Ecommerce Concepts
Foundational business domain concepts explained simply for developers building ecommerce applications, integrations, and APIs.
3PL vs In-House Fulfillment
Compare outsourced 3PL logistics services against self-managed in-house warehouse fulfillment.
Third-Party Logistics (3PL)
A 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) provider is an outsourced fulfillment service that handles inventory storage, pick-and-pack, shipping, and returns for merchants.
Barcode (UPC / EAN / GTIN)
A barcode is a standardized, machine-readable numerical code assigned globally to identify commercial items across supply chains and retailers.
Product Bundles
A product bundle is a collection of multiple distinct items packaged and sold together as a single commercial offering, often at a discounted price.
Catalog vs Inventory
Understand the fundamental difference between marketing catalog definitions and physical inventory stock tracking.
Catalog
A catalog is the master repository of all products, variants, collections, categories, and media offered by an ecommerce merchant.
Coupon & Promo Code
A coupon code is an alphanumeric string entered by a customer at checkout to redeem a specific promotional discount rule.
Discount vs Coupon
Understand the distinction between underlying price reduction rules and customer-facing promo code triggers.
Customer
A customer represents an individual or organization purchasing goods or services from an ecommerce store.
Discount
A discount is a price reduction applied automatically or via coupon codes to incentives purchases, boost conversion rates, or clear inventory.
Fulfillment
Fulfillment encompasses the complete operational pipeline of receiving, picking, packing, shipping, and delivering customer orders.
Inventory
Inventory is the physical or digital quantity of sellable product variants available at specified fulfillment locations.
Location
A location represents a physical or logical site where inventory is stocked, fulfilled, or processed.
Merchant vs Vendor
Understand the commercial relationship between retail merchants and product suppliers/vendors.
Merchant
A merchant is the business entity or seller operating an ecommerce store and selling products directly to buyers.
Order vs Transaction
Understand the architectural boundary between merchant purchase contracts and payment gateway transactions.
Order
An order is an immutable financial and fulfillment contract representing a customer's purchase agreement.
Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is the software service that securely encrypts, authorizes, and processes credit card or digital wallet transactions between shoppers and merchants.
Price & Compare-At Price
Price represents the monetary value required to purchase a variant, while Compare-At Price displays the original reference list price for strike-through sales.
Retailer
A retailer is a commercial business that purchases goods from manufacturers or distributors and sells them directly to end consumers.
Product
A product represents a distinct item or service that a merchant offers for sale in an ecommerce store.
Product vs Variant
Understand the core structural difference between high-level product containers and specific sellable option configurations.
SKU vs Barcode
Understand the fundamental differences between internal merchant SKUs and globally standardized barcodes (UPC / EAN / GTIN).
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
A SKU is a unique alphanumeric identifier assigned internally by a merchant to track a specific product variant and its inventory.
Subscription Commerce
Subscription commerce is a business model where customers pay a recurring fee at specified intervals to receive recurring product deliveries or digital access.
Ecommerce Supply Chain
An ecommerce supply chain is the end-to-end network of organizations, resources, activities, and technologies involved in creating and delivering products to shoppers.
Variant
A variant is a specific sellable configuration of a product defined by a combination of options such as size, color, or material.
Vendor
A vendor is a brand, manufacturer, or supplier that provides products to a merchant for retail sale.
Warehouse vs Location
Understand the difference between physical warehouse buildings and platform inventory location abstractions.
User vs Customer
Clarify the technical boundary between backend admin users and storefront customer accounts.
Warehouse
A warehouse is a physical industrial facility dedicated to receiving, storing, picking, packing, and dispatching product inventory.