Product variants - Guide 1: Product variants explained

Product variants - Guide 1: Product variants explained

Yes, Droppery supports products with variants on Shopify and WooCommerce and through the REST API, such as one chair in several colours and sizes. The supplier sets up the variants. By default, each variant is imported into your store as a separate product. You can also choose to import them as variants, with one main product and its variants grouped together. Either way, each variant stays connected to its own supplier product, so stock, prices and orders work per variant.

What is a variant?

A variant is one specific version of a product that a customer can buy. These terms come up in every variant guide.

Term	What it means	Example
Product	The item shown on one product page	Oslo dining chair
Option	A way the product can differ	Colour, Material
Option value	One choice within an option	Black, Oak
Variant	One combination of option values. This is what the customer buys	Oslo dining chair, Black, Oak
SKU	The code that identifies one sellable unit. Each variant usually has its own SKU	OSLO-BLK-OAK

A product with 2 colours and 2 materials has 4 variants. Each variant can have its own price, stock level, SKU and image.

Can one product have several options, such as size and colour?

Yes. A product can combine several options, such as colour, material and size. The supplier decides which products are grouped as variants and which options they have. Most products have between 3 and 20 variants. The maximum depends on your webshop platform. Shopify allows up to 3 options and 2,048 variants per product.

Who decides which variants a product has?

The supplier does. The supplier decides which products belong together as variants and which options they have. One supplier may offer a product in colours only, and another may offer colour, fabric and size.

When you import, you can choose to use the supplier's variant setup. You can't define or change the options yourself during the import. Products that the supplier has not set up as variants are imported as separate products.

What do I need in order to use variants?

• A subscription that includes variants. For Droppery Selective resellers, this means Selective Premium or higher. For suppliers, availability also depends on their subscription. To change your plan, see How to upgrade, change or cancel your subscription?
• Variants switched on for your account. You can't switch on variants yourself. Contact support to check whether variants are included in your subscription, or to upgrade.
• A Shopify or WooCommerce store or a connection through the REST API. Variant import only works with these three.
• A supplier that has set up variants. Variants are only imported where the supplier has created them.
• New imports. The variant setup applies to products you import from now on. Products already in your store keep their current structure.

Can I create variants myself?

Not by combining imported products in your webshop. This changes the product IDs that Droppery uses to stay connected, and orders and stock stop working for those products. You also shouldn't add new variants by hand to an imported product, because Droppery can't link them to a supplier. See Guide 5 for safe ways to show products as variants in your store.

Where to go next

• Importing variants and how mapping works → Guide 2
• Stock, prices, images and orders per variant → Guide 3
• What you can safely change after import → Guide 4
• Turning existing products into variants → Guide 5
• Suppliers who want to upload variants → Guide 6

FAQ

Does Droppery support Shopify products with multiple variants? Yes, from Selective Premium onwards, for products the supplier has set up as variants.

What is the difference between a product, a variant and a SKU? The product is the item on the product page. A variant is one version of it, such as Black and Oak. The SKU is the code for that one variant.

How many variant options can a product have? On Shopify, up to 3 options and 2,048 variants per product.

Are there any specific requirements for using variants? Yes. You need a plan that includes variants, the variant function switched on for your account, a Shopify or WooCommerce store or a REST API connection, and a supplier that has set up variants.