Single Listing or Separate Listing when you have same Style with Youth and Adult Sizes

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A company is deciding how to structure product listings for a t-shirt available in both youth (YS-YM-YL) and adult (S-M-L-XL-2XL) sizes with identical design. Currently, all sizes are combined in one listing without age designation in the description—only visible through size labels.

Key Questions:

  • Which approach drives better sales: combined listing or separate youth/adult listings?
  • Can age be identified by SKU while keeping products together?
  • How to create a youth-specific category/collection with current setup?

Recommended Approach:

  • Separate listings generally perform better, as customers typically search specifically for youth or adult items, improving navigation and conversion rates
  • Combined listings work if size names clearly indicate age (e.g., YS vs. S)
  • SKU structure: Use prefixes like “Y-TEE-M” (youth medium) vs. “A-TEE-M” (adult medium) to track age behind the scenes
  • Collections: Create automated “Youth” collections using Shopify conditions based on SKU patterns (“SKU contains Y-”) or variant tags without restructuring products

The company is mapping from NetSuite ERP and wants to implement the optimal structure initially.

Summarized with AI on October 30. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

We have a debate in our company.

We have one Tee that has the same color and logo. The sizes are Youth (YS-YM-YL) and Adult (S-M-L-XL-2XL).

One side feels that we should have one Style encompassing all sizes. Age would not be stated in the Description.

The other side wants to have 1 for Youth and 1 for Adult, in which the Age would be part of the Description

Our current setup is combined as 1, without any age given (Youth or Adult) in the description. The only way to know there are Youth sizes is by the size itself.

  1. What sells best within Shopify based on the above setup: Together or by Age?

  2. Can we keep together and still identify the Age by each SKU?

  3. Are there any other means of putting just the SKUS into a YOUTH Category on Shopify, where they can view all the “Youth” items, based on current setup

We are starting to build the mappings for Shopify from our current ERP (Netsuite), and would like to get it right the first time

2

Hi @mmiller023

  1. Most brands keep them together for simplicity but clearly label Youth vs. Adult in size names (e.g., YS, YM, YL vs. S, M, L). But you can also separate youth and adult products into different listings, as customers typically search for one or the other specifically. This creates clearer navigation and improves conversion rates since customers can quickly find what they’re looking for.
3
  1. you can keep them together and still identify age by SKU. Structure your SKUs with a prefix or indicator (e.g., “Y-TEE-M” for youth medium, “A-TEE-M” for adult medium). This works behind the scenes but doesn’t improve the shopping experience.
4
  1. You can create a “Youth” collection that includes products based on SKU patterns or tags without changing your product structure. Use Shopify’s automated collections with conditions like “SKU contains Y-” or apply youth tags to specific variants and create a collection based on those tags
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