Every field develops its own language, and ecommerce automation has a lot of it. A builder says your integration needs idempotent webhooks with exponential backoff. A tool promises “AI agents” and “no-code workflows”. A platform talks about metafields and rate limits. If you do not know the terms, you cannot tell whether a proposal is sensible or padded with jargon.
This glossary explains 99 of the terms you are most likely to meet, in plain English, grouped by topic. Where we have written a longer guide, we link to it. It is a reference, so skim the headings, search for the word you need and follow the links when you want depth. Platforms define some terms slightly differently, so check their documentation for exact behaviour.
Platforms and integration
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| API | Application programming interface: a set of rules that lets one program ask another for data or actions | Shopify API rate limits |
| REST | A common API style using web addresses and standard actions such as get, create, update and delete | |
| GraphQL | An API style where you ask for exactly the fields you want in one request | |
| Webhook | A message one system sends automatically to a web address when an event happens, such as a new order | Shopify webhooks explained |
| Polling | Asking a system repeatedly whether anything changed, instead of waiting to be told | |
| Trigger | The event that starts an automation, such as an order being paid | |
| Action | A step an automation performs, such as sending an email or creating a record | |
| Workflow | A sequence of triggers, conditions and actions that does a job | Shopify Flow examples |
| Connector | A ready-made link between a tool and an app | |
| iPaaS | Integration platform as a service: hosted tools such as Zapier, Make or n8n that connect apps | Zapier vs Make vs n8n |
| No-code / low-code | Building with visual tools instead of programming, or with a little code | |
| Task / operation / credit | The unit a tool bills for; defined differently by each tool | Zapier task costs |
| OAuth | A secure way to give an app permission to your account without sharing your password | |
| API key / token | A secret string that identifies an app to a system; keep it private and rotate it | |
| Scope | The list of things an API token is allowed to do | |
| Sandbox / staging | A test copy where you can try changes without affecting the live store | BigCommerce automation |
| Headless commerce | A store where the front end is separate from the commerce engine and talks to it through APIs | |
| Middleware | Software that sits between systems and passes data between them |
Orders and fulfilment
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Order routing | Deciding where each order goes: which warehouse, supplier or print provider | Order routing for dropshipping |
| Fulfilment | Picking, packing and shipping an order | |
| 3PL | Third-party logistics: a company that stores and ships goods for you | |
| Dropshipping | Selling items that a supplier ships directly to your customer | Is automated dropshipping legit? |
| Print on demand | Products printed and shipped only when ordered | Print-on-demand automation |
| Tracking number | A carrier code that lets anyone follow a parcel | Shipping confirmation emails |
| WISMO | “Where is my order”: the most common support question | Where is my order |
| Split shipment | One order sent in more than one parcel | Order status update messages |
| Backorder | Selling a normally stocked item that is temporarily out | Backorders and preorders |
| Preorder | Selling an item before it is released or received | Backorders and preorders |
| Handling time | How long you take to dispatch after an order | |
| Cut-off time | The last moment an order can ship the same day | Peak season readiness |
| Purchase order (PO) | A document asking a supplier to supply goods at agreed terms | Purchase order automation |
| Three-way match | Comparing a purchase order, a receipt and an invoice before paying | Purchase order automation |
Inventory and catalogue
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| SKU | Stock keeping unit: your internal code for one sellable variant | |
| GTIN / UPC / EAN | Standard barcode numbers that identify a product worldwide | Product data enrichment |
| MPN | Manufacturer part number | |
| Variant | One version of a product, such as a size and colour combination | Bulk product upload for Shopify |
| Handle | The URL-friendly identifier of a product in Shopify | |
| Metafield | A custom field that stores extra data on a product, order or customer | Shopify metafields |
| Metaobject | A reusable custom record that many products can reference | Shopify metafields |
| Safety stock / buffer | Units held back to cover delays and uncertainty | Inventory buffers |
| Reorder point | The stock level at which you should reorder | Low-stock alerts and reorder points |
| Lead time | The time between placing an order with a supplier and receiving the goods | |
| Oversell | Selling more units than you have | Inventory sync |
| Feed | A file or endpoint that lists products, prices and stock for a channel or from a supplier | Supplier feed sync |
| Merchant Center | Google’s tool for uploading product data for Shopping | Google Shopping feed errors |
| Product data enrichment | Adding or improving product information such as attributes and identifiers | Product data enrichment |
| Alt text | A short written description of an image for screen readers and search | Alt text examples |
| hreflang | A tag that tells search engines which language or region a page is for | Translating product listings |
Marketing and email
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Flow | An automated series of messages triggered by behaviour | Klaviyo flows best practices |
| Abandoned cart / checkout | A shopper who started buying and left | Abandoned checkout emails |
| Browse abandonment | A shopper who viewed products and left without adding to the cart | Browse abandonment |
