How to Connect Shopify to Amazon Seller Central

Q: How does the connection handle product variants (size, color)?

Commerce Kitty syncs inventory at the variant level. A Shopify product with 10 size/color combinations syncs each variant's inventory independently to the corresponding Amazon ASIN child listing.

Before you start: what you need

Before attempting to connect Shopify and Amazon Seller Central, make sure you have the following in place. Missing any of these will cause the setup to fail or produce unexpected results.

Active Shopify store Any Shopify plan works. You need to be the store owner or have a staff account with app permissions to install integrations.

Amazon Professional Seller account The Individual plan ($0.99/sale) does not provide API access. You need the Professional plan ($39.99/month) to connect third-party tools to Amazon Seller Central.

Products live on at least one platform The integration links existing products between platforms. Have your Shopify products fully configured (titles, descriptions, images, SKUs, weights) before connecting to Amazon.

SKUs set on all Shopify products SKUs are the identifier that links your Shopify variants to Amazon listings. If your Shopify products don't have SKUs, set them before attempting to sync. Use the same SKU format you plan to use on Amazon.

Product identifiers (UPC/EAN/GTIN) if creating new Amazon listings If you're creating new ASINs on Amazon rather than matching to existing listings, you'll need a UPC, EAN, or GTIN for each product. You can obtain GS1 barcodes from gs1.org.

Category approval check

Some Amazon categories require approval before listing: toys, jewelry, grocery, supplements, apparel, and others. Check whether your product category is gated before you invest time in the setup process. Ungating can take days to weeks.

Option A: Shopify's native Amazon channel

Shopify has a built-in Amazon sales channel available in the Shopify app store. It's straightforward to install but has meaningful limitations that make it unsuitable for sellers who want comprehensive inventory sync and order management.

How to install it

In your Shopify admin, go to Sales Channels in the left navigation and click the "+" button. Search for "Amazon" and click "Add channel." You'll be redirected to authorize the connection with your Amazon Seller Central account.

What it does well

The native Shopify Amazon channel is good for listing Shopify products on Amazon, linking to existing ASINs, and routing Amazon FBM orders back to Shopify for fulfillment. It's simple to set up and requires no third-party app subscription.

Its limitations

Inventory sync in the native channel has a significant delay, updating every hour rather than in real-time. For sellers with low stock counts or high sales velocity, this gap creates real overselling risk. The native channel also doesn't support Amazon FBA inventory visibility, lacks advanced order management features, and doesn't connect your Amazon operations to any other platforms you sell on.

Option B: Connecting through Commerce Kitty

Commerce Kitty provides real-time inventory sync between Shopify and Amazon, plus a unified order dashboard for both platforms. It's the right choice if you want inventory accuracy, multi-platform management, or if you sell on other channels beyond just Shopify and Amazon.

Create a Commerce Kitty account

Sign up at app.commercekitty.com. No credit card required. The setup process walks you through connecting your first channels.

Connect your Shopify store

Click "Add Channel," select Shopify, and enter your store URL. You'll be redirected to authorize Commerce Kitty through Shopify's OAuth flow. Your products and current inventory levels import automatically.

Connect Amazon Seller Central

Click "Add Channel" again, select Amazon, and choose your marketplace (US, UK, CA, etc.). You'll authorize Commerce Kitty through Amazon's Marketplace Web Service (MWS) or Selling Partner API. This requires your Professional Seller account credentials.

Wait for product import

Commerce Kitty imports your Amazon listings. Depending on catalog size, this can take a few minutes to an hour. You'll receive a notification when the import is complete.

Verify the connection

In the Commerce Kitty dashboard, confirm that both channels show as "Connected" with a green status indicator and that your product counts match what you have on each platform.

Connect Shopify and Amazon in minutes

Commerce Kitty syncs inventory in real-time and manages orders from both platforms in one dashboard.

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Linking your Shopify products to Amazon ASINs

Once both channels are connected, you need to tell Commerce Kitty which Shopify product corresponds to which Amazon listing. This is the product matching step, and it's where your SKU consistency pays off.

