Variable Products

Variable products are products that have different variations, such as size, color, or material, which might or might not affect their price and stock level.

For example, suppose that you sell T-shirts with two options: size and color. The size option has three values: small, medium, and large. The color option has two values: blue and green. One specific variant from these options is a small, blue T-shirt.

You can see a list of variants for a product on its product details page. You can also manage inventory for each variant from the product details page.


Adding a variant

You add variants to a product that has more than one option, such as size or color. Each combination of options for a product is a variant of that product.

When you add a product, you adjust the Pricing and Inventory for the product from the product details page. However, when you add variants to the product, you need to adjust those settings for each variant from the variants table within the product details page.

To add a variant:

  1. At the bottom of the product page, click Add variations.
  2. Enter a name for the option (e.g. size, color).
  3. Enter the option value by separating them into a comma.
  4. Click Apply changes.

The list of variants will appear at the bottom of the product page. You can modify each variant’s price, SKU, and barcode.

Adding a variant by duplicating an existing variant

Rather than entering the same information when adding similar variants, you can duplicate it instead. The duplicate variant has the same information as the original variant.

  1. At the variants table, locate the variants you want to duplicate and select them.
  2. At the top right corner of the variants table, click Actions.
  3. Choose how you would like to duplicate your option (e.g. size and color).
  4. Click Save & close.

Your product now includes new variants and duplicates with the option value that you chose.

Editing variants

You can edit and remove variants for a product on its details page. By default, you have the option to change each variant’s price and image. To view the advanced settings of each variant (price lists, inventory per location, etc):

  1. Go to your Inventory page.
  2. Locate the parent product the variant belongs to and click it.
  3. On the product details page, under the Variants table at the bottom of the page, click on the variant name you want to change.

You can toggle details to be visible by clicking on the eye icon at the top right corner of the variant table.

Changing the display order of options

Customers who view your products are shown variant alternatives in a specific order. On the product information page, you can modify the display order.

  1. Scroll down to the variants table at the bottom of the product page.
  2. At the top of the variants table, click on Sort variants.
  3. In the Sort variations dialog, click and drag an option name or an option value to move it.
  4. Click Save & close.

Editing a product’s options

  1. Scroll down to the variants table.
  2. Click Edit options.
  3. Click Add new option, enter the option name and default option value. This will be applied to all your existing variants.
  4. To change an option name, click it and enter the new name.
  5. To delete an option, click the trash can icon beside the option.

When there is only one option, you can’t remove it by editing the options. If you want to sell a product without any variants, then you need to delete all the variants.

Deleting a variant

You can delete a variant by scrolling through the right side of it and clicking the gear-shaped icon. Then choose, Delete Variant.

A variant that is deleted is permanently removed. If you don’t want to sell a product with variants anymore, then you need to delete all its variants.

Product variants that are on open sale/purchase orders or bundled into a bundle/kit cannot be deleted unless the orders are closed and the variant removed from the bundle.

Was this article helpful?

Related Articles