| Win-back | A campaign to bring lapsed customers back | Win-back campaigns |
| Replenishment email | A reminder to reorder a consumable | Replenishment reminders |
| Segmentation | Splitting customers into groups by behaviour or value | RFM segmentation |
| RFM | Recency, frequency and monetary value: a way to score customers | RFM segmentation |
| CLV / LTV | Customer lifetime value: expected profit from a customer over a period | Customer lifetime value |
| CAC | Customer acquisition cost: what it costs to win a new customer | Customer lifetime value |
| Holdout | A random group kept out of a campaign to measure its true effect | Win-back campaigns |
| Deliverability | Whether your emails reach the inbox rather than spam | |
| Opt-in / consent | A person’s permission to be contacted | SMS marketing guide |
| Sunset policy | Rules for stopping messages to people who never engage | Win-back campaigns |
| 10DLC | US registration for business text messages over standard numbers | SMS marketing guide |
Support and AI
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Macro | A saved reply with fields filled from the ticket or order | Support macros |
| Triage | Sorting tickets by type and priority and routing them | Ticket triage |
| Handoff / escalation | Passing a conversation from a bot to a person | Chatbot handoff rules |
| SLA | Service level agreement: a promised response or resolution time | Ticket triage |
| LLM | Large language model: an AI system that reads and writes text | ChatGPT for ecommerce |
| Prompt | The instructions and information you give a model | ChatGPT prompts for product content |
| Hallucination | When a model states something false with confidence | Generative AI risks |
| Grounding | Making a model answer from supplied facts rather than memory | Generative AI risks |
| Prompt injection | Text that tries to override a model’s instructions | Generative AI risks |
| AI agent | An AI system that can take actions with tools, not just write text | AI agents for ecommerce |
| Human in the loop | A person reviews or approves AI output before it takes effect | Rules vs AI |
| Confidence score | A number showing how sure a model or classifier is | Rules vs AI |
| Answer engine optimisation (AEO) | Making content easy for AI answers to use and cite | AI search and ecommerce visibility |
Money and risk
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Payout | A lump sum from a payment processor to your bank, net of fees and refunds | Why payouts never match sales |
| Reconciliation | Matching two sets of records to find differences | Bookkeeping checklist |
| Chargeback / dispute | A customer asking their bank to reverse a payment | Chargeback prevention |
| Card testing | Criminals using your checkout to check stolen cards | Card testing attacks |
| 3D Secure | An extra card check where the bank confirms the cardholder | Card testing attacks |
| Dunning | Messages asking a customer to fix a failed payment | Failed payment recovery |
| Nexus | A connection to a place that creates a duty to collect tax there | Sales tax automation |
| Gross margin | Revenue minus direct costs, as a share of revenue | Profit tracking |
| Wardrobing | Buying, using and returning an item as if unused | Return fraud prevention |
| RMA | Return merchandise authorisation: permission and a number for a return | Returns automation |
| Dynamic pricing | Changing prices automatically by rules | Dynamic pricing |
| KPI | Key performance indicator: a number that tracks health | KPI dashboard |
Operations and monitoring
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Idempotency | Designing an action so that doing it twice has the same effect as once | Duplicate orders and idempotency |
| Rate limit | A cap on how many requests you may make in a period | Shopify API rate limits |
| Backoff | Waiting longer between retries after each failure | Shopify API rate limits |
| Retry | Trying a failed step again | |
| Queue | A line of jobs waiting to be processed | WooCommerce webhooks |
| Heartbeat | A check that alerts when something expected does not happen | Monitoring store automations |
| Runbook | A short guide to what to do when something breaks | Automation handover |
| Change freeze | A period with no changes before a critical event | Peak season readiness |
| Care plan | A monthly service that monitors and maintains automations | Care plans explained |
| Audit trail | A record of what was done, by whom and when | |
| Source of truth | The one system whose data wins when systems disagree | Inventory sync |
| Drift | When two systems that should match slowly diverge | Inventory buffers |
How to use this glossary with an agency
When a proposal uses a term you do not recognise, ask for it to be explained in the context of your store: what it means here, what could go wrong and how it will be tested. A good provider will answer plainly. If the answer is another cloud of jargon, treat that as information. The best proposals translate technical choices into business effects: “idempotent order handling” becomes “if the same order arrives twice, we create it once”. For a wider approach to briefing a builder, see how to brief a store automation, and for a self-assessment before you talk to anyone, the 25-question audit.
If a term you need is missing, or you want a definition tied to your stack, ask us. Our consulting service includes plain-language walk-throughs of your own automations, and our workflow automation builds come with documentation written for the people who will run them.
Sources and further reading
Figures and rules in this guide come from the primary pages below. Platform limits and prices change, so open the page before you build on a number.
- Shopify Help Center, platform terms such as variants, metafields and webhooks
- Stripe Docs: glossary, payments terms such as payouts, disputes and 3D Secure
- MDN Web Docs: HTTP overview, background on how web requests and APIs work