Variants are for products that have options: sizes (S / M / L) and colors in clothing / capacity (64GB / 128GB) in electronics / sizes in food. Without variants, one product = one SKU = one stock. With variants, one product = multiple SKUs = independent stock for each combination.
Why use variants instead of separate products? Because having Red T-Shirt M / Red T-Shirt L / Blue T-Shirt M as separate products is hard to manage / fragments reports / makes the catalog long and duplicates information. With variants you have a single product with everything unified.
Define the options
In the product, go to the Variants section and define:
Option 1: Size → Values: S / M / L / XL
Option 2: Color → Values: Red / Blue / Black
Generate combinations
The system automatically generates all possible combinations. With 4 sizes and 3 colors you have 12 variants: S-Red / S-Blue / S-Black / M-Red / M-Blue / etc.
Configure each variant
Each variant can have unique values:
SKU — Unique per variant (e.g.: CAM-S-RED / CAM-M-RED)
Barcode — Unique per variant
Stock — Independent per variant
Price — Can vary (XL may cost more)
Image — Can vary (photo of each color)
Name and description are shared among all variants.
In sales
When adding the product to a sale: you search for the base product / the variant selector opens / you choose the specific combination (e.g.: M-Blue) / that variant is added / the stock of that variant is deducted.
Delete variants that don't apply
If not all combinations exist (e.g.: there is no XL in Red): generate all variants / delete the ones that don't apply / only the real variants remain.