Automatic matching

If your Shopify products and Amazon listings use the same SKUs, Commerce Kitty will automatically suggest matches. Review the auto-matched pairs and confirm them. Correctly matched products immediately begin sharing inventory counts.

Manual matching

If your SKUs don't match (common if your Shopify store and Amazon store were set up independently), you'll need to manually link products. In the product catalog view, find a Shopify product, click "Link to Amazon listing," search for the corresponding ASIN or listing, and confirm the match.

Creating new Amazon listings from Shopify products

If a product exists in Shopify but not yet on Amazon, Commerce Kitty can help you push it to Amazon as a new listing. You'll need to supply the required Amazon data: product category, bullet points, backend search terms, and product identifier. Commerce Kitty pre-populates what it can from your Shopify data to minimize the manual work.

How inventory sync works between both platforms

After products are linked, Commerce Kitty maintains a shared inventory count between Shopify and Amazon for each matched product pair.

When a sale occurs on Shopify, Commerce Kitty receives a webhook notification immediately and decrements the available quantity on Amazon within seconds. When a sale occurs on Amazon, the same happens in reverse. Both platforms reflect your accurate available inventory in near-real-time.

For FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) orders, this sync covers your shared physical stock. For FBA orders, your Amazon FBA inventory is separate from your Shopify stock because FBA units are physically in Amazon's warehouses. Commerce Kitty tracks FBA stock levels separately and alerts you when FBA inventory needs replenishment. For a detailed FBA setup guide, see how to set up FBA inventory sync.

Order routing and fulfillment setup

Once connected, new orders from both Shopify and Amazon appear in Commerce Kitty's unified order queue. You don't need to check Seller Central and Shopify separately.

For FBM Amazon orders: Commerce Kitty receives the order, presents it in the fulfillment queue alongside your Shopify orders, and allows you to generate a shipping label and enter tracking from a single interface. When you mark the order as shipped, Commerce Kitty pushes the tracking number back to Amazon Seller Central automatically, which triggers Amazon's buyer notification.

For FBA Amazon orders: fulfillment is handled by Amazon. These orders still appear in Commerce Kitty's order history for your records, but no fulfillment action is required from you.

For more detail on the full multichannel order management workflow, see how to manage orders from multiple channels.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the Shopify Professional plan to connect to Amazon?

For the Shopify native Amazon channel, you need at least the Basic Shopify plan. For Commerce Kitty, any Shopify plan works. You do need the Amazon Professional Seller plan ($39.99/month) on the Amazon side, as the Individual plan does not support API access.

Will connecting cause inventory discrepancies?

The connection itself won't create discrepancies. Commerce Kitty performs an initial inventory alignment when products are first linked. After that, every sale on either platform updates the other in real-time. If you have existing discrepancies before connecting, resolve them manually first so Commerce Kitty starts with accurate baseline counts.

Can I connect multiple Amazon marketplaces (US + UK + CA)?

Yes. You can connect multiple Amazon marketplace accounts to Commerce Kitty. Each marketplace appears as a separate channel. You can manage inventory and orders across US, UK, CA, and other marketplaces from the same Commerce Kitty dashboard.

How does the connection handle product variants (size, color)?

Commerce Kitty syncs inventory at the variant level, not just the parent product level. A Shopify product with 10 size/color combinations syncs each variant's inventory independently to the corresponding Amazon ASIN child listing. Consistent SKUs on both platforms are the key to accurate variant matching.

What happens if the sync goes down temporarily?

Commerce Kitty maintains a sync log and catches up on any missed events when connectivity is restored. Brief platform API outages (which do occasionally occur with Shopify and Amazon) are handled gracefully. You'll receive alerts if a sync disruption is significant enough to create inventory risk.

For broader strategy, see our guide to expanding from Shopify to Amazon. For FBA-specific setup, see setting up FBA inventory sync.