What are product variations
Variations (also known as parent-child relationships) are sets of products that are related to one another in terms of size or flavor, and so on. Good variation relationship listings allow customers to compare and choose products based on different attributes such as size, or other characteristics from the available options on a single product detail page. For example, a customer searching for a short sleeved T-shirt might click a product detail page for a T-shirt that comes in four sizes (small, medium, large and extra-large). Rather than having to browse separate pages for each size, the customer can select the preferred size variations on the same page.
Examples of good variation families are:
- Items of clothing that come in different sizes (small, medium, large)
Variation requirements
If your products fulfill the following requirements, typically they are good candidates for a variation:
- The products are fundamentally the same.
- The products are under the same brand name.
- The products vary only in a few very specific ways.
- Buyers expect to find these products together on a single product page.
- Products could share a single title.
When to use or not to use variation relationships
The following questions can help you to determine whether certain products are valid variations:
- Are the products fundamentally the same?
- Can products share the same title?
- Do the products vary only in a few, specific ways that do not alter the core essence and nature of the item (such as size)?
- Would customers expect to find these products together on a single product detail page?
The following describe a product that is Not a good candidate for variation:
- There is only one variation of your product.
- The products look different and would require different images to be displayed accurately
- The products are fundamentally different.
- The products have different brand name.
- Products require very different product descriptions.
- Products cannot be described by a single product title.
- A customer would not expect to find the products together on the product page.
How to add product variations
Add the attribute value related to each variation in the variation column (ex: S, M, L), fill the Seller SKU and gtin_barcode for each variation.
Jumia systems only supports single variation. The product should vary by only one criteria (ex: size variation only, but not size and color).
You can submit only one set of images that will be common to all product variation.
Since images don’t change when selecting a variation, variation type can be any attribute that does not impact the external product appearance (images).
- Examples of attributes that CAN as variations: size, power, storage, capacity, etc.
- Examples of attributes that can NOT be used as variation: color, shape, etc.
Best practices
- Do not list different products together:
- Example 1: A mobile phone charging cable and a portable charger, while related, are not the same product and should not be listed on the same detail page.
- Example 2: A laptop bag with handles and a laptop bag without handles are two different product styles that should be listed on separate detail pages.
- Do not use variation themes incorrectly, they should only be used for their defined purpose.
- For example: A size variation theme must not include any information other than size. Different phone models, for example, should not be listed within a size theme.