Taking a Shopify brand to Amazon: the complete 2026 playbook

Step 1: Check demand and margin before anything else

Search Amazon for the words your customers use, not your brand name. Note the top ten listings: their prices, review counts and how close they are to your product. Then model margin per SKU. Amazon takes a referral fee (15% in most categories), an FBA fee based on size and weight, and in the first months you should expect to spend a meaningful share of revenue on ads. If a product only works at Shopify prices with no ad spend, it is not ready for Amazon. Our readiness check includes a calculator for this.

Step 2: Find out who already sells your products

Search your brand name on Amazon. Many established Shopify brands find resellers, gray-market stock or knockoffs using their name. Some find listings of their products created without them. Write down every listing and seller. This list shapes the next two steps.

Step 3: Secure Brand Registry

Brand Registry needs a registered or pending trademark in the country of the marketplace, or one Amazon accepts there. It gives you control over your detail pages, A+ content, a Brand Store, Sponsored Brands ads and the tools to report infringement. Start this early, because it is often the slowest part of the timeline.

Step 4: Rewrite listings for Amazon, do not just sync them

Connecting Shopify to Amazon through an app syncs data, but Amazon search needs different content: keywords in the title, specific attributes filled in, five clear bullets, backend search terms, and a white-background main image. Group sizes and colors as variations under one parent so reviews are shared. See catalog migration.

Step 5: Choose a fulfillment model

Step 6: Set pricing rules to protect Shopify

Decide your Amazon price before launch. Most brands keep price parity on core products and keep bundles, exclusive colors or loyalty perks on Shopify. Write down who is allowed to resell your products, and check your wholesale terms. More on brand protection.

Step 7: Launch with a plan for the first 90 days

• Sponsored Products on exact and phrase match for your best keywords, plus auto campaigns to find new terms.
• Amazon Vine for early reviews where eligible. Never offer incentives for reviews outside Amazon's programs.
• Send your existing customers to Amazon only if it fits your strategy, using Brand Referral Bonus links where available.
• Track keyword rank, conversion rate and total ad cost every week.

Step 8: Staff customer service for both channels

Amazon expects replies to buyer messages within 24 hours, weekends included. Plan who answers them before launch, ideally the same team that knows your Shopify customers. See Amazon customer service.

Common mistakes

• Launching every SKU at once instead of the best sellers.
• Pricing Amazon below Shopify and training customers to switch.
• Running out of FBA stock in the first months, which costs ranking.
• Ignoring existing resellers until after launch.