How variations appear on product detail pages
Variations (also known as parent-child relationships) are sets of products that are related to one another. Good variation relationship listings allow buyers to compare and choose products based on different attributes such as size, color, or other characteristics from the available options on a single product detail page.
Not every category supports parent-child relationships, and not every variation is appropriate for a parent-child relationship. If an appropriate variation theme exists for your products, you must include your products in a parent-child relationship.
Parent-child relationships help to make search results manageable for customers. For example, you might offer a shirt that comes in four colors and four sizes. Rather than display all 16 unique combinations of the product in search results, only the one product from the parent-child grouping appears. The specific product that appears depends on the category.
How Images Display on Variations
The images displayed on a Variation Detail Page will behave depending on the Dimensions available for a buyer to choose from. Dimensions are the options given to the customer to choose the right product variant, for example Size, Color or Style.
In a variation we can find two types of Dimensions:
- Visual Dimension: These are options where a significant visual difference is applied to the product variant. The images in the Detail Page will change depending on the option selected. For example, Color or Pattern variants.
- Non-Visual Dimension: This is one where regardless of the option selected, there is not going to be a visual impact on the detail page and the images will remain the same. For example, Size variants.
Product detail pages in the Clothing, Accessories & Luggage, Sporting Goods, and Beauty categories
The Clothing, Accessories & Luggage, Sporting Goods, and Beauty categories display best-selling parent products in search results and on product detail pages. This means that display elements such as product title and description appear from the data associated with the parent product.
Before customers can purchase the product, they must first use the drop-down menus on the product detail page to indicate which child product they want to purchase. Selecting options from the drop-down menus does not load a new product detail page.
For example, in Clothing, when customers look for a t-shirt, the best-selling parent products appear:
- When customers select the t-shirt listing, the product detail page shows the parent product.
- Customers select a size from the drop-down menu.
Product detail pages in all other categories
All other categories display only the best-selling child product in search results and on product detail pages. Display elements such as product title and price appear from the data associated with the best-selling child product.
Clicking the product loads the product detail page for the best-selling child product. From this page, customers can view other child products from the same grouping using a drop down menu or product images.
For example, the See's Candies Nuts & Chews come in three sizes. In the search results below, the one pound variety appears because that is the best-selling child product among the 3 size variations:
Clicking the 1 lb. Nuts and Chews opens the product detail page, which offers other size variations. After making a selection, the customer purchases the product.
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