How to Expand from Shopify to Amazon

Is Amazon the right next channel for your Shopify store?

Amazon is the world's largest e-commerce marketplace, but it isn't the right channel for every Shopify seller. Before you invest time in the setup process, it's worth being honest about whether your products are a good fit.

Amazon rewards sellers in categories with high search volume, competitive pricing, and clear product differentiation. It's excellent for branded physical products, consumables, electronics accessories, toys, home goods, and sports equipment. It's harder territory for purely handmade goods (Etsy dominates there), high-end artisan products (where Amazon's price-conscious buyers undervalue premium goods), and items with very low margins that can't absorb Amazon's fees.

Getting approved on Amazon Seller Central

Creating an Amazon Seller Central account is straightforward. The Individual plan has no monthly fee but charges $0.99 per sale. The Professional plan is $39.99/month and removes the per-sale fee, plus unlocks bulk listing tools, advertising, and the Buy Box eligibility. For most sellers expanding from Shopify, the Professional plan pays for itself quickly.

Amazon will ask for your business information, bank account details, and identity verification. This process typically takes 24-72 hours. Some categories (toys, jewelry, supplements, apparel) require additional approval through a process called "ungating." Research whether your category requires ungating before you start the account application.

FBA vs. FBM: which fulfillment model is right for you?

This is the most important operational decision you'll make when expanding to Amazon. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) have fundamentally different implications for your cost structure, control, and operational complexity.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

You ship your inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers in advance. When a customer orders, Amazon picks, packs, and ships. Your products get Prime eligibility, which dramatically increases conversion rates. Amazon also handles customer service for shipping-related issues.

FBA fees include a fulfillment fee (based on size and weight) plus storage fees (monthly, with long-term storage fees for slow-moving inventory). Products need to be prepared and labeled to Amazon's specifications before shipment to fulfillment centers.

Best for: Consistent sellers, small-to-medium sized products, sellers who want Prime eligibility, and anyone who wants Amazon to handle shipping logistics.

Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)

You fulfill Amazon orders yourself from your own inventory, the same way you fulfill Shopify orders. You pay no FBA fees, but you're responsible for meeting Amazon's shipping speed requirements. Without Prime eligibility, conversion rates are typically lower than FBA listings.

Best for: Large or heavy items where FBA fees are prohibitive, slow-moving inventory where storage fees would accumulate, made-to-order products, or sellers testing Amazon before committing to FBA.

Creating Amazon listings from your Shopify products

Amazon listings require more structured data than Shopify product pages. Every listing needs: a title, bullet points (five), a description, backend search terms, a product identifier (UPC, EAN, or brand registry ASIN), price, and category-specific attributes.

Titles

Amazon titles are long and keyword-rich. A typical well-optimized title looks like: "Brand Name | Product Name | Key Feature | Size/Color/Variant | Quantity." Amazon's algorithm weights the title heavily in search results. Include your primary keywords but keep the title readable for humans too.

Bullet points

Your five bullet points are prime real estate. Lead with the most important benefit or feature in each. Include search keywords naturally. Address common buyer questions or concerns proactively. These bullets often determine whether a buyer adds to cart or keeps browsing.

Backend search terms

Amazon gives you 250 bytes of hidden search terms that don't appear on the listing but influence search ranking. Use this space for synonyms, alternate spellings, and related keywords that wouldn't fit naturally in your visible content.

Keeping inventory in sync across both platforms

If you're using FBM, your Amazon orders pull from the same physical inventory as your Shopify orders. This means a sale on Amazon needs to reduce your available Shopify inventory immediately, and a Shopify sale needs to reduce your available Amazon quantity. Without real-time sync, you'll oversell.

If you're using FBA, you're working with two separate inventory pools: your FBA stock at Amazon's warehouses and your Shopify stock at your location. They don't share units, but you still need visibility into both pools to manage replenishment effectively.

Commerce Kitty handles both scenarios. For FBM sellers, it syncs real-time inventory counts between Shopify and Amazon. For FBA sellers, it shows both pools in a single view and alerts you when FBA stock is running low. For more on this, see our guide to setting up FBA inventory sync.

Understanding the Buy Box and pricing strategy

The Buy Box is the "Add to Cart" button on an Amazon product page. When multiple sellers list the same product, only one wins the Buy Box at a time, and that seller gets the vast majority of sales. If you're selling a branded product that you're the only seller for (your own brand), you'll win the Buy Box by default. If you're selling a product that other sellers also carry, winning the Buy Box depends on your pricing, fulfillment speed, seller metrics, and account health.

For most Shopify sellers expanding to Amazon with their own branded products, the Buy Box is not the primary concern. You'll be the only seller on your ASINs. Focus instead on your pricing relative to Shopify: many brands choose to price Amazon listings at the same level as Shopify (or slightly higher to account for Amazon's fees) to avoid channel conflict and protect Shopify margin.