Overview
The Amazon product feed is a data submission mechanism that allows merchants to create, update, and manage product listings at scale. Rather than manually entering product information into Amazon's seller interface, merchants submit structured data files containing product attributes, pricing, inventory status, and media assets. Amazon ingests this feed data and uses it to populate storefront listings, power search and discovery, and enforce compliance with category-specific requirements.
Merchants use product feeds to synchronise inventory across channels, launch new products quickly, maintain consistent data across thousands of SKUs, and respond to pricing and availability changes in near real-time. Feeds are particularly valuable for sellers with large catalogues, those integrating with third-party inventory management systems, and merchants operating across multiple sales channels.
Core Feed Fields and Requirements
| Field Name | Data Type | Required | Max Length | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| item_name | Text | Yes | 500 characters | Product title displayed in search results and on detail pages |
| brand | Text | No | 500 characters | Manufacturer or brand name for filtering and faceted search |
| item_type_keyword | Text | Yes | 500 characters | Category classification that determines which product type template applies |
| externally_assigned_product_identifier | Text | Conditional | 500 characters | UPC, EAN, ISBN, or other external identifier; required for most categories |
| merchant_suggested_asin | Text | No | 10 characters | Proposed ASIN linking variant products; used only during catalogue creation |
| part_number | Text | No | 500 characters | Manufacturer part number for technical or industrial products |
| model_number | Text | No | 500 characters | Product model designation for consumer electronics and appliances |
| product_description | Text | No | 5000 characters | Detailed product overview and key features |
| bullet_point | Text | No | 500 characters each (up to 5) | Short feature statements optimised for scanability |
| list_price | Decimal | No | Currency format | Manufacturer's suggested retail price for discount display |
| sale_price | Decimal | Yes | Currency format | Current selling price; determines buy box eligibility |
| purchasable_offer | Boolean | Yes | true/false | Flag indicating whether the product is available for purchase |
| fulfillment_availability | Text | Yes | See options below | Inventory location and availability window |
| condition_type | Text | Yes | See options below | Product condition classification |
| main_product_image_locator | URL | Yes | 2000 characters | Primary product image; must be JPEG, PNG, or GIF |
| other_product_image_locator_1 through other_product_image_locator_9 | URL | No | 2000 characters each | Additional product images for detail page carousel |
| color_name | Text | No | 500 characters | Product colour for attribute filtering |
| size_name | Text | No | 500 characters | Product size (apparel, shoes) or capacity (storage) |
| material_type | Text | No | 500 characters | Primary material composition |
| style_name | Text | No | 500 characters | Design style or aesthetic category |
| age_range_description | Text | No | 100 characters | Target age group for toys, books, and children's products |
| target_gender | Text | No | See options below | Intended gender for apparel and accessories |
| item_weight | Decimal | No | Numeric with unit | Product weight for shipping cost calculation |
Fulfillment and Availability Options
The fulfillment_availability field determines how Amazon handles order logistics and affects customer visibility of your listing.
| Option | Meaning | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfilled by Merchant | You hold inventory and ship orders yourself | Sellers with their own warehouse or fulfillment centre |
| Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) | Amazon holds inventory at their fulfillment centre and ships orders | Sellers using Amazon's logistics network |
| Temporarily Out of Stock | Product is unavailable but will return to stock | Seasonal products or items awaiting replenishment |
| Discontinued | Product is no longer sold | Retiring SKUs from your catalogue |
When you select Fulfilled by Merchant, you must maintain accurate inventory counts in your feed to prevent overselling. When you select Fulfilled by Amazon, you must first ship inventory to an Amazon fulfillment centre and confirm receipt before the feed can activate the listing.
Condition Type Classification
The condition_type field must match the physical state of the product being sold.
| Condition | Definition | Pricing Impact |
|---|---|---|
| New | Unopened, unused, in original packaging | Full price; eligible for buy box |
| Refurbished | Restored to working condition; may have cosmetic damage | Typically 20-50% discount |
| Used | Previously owned; fully functional but shows wear | Typically 30-70% discount |
| Collectible | Rare or vintage items graded by condition | Varies by category |
Misclassifying condition can result in customer complaints, negative feedback, and suspension of selling privileges. Amazon periodically audits condition claims against customer returns and feedback.
