The Ultimate Amazon Categories Guide for 2024

Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform with over 600 million listed products. Before selling on Amazon, you must know what you want to sell and in which category you should place it. Determining the right product category on this highly competitive platform becomes a challenge for complete beginners and even expert sellers in some cases.

Amazon divides products into different categories based on their features and functions. If you don’t know about Amazon categories or how you can categorize your product, this is what we will help you with. We will cover everything about the Amazon categories list and discuss some techniques and important aspects in this Amazon categories guide. So, let’s get started.

1. Amazon Categories List
2. Which Amazon Categories Need Approval?/ What are Gated Amazon Categories?
3. What are the Referral Fees for Amazon Categories?
4. How to Apply for Category Approval on Amazon?
5. Can I Sell Under Multiple Amazon Categories?
6. How To Find the Best-Selling Product Category on Amazon?
7. Factors To Consider When Choosing an Amazon Product Category
8. Wrapping Up

Amazon Categories List

Amazon sells millions of products on its digital marketplace. With third-party sellers rapidly joining the platform, these products have reached hundreds of millions. As browsing through such an overcrowded platform can be a mess, Amazon has created categories and sub-categories for placing/finding the products.

Amazon has more than 30 product categories for third-party businesses to sell their products. The names of these categories vary slightly throughout Amazon’s ecosystem. However, third-party sellers cannot sell products of all these categories, such as Amazon devices or gift cards.

Here’s a quick glimpse of Amazon categories:

Each of these categories is further divided into more than 25,000 sub-categories. Listing down the complete category details is not feasible in this Amazon categories guide, but you can find them on Amazon’s website easily.

What are the Referral Fees for Amazon Categories?

Amazon sellers have to pay referral fees for each item they sell on the platform. This is simply Amazon’s profit on the sale, and its amount varies with the product category. Whether you create an Individual account or a professional seller account, the referral fees apply to both.

The referral fees range from 6% to 45%, with an average of 15%. It is calculated using the price of the product and any shipping charges that apply.

Here’s the referral fees for different product categories on Amazon:

Sellers often prefer product categories with lower referral fees to minimize the expense. However, if you are generating high profit margins, you can consider high referral fee categories.

Which Amazon Categories Need Approval? / What are Gated Amazon Categories?

Third-party sellers need approval from Amazon to sell products in some categories. Gated or restricted categories on Amazon are for specific sellers who meet a set of criteria before they start offering their services on the platform. With these categories, Amazon ensures that only experienced, qualified, and eligible sellers join the niche.

Sellers need approval to join these gated Amazon categories mostly by providing some certifications and documents to prove their eligibility. On the other hand, ungated categories don’t require approval from Amazon to sell products. Therefore, many sellers stick to ungated categories to save the hassle.

All the sellers with a registered Amazon account and fulfilling the basic requirements of the platform can join these ungated categories.

The products that need approval are referred to as gated products. Some of the gated Amazon categories are:

How To Apply for Category Approval on Amazon?

If you try to list a product but Amazon sends a notification to seek approval, it means the product category is gated. You need to apply for category approval before you can list products on Amazon.

Here are the steps you can follow for category approval:

1. Enter your credentials and log in to your Amazon Seller Central account.
2. Navigate to Inventory and click Add a Product from the drop-down list.
3. Search for the item you plan to sell and click the Sell Yours button.
4. If the category requires approval, click the Request Approval button below the category.
5. Enter the information in the form and submit your application.
6. Now Amazon will review your request and respond.

If you meet Amazon’s criteria depending on the product category, your request will be approved.

Can I Sell Under Multiple Amazon Categories?

Yes, Amazon allows sellers to sell under multiple categories if they meet the set requirements for each niche. In fact, joining multiple categories and selling a diverse range of products is great for increasing sales and attracting a wide audience. It also helps you build brand awareness and increases your traffic.

When you sell in different categories, your products appear in more search results. This enhances your visibility on Amazon. It also boosts your sales by cross-selling products. For instance, if you sell mobile phones and screen protectors, customers who purchase phones from you might also consider buying screen protectors. Therefore, you get more chances to promote your products.

By offering a diverse set of products, you reduce the risk and dependency on one niche. If one of your products fails, your overall sales won’t drop much.

Some of the strategies you can apply when selling in multiple categories:

1. Select complementary categories: Select categories that complement each other. For instance, if you sell baby care products, you may also add a baby toys or clothes range.
2. Manage stocks in your inventory: Keep track of the products in your inventory to ensure availability.
3. Optimize your product listings: Research extensively to find category-specific keywords. Also, add high-resolution images to describe the features of your product.

How To Find the Best-Selling Product Category on Amazon?

From maintaining products to managing costs, it can be a challenge for sellers to stay competitive on Amazon.

Almost every seller wants to discover the one magic product that can sell with high margins. But there’s no standard formula to find such a product because of the frequent fluctuations on the platform. However, you can use some handy tools to help you in the process.

One such solution is Shulex VOC, an AI-powered tool to do product research based on competitor analysis, reviews analysis, buyer sentiments, and much more.

With VOC’s AI-powered product research, you can find products that are high in demand with lower competition. Moreover, the tool’s keyword research and listing optimization capabilities help you identify the target keywords and craft the right descriptions your potential customers use to search for relevant products on Amazon.

Once you add those keywords and optimize your listings, your visibility and sales will increase on the platform.

Factors To Consider When Choosing an Amazon Product Category

Whether you are a new seller trying to launch your first product or an expert business owner planning to expand your product range, you must be careful when selecting the product category on Amazon.

We have shortlisted some of these critical factors in this Amazon categories guide to help you make the right choice.

1. High Demand: Target products that are high in demand, such as grocery products that keep flowing regularly each month.
2. Fewer Reviews: Pick a niche of products where sellers have fewer reviews since Amazon’s algorithm uses customer reviews to rank products.
3. Keyword Research: Make sure you find and add the right keywords in your listings to help people find what they need easily.
4. Google Trends: Use robust tools, like Google Trends, to discover the latest ideas and growing categories.
5. Find a Low-competition category: Find a product category with limited competition so that you can easily rank your product on Amazon listings.

Wrapping Up

Amazon is a goldmine for digital sellers with thousands of product categories online. However, sellers still need a strategic plan to promote their products, as no random category works for everyone. So, keep this Amazon categories guide as your reference, hunt down the platform, choose the right category, and consider the essential factors to start your journey on the platform.