5 Tips for Selling Products with Variants

Ever bought a smartphone online? Then you must be already aware of the n number of choices one is bombarded with while purchasing a phone.

64GB, 128GB, 256GB, Blue, Purple, Black….the list goes on…

The same holds true for many other products, such as clothes, furniture, mattresses…

Choosing the right option from this array of very similar products is an overwhelming exercise, especially when the choices are not presented clearly.

Now, if you are an eCommerce seller, then you need to display these options (commonly known as variants) the RIGHT way to ensure that your customers have a positive experience, which directly translates to conversions. In this post, we will take you through some best practices to manage product variants in your eCommerce store.

1. Display variants everywhere

There is a simple rule in the world of business - DO NOT confuse your customers, or else face the consequences. This is especially true when it comes to catalog management. If your catalog constitutes products with and without variants, ensure users can easily distinguish between the two. The best way to do this is by highlighting the variants everywhere on your website. For instance, you can display the variants on the listing page or at the search results page.

In the above example, the eCommerce store has not only listed the color variants in the search results page but also highlighted the price range of the product that will vary based on the color selected.

2. Make it easy to preview the variants

In most traditional eCommerce stores, users have to click on a variant to check its details and images. Now, this is a cumbersome process, especially when the variant count is high.

When you click a variant, a page load happens, which can add to the time of browsing. Secondly, it makes it very difficult to compare the two variants. Yes, opening them in different tabs might do the trick, but it is not the most efficient way to compare variants quickly. To avoid such complications, ensure that there is a preview of every variant in the PDP so that the user can quickly glance through the variant without having to click on it.

In the above example, you can see that the website has added the preview option to all its product variants. Just hovering on top of a variant will automatically change the image of the product.

3. Use high-quality images for your products

Imagine a scenario where you head to your local boutique. You ask the staff to show you your favorite dress. Now instead of showing the dresses in different colors and styles, the store employee describes the dresses orally. There are high chances that you will not visit that store again.

The same rule applies to your eCommerce store. Many store owners display the variants in the PDP in the form of text but fail to add corresponding images. This will frustrate most customers visiting your website,

You need to add high-resolution images for every variant that not only defines all the features of the product but also clearly distinguish between the variants. This will give them a close-to real-life experience of the product they intend to purchase.

‍4. Easy-to-understand labeling

When it comes to variants, labeling is as important as the images. Displaying images without any labels makes the variants undecipherable and incomprehensible for most visitors. For instance, imagine you own a home furnishing store and have created a product with multiple color variants. Now, if you don’t highlight the colors in the form of labels and display them only as color swatches, it can get a tad complicated for the users, especially if the color gradients are close. This will result in wrong purchases and unwanted returns for your business. The labels you create must be clear, precise, and easy to interpret, even for a first-time user.

5. Embrace dropdowns if necessary

Dropdowns are probably not the most attractive way to display your product variants. However, it can come in quite handy when there are a lot of variants for a product.

Let us assume you have a parent product that has 10 different colors and 10 different styles, which amounts to 100 different unique combinations. Now, it is not practical to display all 100 combinations of this product as swatches in the PDP.

For such kinds of products, you can keep the variant selection process quite basic. You can display all the colors in 1 dropdown menu while the styles are in another dropdown menu. This will make the lives of the users much simpler.

Conclusion

As an eCommerce store owner, your primary responsibility is to make sure that your visitors have an enriching experience while navigating through your website. If you own products with variants, then it is essential to manage them properly, which will contribute positively to their experience. Follow the simple tips highlighted in this post and experience better conversions in no time.

Vajro offers plug & play integrations with Bold, Infinite Options, and Product Customizer, all of which help you manage your variants effortlessly. Book a demo right away here.

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