Image Requirements and Specifications
Product images are critical for conversion and search visibility. Amazon's algorithm favours listings with multiple high-quality images.
Main Product Image (main_product_image_locator)
- Minimum dimensions: 500 x 500 pixels (1000 x 1000 pixels recommended for zoom functionality)
- File format: JPEG, PNG, or GIF
- Background: Solid white or light grey
- Product must occupy at least 85% of the frame
- No text, logos, or promotional overlays
- URL must be publicly accessible and remain active
Additional Images (other_product_image_locator_1 through 9)
- Same format and dimension requirements as main image
- Show product from different angles, in use, or with included accessories
- Amazon displays up to 9 additional images in the detail page carousel
- Each image URL must be unique; do not repeat the main image
Images hosted on insecure (HTTP) servers may be rejected. Use HTTPS URLs whenever possible. Test all image URLs before submitting your feed to ensure they resolve correctly.
Content Optimisation for Search and Conversion
Item Name Optimisation
The item_name field is the primary ranking factor for keyword search. Amazon's search algorithm weights words that appear at the start of the name more heavily than words at the end.
Structure your item names to prioritise high-intent keywords: [Brand] [Product Type] [Key Attribute] [Variant]. For example: 'Sony WH-CH720N Wireless Headphones, Noise Cancelling, Black'. Avoid redundancy (do not repeat the brand name or product type in multiple fields), and do not include promotional language like 'bestseller' or 'hot deal'.
Avoid special characters, excessive punctuation, and all-caps text. Amazon's systems automatically convert names to title case and may reject names that do not conform to category guidelines.
Bullet Point Strategy
The bullet_point fields (up to 5 allowed) are the second most visible content element after the product name. Each bullet should be a single, scannable statement that answers a specific customer question: What is it? What does it do? Why is it better? What comes in the box? How do I use it?
Keep each bullet to 80 characters or fewer. Use simple language and avoid technical jargon unless your target customer base expects it. Do not repeat information from the product description or other bullet points. Focus on benefits rather than specifications; for example, 'Reduces charging time by 50%' is stronger than 'Dual USB-C ports'.
Product Description Best Practices
The product_description field allows up to 5000 characters and is displayed below the fold on the detail page. Use this space to provide context, explain features in detail, address common questions, and build trust.
Structure your description with short paragraphs, subheadings, or numbered lists to improve readability. Include information about warranty, return policy, and compatibility where relevant. Avoid keyword stuffing; Amazon's systems detect and penalise unnatural repetition. Write as if you are explaining the product to a friend, not as if you are writing search engine spam.
Pricing Configuration
The sale_price field is mandatory and determines eligibility for the buy box, Amazon's featured offer position. The list_price field is optional but recommended; when present, Amazon displays it alongside the sale price to show savings percentage.
If list_price is higher than sale_price, Amazon calculates and displays the discount: 'Save 30% with this offer'. This visual cue improves click-through rate and conversion. However, the list_price must be a genuine manufacturer's suggested retail price, not an inflated reference price. Amazon audits pricing claims and may suspend listings or accounts that use misleading reference prices.
Pricing must be updated in your feed whenever you adjust rates. If your feed submission system does not support real-time price updates, use Amazon's bulk pricing tool or API to make changes outside the feed cycle.
Identifiers and Product Linking
External Product Identifiers (externally_assigned_product_identifier)
This field accepts UPC, EAN, ISBN, or ASIN values. For most product categories, providing a valid external identifier is mandatory. Amazon uses these identifiers to match your feed data to existing product pages and prevent duplicate listings.
If you do not provide a valid identifier, Amazon creates a new product detail page for your offer. This can fragment your catalogue if multiple sellers are offering the same product under different identifiers. Before submitting a feed, verify that your identifiers are correct and match the product you are selling.
