Most sellers on Amazon are familiar with the concept of product variations. But what exactly are the advantages of variations, how should they be used effectively, and how do you create them in Seller Central and Vendor Central? We want to explain all of this in more detail in this blog post.
What Are Product Variations?
Product variations, also called "variations" in English, are essentially individual, very similar products that are linked together in one listing. This creates a product display on Amazon where a customer is shown a selection of different colors, sizes, designs, or materials. So instead of offering each color of a product separately, this gives the customer an overview of the entire selection.
When Does It Make Sense to Create a Product Variation?
As you can see, it definitely makes sense to group products like T-shirts with different colors or sizes together. Different products from one category (e.g., kitchen utensils like spatulas, pots, kettles, and ladles) may occasionally be purchased together, but they don't offer the customer any added value or selection when shopping online and are therefore not suitable.
Structure of Variations
Variations don't just consist of the individual items (also called Child), but also need a parent product, a kind of summary of the individual items. This so-called "Parent" gets its own ASIN, but no EAN, since it only represents a product group, not a single purchasable item.
The Parent and all Childs need common characteristics so they can be grouped together at all: Usually the same Amazon category and one or more variation information such as size, weight, color, etc. (Tip: These are usually displayed to the customer as a selection field, so the names should be as informative as possible.)
Only with these filled-in fields can a variation be created.
What Are the Advantages of Product Variations?
Product variations not only make the listing on Amazon look more polished and professional, they also have significantly greater advantages.
First, the conversion rate is significantly improved. Because if a customer has already clicked on the product, there is basically interest. And anyone who is interested but still hesitating can be more easily convinced to buy through a selection of variations of the product they're looking for than if only one item is available.
Another major advantage is the consolidation of (star) reviews. Each item typically collects its own reviews, and many customers pay attention to what ranking, how many reviews, and how many stars a product they're searching for has. With product variations, the reviews from all individual items are consolidated and displayed across all item variations. So someone interested in the red T-shirt also sees a review like "I love my new blue T-shirt. It's so beautifully soft!" and can be convinced of the quality.
In the Seller Central account, variations also have the additional advantage of being grouped in the catalog, making the entire inventory and listings somewhat more organized. This is usually quite a relief, especially with a large product catalog. In the Vendor Central account, however, this doesn't help because variations aren't displayed as such.
Creating Variations in Seller vs. Vendor Account
So we come to the next point: how do you actually create such variations? Even if Amazon doesn't make it particularly easy - once you know the trick, the whole thing isn't rocket science anymore.
In the Seller Central account, there are two ways to create variations yourself. Option 1: manually in the catalog. To do this, click "Add Product" in the inventory and select the option "Product not sold on Amazon". After selecting the category, you come to the familiar view of a new product. The most important information you should enter here is the Parent title, the brand name, and the important selection "Are there variations?". This is the difference from regular Child ASINs.
The second option is to create an upload table. Before the Child items, a row must be inserted and title, brand name, and the important variation information, as well as an "Update" must be inserted to create the new Parent. For the variation information, there is a separate area where you must define which product is a Parent, which is a Child, which Parent a Child should be linked to, and what differences, i.e., selection options, should be assigned to the individual item.
Both options allow a seller to both newly create a variation and add another product to an already existing Parent.
To expand a Parent with another product, there is another option: The Variation Wizard. This can be found most easily by searching in the Seller Central account. Here you are shown a selection where you can choose whether the variation family/Parent already exists and should be expanded or a new Parent should be created. The latter only gives you instructions on how to download and edit an upload table.
To update an existing Parent, you can insert any ASIN into the ASIN search and immediately get the Parent as well as all Child ASINs including title, variation theme (whether sorted by color, size, etc.) and Child details. In the lower area, you now have the option to add a new product in another row by clicking "Add Variation". Then click "Create Template" and receive an Excel table (in the lower area of the window under "Download previously created template"), which you can also upload again under "Upload Multiple Items". So the upload table from option two can be created with some help from Amazon and without major complications.
In Vendor Central, Amazon gives you hardly any room to create variations yourself. Creating new Parent products manually in inventory is not possible. The only way is to click the "Contact Us" button under "Help" and select the "Product Linking" point under the "Manage Catalog Data" tab. Here you are led to a new window where a link is hidden very small where you can download the variation table. And even if this table looks significantly different from typical Amazon tables at first glance and is very confusing, it mainly comes down to the following points:
How many new variations do you want to create? Which Child ASINs do you want to use for which variation? Define which product becomes a Parent and which a Child and insert the respective name as well as the brand name. Is this product already in a variation? Which selection fields the variation should have as well as the respective definition of the selection field. If the individual products were originally created in different categories, there is also the option here to create a search category for all products. All other fields are optional and can be filled in as needed.
The advantage of this table is that any number of variations can be created at once. The search category and the selection fields can also be added or changed after creating a product.
To upload this table in Vendor Central, you unfortunately need help from support. In "Help", under the same "Product Linking" point where you previously downloaded the table, there is the option to press "Need more help?" and here you get the option to send an email and attach the variation table. The support staff usually uploads the file reliably within 1-2 days and within 48 hours after the response, the results should already be visible.
As an Amazon agency, we are aware that working with Amazon and the process of creating variations is not always the easiest. We are also familiar with what errors can occur and how to solve them. If you have questions or problems regarding variations on Amazon, we are always at your side.
We would be happy to present our approach to you in the context of a non-binding introduction. You can easily book an appointment here via our website
Book your free appointment now