Adding & Adjusting Product Variants In Shopify

Managing Shopify product variants is important for merchants who offer multiple options (e.g., size, color, or material) under one product listing.

Product variants in Shopify help streamline inventory management, improve customer experience, and increase sales. Basically, it’s a no brainer for any quality ecommerce platform to offer variants. We look at what there is to know about Shopify product variants, from setup to optimization.

Additionally, we’ll look at 3rd party apps that available to manage unlimited product variants and optimize the shopping experience.

What Are Product Variants on Shopify?

Shopify product variants, also known as product variations, are different options for a single product listing, such as sizes, colors, or materials. Each variant has its own SKU, allowing merchants to track stock and pricing independently. For example, if you sell t-shirts, you can create variants for different sizes (S, M, L) and colors (red, blue, green).

Key attributes:

• SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): Unique code to track each variant.
• Product Option: Defines the variant category, like color or size.
• Variant Title: Combines option values like “Red, Medium.”

Setting Up Product Variants in Shopify

To set up product variants, navigate to your Shopify admin dashboard. You can add variants to an existing product to streamline the process. Select the product you want to modify, and add product options like size, color, or material. Each combination creates a variant. Shopify allows up to three product options per item and 100 variants per product.

Steps for setup:

1. Access the Product Tab in the admin dashboard.
2. Click “Add Product Option” and input categories like color or size.
3. Assign unique SKUs to each variant for inventory tracking.
4. Set prices for each variant, considering different production costs.

Adding and Editing Variants

Adding and editing variants is an important aspect of managing your Shopify store. To add a new variant, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Product Page: Go to your Shopify admin dashboard and select the product you want to modify.
2. Click on “Add Variant”: On the product details page, click the “Add variant” button.
3. Enter Variant Details: Fill in the new variant details, including option values like size, color, or material, and set the inventory levels.
4. Save Your Changes: Click Save to finish adding the new variant.

To edit an existing variant, follow these steps:

1. Select the Variant: On the product details page, click on the variant you want to edit.
2. Update Variant Information: Make the necessary changes to the option values and inventory levels.
3. Save Your Changes: Click Save to finalize your edits.

For merchants managing multiple variants, Shopify’s bulk editor feature is a lifesaver. This tool allows you to make changes to multiple variants simultaneously, saving you time and effort. Simply select the variants you want to edit, make your changes, and apply them in one go.

Working with Multiple Variants

Handling multiple variants can be challenging, but Shopify provides several features to simplify the process. One of the most useful tools is the variant grid, which allows you to view and manage all variants for a product in a single view. This grid makes it easier to compare and manage different variants, ensuring that all relevant options are accurately tracked.

Also, Shopify’s variant filter feature enables you to filter variants by specific criteria, such as option values or inventory levels. This functionality allows you to quickly identify specific variants and make necessary adjustments, streamlining your inventory management process.

Customizing Product Variants and Pricing

Each Shopify product variant can have its own price, SKU, and shipping settings. Merchants often set unique pricing for each variant based on production cost differences (e.g., larger sizes might cost more to produce). Additionally, inventory levels and shipping costs can be customized for each variant. You can also customize pricing and other settings for existing products to diversify your offerings.

How to customize:

• Adjust pricing for variants under the “Variants” section of the product page.
• Set stock levels specific to each variant.
• Customize shipping rates if larger variants have higher costs.

Advanced Variant Features

Shopify offers several advanced variant features that allow you to customize and manage your variants more effectively. One powerful feature is conditional logic, which lets you create dynamic and interconnected choices for your customers based on their selections. For example, if a customer selects a specific color, you can set up conditional logic to display only the sizes available in that color.

Another advanced feature is variant images, which allow you to assign specific images to each variant. This is particularly useful for products like clothing or accessories, where each variant may have a different appearance. By assigning a unique image to each variant, you can provide a more accurate and engaging shopping experience for your customers.

Best Practices for Managing Shopify Variants

Efficient management of Shopify variants is important, especially for stores with large inventories. Keeping product listings organized and ensuring all information is updated is essential for a smooth shopping experience. Use tools like bulk editing apps and SKU management systems to streamline operations.

Best practices:

• Use Shopify’s bulk editor to update multiple variants simultaneously.
• Implement apps for real-time stock sync across channels.
• Ensure clear naming conventions for SKUs to avoid confusion.