Merchant Suggested ASIN (merchant_suggested_asin)
This field is used only during initial product creation and only when you want to link a variant (such as a different colour or size) to an existing parent product. Once the product is created, this field is ignored. Do not use this field to create artificial parent-child relationships; Amazon's catalogue team will reject or remove incorrect linkages.
Model and Part Numbers
The model_number and part_number fields are optional but recommended for electronics, appliances, and industrial products. These fields improve searchability for customers who search by model designation and help prevent confusion when multiple variants exist.
Attribute Mapping for Apparel and Accessories
For apparel, footwear, and accessories, the color_name, size_name, material_type, style_name, and target_gender fields enable faceted filtering in Amazon's storefront. Customers can filter search results by colour or size, which improves discoverability and conversion.
Use standardised values for these attributes. For colour, use common names: 'Black', 'Navy Blue', 'Burgundy'. For size, follow industry conventions: 'Small', 'Medium', 'Large' for general apparel; 'UK 6', 'UK 7', 'UK 8' for footwear. For target_gender, use 'Men', 'Women', 'Unisex', or 'Boys/Girls' as appropriate.
Do not use abbreviations or non-standard values. Amazon's system attempts to normalise variant attributes, and non-standard values may prevent proper variant grouping, which harms search visibility and conversion.
Category-Specific Fields
Certain product categories require additional attributes. Toys and children's books require age_range_description in the format 'Ages 3+' or '5-7 years'. Clothing and accessories benefit from target_gender to enable gender-based filtering. Electronics should include model_number and part_number to support customer searches by specification.
Before submitting a feed, review Amazon's category-specific guidelines for your product type. Missing required attributes can result in listing rejection or suppression from search results.
Feed Submission and Validation
Amazon accepts product feeds in tab-delimited text, CSV, XML, and JSON formats. Regardless of format, your feed must:
- Include a header row with field names matching Amazon's specification exactly.
- Use UTF-8 character encoding.
- Properly escape special characters (quotes, commas, line breaks in CSV; XML entities in XML).
- Provide all mandatory fields for every product.
- Use correct data types (numbers for prices, URLs for image links, true/false for boolean fields).
After you upload a feed, Amazon performs automated validation. The system checks for missing mandatory fields, invalid data types, malformed URLs, and duplicate identifiers. Validation errors must be corrected before the feed is processed. Validation warnings (such as missing optional fields) do not prevent processing but may impact listing quality.
Monitor your feed submission history in Seller Central. Amazon provides detailed reports showing which products were created, updated, or rejected, and why. Use these reports to identify systemic issues (such as incorrect image URLs or missing identifiers) and fix them in your source data before the next feed cycle.
Performance and Compliance Considerations
Product feed quality directly affects your seller metrics and account health. Listings with incomplete or inaccurate data experience lower search visibility, fewer impressions, and higher return rates. Customers who receive products that do not match the feed description are more likely to leave negative feedback and request refunds.
Amazon's systems monitor feed data for compliance with category guidelines, intellectual property policies, and advertising standards. Listings with misleading claims, counterfeit identifiers, or prohibited content are automatically suppressed or removed. Repeat violations can result in account suspension.
Maintain a regular feed update schedule. If your inventory or pricing changes frequently, submit feeds daily or use real-time inventory synchronisation via Amazon's API. Stale data (such as out-of-stock items still marked as available) creates customer frustration and damages your seller rating.
Summary
The Amazon product feed is a structured data submission system that powers product discovery, inventory management, and listing compliance. Merchants use feeds to manage large catalogues efficiently and keep product information synchronised across channels.
Key fields like item_name, bullet_point, and product_description drive search visibility and conversion. Pricing fields determine buy box eligibility. Fulfillment and condition fields affect logistics and customer trust. Image URLs, identifiers, and category-specific attributes ensure listings are discoverable and compliant.
Optimising your feed requires attention to data quality, standardised attribute values, accurate pricing and availability, and compliance with category guidelines. Regular monitoring of feed submission reports and customer feedback helps identify issues early. Merchants who invest in clean, accurate feed data see improvements in search visibility, conversion rate, and customer satisfaction.