Variants

Variants allow you to display a single product along with color, size, and other options. For example, a shirt may be available in blue, black, green and brown, and in sizes small through extra large.

note

You should be familiar with Instacart's inventory file requirements. For more information, see Inventory file specifications.

Terminology

The following terms are used to describe variant product characteristics.

Variant group

Organizes products into the same class.

Variant product

A type of product within a group that has variations, for example, a shirt that is sold in different colors and sizes.

• All products within a variant group must use the same column names to differentiate each variant.
• Each variant product within a variant group must have a unique lookup_code.
• All products within a variant group must use the same values for variant_group_info.

For example, if a shirt is offered in multiple sizes, and any variant uses a variantsize column, all variants must use the variantsize column. Each shirt size and color combination that use the same variant_group_id must be given a unique lookup_code and described in a single row. For more information, see Variant requirements.

Variant columns

Describes the product's variant options. For example, if the variant group varies by size, then you must use size as a variant column. The actual name of the size column is up to you.

Any column can be a variant column as long as it conforms to the variant requirements.

Variant dimensions

Use dimensions to group related variant attributes. For example, a variant color can have two dimensions: a color name and a hex code. The color name and the hex code are individual columns in your inventory file, but are displayed to customers as a single "color" description. For more information, see Variant dimensions.