Link Shopify to Amazon: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Prepare Your Shopify Store and Amazon Seller Account
Ensure Your Shopify Store is Ready for Integration
Before initiating the linking process, ensure your Shopify store has a complete product catalog with accurate inventory levels, detailed product descriptions, high-quality images, and correct pricing. It’s crucial that all product variants (size, color, material, etc.) are properly configured. Additionally, ensure your store’s shipping settings are clearly defined, as these can impact how Amazon calculates shipping for synced products. Verify that your store is not password-protected if you intend for Amazon to access product data directly from your storefront in certain scenarios, though the sales channel typically uses API access.
Verify Your Amazon Seller Account Status and Settings
You must have an active Amazon Professional Seller account. Individual seller accounts do not support the necessary integrations for linking with Shopify. Log into your Amazon Seller Central account and navigate to “Settings” > “Account Info” to confirm your account status. Ensure your bank account information and tax identity are verified and up-to-date to avoid payout delays. Check your shipping settings in Seller Central, specifically your shipping templates, as these will govern how orders are fulfilled from Amazon’s side, even if inventory is managed by Shopify. Be aware of any existing listing limitations or category restrictions on Amazon that might affect the products you plan to sync from Shopify.
Step 2: Install and Configure the Amazon Sales Channel on Shopify
Add the Amazon Sales Channel to Your Shopify Admin
From your Shopify admin dashboard, navigate to “Sales channels” on the left sidebar. Click the “Add sales channel” button. In the pop-up window, search for “Amazon” and click the “Add sales channel” button next to the Amazon listing. This will install the necessary application within your Shopify environment, allowing it to communicate with your Amazon Seller Central account. If you don’t see it immediately, you might need to visit the Shopify App Store and search for “Amazon by Shopify” directly.
Connect Your Amazon Seller Account to the Shopify Sales Channel
Once the Amazon sales channel is added, click on it in your Shopify admin. You will be prompted to connect your Amazon Seller account. Click the “Connect to Amazon” button. This will redirect you to an Amazon login page. Log in with your Amazon Seller Central credentials. After successful login, Amazon will ask for permission to allow Shopify to access your Seller Central data (e.g., product listings, orders, inventory). Grant these permissions. You will then be redirected back to your Shopify admin, and the Amazon sales channel should show a “Connected” status, displaying your Amazon Seller ID and marketplace region (e.g., Amazon.com).
Step 3: List and Sync Products from Shopify to Amazon
Create New Amazon Listings from Shopify Products
Within the Amazon sales channel in your Shopify admin, navigate to the “Listings” tab. You will see an option to “Create listing.” Click this button. You can then search for products from your Shopify catalog that you wish to list on Amazon. Select the product(s) and follow the prompts. For each selected product, you’ll need to provide Amazon-specific details such as product identifiers (UPC, EAN, ISBN, GTIN), browse nodes (categories), and potentially adjust pricing to account for Amazon fees. If the product doesn’t exist on Amazon yet, Shopify will guide you through creating a completely new Amazon listing, pulling data from your Shopify product details. Ensure your product images meet Amazon’s strict requirements (white background, minimum resolution, etc.) before syncing.
Link Existing Amazon Listings to Your Shopify Products
If you already have products listed on Amazon that correspond to products in your Shopify store, you can link them to enable inventory and order synchronization. In the Amazon sales channel, go to the “Listings” tab. Shopify will often automatically suggest potential matches based on SKU or product title. Review these suggestions carefully. For unmatched products, use the “Link product” option. You can search for your existing Amazon listing by ASIN or product title and then select the corresponding Shopify product. This linking process is critical for ensuring that inventory updates on Shopify are reflected on your existing Amazon listings and that orders placed on Amazon for these products are pulled into Shopify for fulfillment.
Step 4: Manage Orders and Inventory Between Shopify and Amazon
Understand Order Synchronization and Fulfillment
Once linked, orders placed on Amazon for products synced from Shopify will automatically appear in your Shopify admin under “Orders.” These orders will be clearly marked as originating from the Amazon sales channel. You can fulfill these orders directly from Shopify, just like any other Shopify order. When you mark an order as fulfilled in Shopify and add tracking information, this information is automatically sent back to Amazon, updating the order status for the customer. If you use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), you’ll need to configure your Amazon sales channel settings to properly manage FBA inventory and order routing. Ensure your fulfillment workflow in Shopify accounts for both direct shipping and FBA if applicable.
Monitor and Manage Inventory Levels Across Both Platforms
The core benefit of linking is centralized inventory management. When a product is sold on Shopify, its inventory count is automatically reduced on Amazon (for linked products), and vice-versa. Regularly monitor your inventory levels in your Shopify admin. If you make manual adjustments to stock in Shopify, these changes should propagate to Amazon. However, it’s good practice to periodically cross-reference inventory counts between Shopify and Amazon Seller Central, especially for high-volume items, to catch any synchronization discrepancies early. If you sell the same product on multiple channels beyond Shopify and Amazon, consider using a dedicated inventory management app that integrates with all your sales channels to prevent overselling.
FAQ: How to Link Shopify to Amazon
Q1: Do I need a Professional Amazon Seller account to link with Shopify?
Yes, you absolutely need an active Amazon Professional Seller account. The Amazon sales channel on Shopify requires access to features and APIs that are only available to Professional Sellers. Individual seller accounts do not support this integration.
Q2: What happens if a product has different prices on Shopify and Amazon?
When you create or link a listing, you can specify the Amazon price independently of your Shopify price. However, if you choose to “Sync price” in the Amazon sales channel settings, any price changes made on Shopify for that product will automatically update the Amazon listing’s price. If you want different pricing strategies, ensure “Sync price” is disabled for those products and manage Amazon prices directly in Seller Central or via the Shopify channel’s listing editor.
Q3: How does inventory synchronization work if I also sell on other platforms?
The Shopify-Amazon sales channel primarily syncs inventory between these two platforms. If you sell on other platforms (e.g., eBay, Etsy), sales from those platforms will reduce your Shopify inventory, and this reduction will then be pushed to Amazon. However, for robust multi-channel inventory management beyond just Shopify and Amazon, it’s highly recommended to use a dedicated third-party inventory management app that integrates with all your sales channels to prevent overselling and provide a single source of truth for your stock levels.
Q4: Can I use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) with my Shopify-linked products?
Yes, you can. The Amazon sales channel in Shopify supports FBA. When linking products, you’ll have the option to specify if the product is fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) or by merchant (FBM). For FBA products, Shopify will pull the available FBA inventory levels from Amazon and will mark orders as “fulfilled by Amazon” in your Shopify admin. You won’t manually mark these orders as fulfilled in Shopify, as Amazon handles the shipping. Ensure your FBA settings are correctly configured within the Amazon sales channel to reflect your fulfillment method.
