major Indian seller hubs. Each gives sellers a single view of orders, inventory, payments, returns, ads, and account health.
    SessionAmazon
    A visit to a product detail page by a unique customer within a 24-hour period on Amazon. Sessions are used to calculate conversion rates (Unit Session Percentage).
    SKUE-commerce
    Stock Keeping Unit — a unique identifier for each distinct product and its variants (size, color). Used for inventory tracking and management across marketplaces.
    SPNAmazon
    Service Provider Network — Amazon's official directory of vetted service providers who help sellers with account management, advertising, cataloging, and other services.

    T

    TACoSAdvertising
    Total Advertising Cost of Sales — total ad spend as a percentage of total revenue (organic + paid). A more holistic metric than ACOS as it accounts for the halo effect of advertising on organic sales.

    V

    Vendor CentralAmazon
    Amazon's invitation-only platform where manufacturers sell products directly to Amazon at wholesale prices. Amazon then resells them as first-party (1P) items.

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