Shopify Variant Limitations and Workarounds

Shopify limits each product to three options (e.g., size, color, material) and 100 variants. To manage more complex product offerings, consider using third-party apps that allow for additional customization options or splitting products into separate listings.

Workarounds:

• Use apps like Infinite Options or Bold Product Options to bypass the default variant limits.
• Create separate product listings for significantly different variants.
• Use product bundling to offer multiple variants in a single package.

Shopify Free Plan Limitations

While the Shopify free plan is a great way to get started, it does come with several limitations, especially concerning product variants. The free plan allows you to create up to 100 variants per product. If your product offerings exceed this limit, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to accommodate more variants.

Another limitation of the free plan is the number of products you can create. The free plan allows you to create up to 50 products. For merchants with extensive inventories, upgrading to a paid plan will provide the flexibility needed to manage a larger number of products and variants effectively.

How Shopify Apps Can Expand Product Variant Options

Shopify’s app ecosystem offers powerful tools to extend the platform’s capabilities. Apps like Infinite Options, Bold Product Options, and Variant Image Automator help merchants manage more complex product variants. These tools allow for additional customization beyond Shopify’s native limits, making it easier to manage complex products.

Popular apps:

• Infinite Options: Allows merchants to add unlimited product options.
• Bold Product Options: Adds more complex options such as text fields, date pickers, and conditional logic.
• Variant Image Automator: Automatically changes the product image based on the selected variant.

How Variants Impact SEO and User Experience

Product variants can have a significant impact on SEO and user experience. Variants affect URL structure and can lead to duplicate content issues if not handled correctly. Implementing canonical tags and optimizing variant URLs ensures that search engines recognize the primary version of a product.

Best practices for SEO:

• Use canonical tags to avoid duplicate content across variants.
• Optimize product pages with clear descriptions for each variant.
• Ensure a user-friendly variant selection interface, such as swatches or dropdown menus.

Automating Variant Management with Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow allows merchants to automate various tasks, including product variant management. You can set up triggers that automatically adjust inventory, pricing, or product availability based on predefined conditions, such as low stock levels or high demand.

Common automations:

• Low-stock alerts trigger notifications to restock specific variants.
• Automatically adjust pricing based on sales volume.
• Set up workflows to remove sold-out variants from product listings.

Managing Product Variants for International Markets

If you sell to international customers, it’s important to manage product variants with different pricing, stock levels, and shipping settings for each region. Shopify Markets lets merchants tailor their stores to different countries by adjusting variant availability and pricing based on the market.

Steps for international variant management:

• Set region-specific pricing for different currencies.
• Adjust shipping rates based on regional regulations.
• Localize product descriptions and variant names to match the local language.

Customizing the Product Variant Display on Shopify Frontend

The way variants are displayed can significantly affect conversions. Shopify themes allow you to customize how customers select variants, including swatches, buttons, and dropdowns. You can also implement dynamic variant images that change based on the selected option.

Customization options:

• Implement color swatches for products with visual variants like color or material.
• Use dynamic image swapping to show the correct product image based on the selected variant.
• Modify the dropdown interface for a smoother shopping experience.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Managing product variants in Shopify can sometimes present challenges. Here are some common issues and troubleshooting tips to help you navigate them:

• Adding or Editing Variants: If you’re having trouble adding or editing variants, ensure you have the correct permissions and that the product is not set to “draft” mode.
• Variant Images: If you’re experiencing issues with variant images, verify that the images are uploaded correctly and that the variant image feature is enabled.
• Conditional Logic: If you’re having trouble with conditional logic, double-check that the logic is set up correctly and that the variant options are configured properly.

By following these tips and leveraging Shopify’s advanced variant features, you can effectively manage your variants and provide a better customer experience.

Final Points

Managing product variants in Shopify is critical for merchants with diverse product offerings. By setting up product options correctly, optimizing pricing, and utilizing third-party tools, you can maximize your store’s potential.

Apps like Infinite Options and Bold Product Options help overcome Shopify’s variant limitations, while automation via Shopify Flow ensures smooth operations. By implementing best practices for SEO, user experience, and internationalization, your Shopify store can scale successfully and attract a global audience.

Popular Questions

Below you can see some common questions we get asked about product variants.