Variants for different bulk quantities? Unit Prices?

Shopify Discussion
1

A client using Shopify wants to sell beef in set quantities of 5lbs, 10lbs, and 20lbs.

My client is managing their own products and set up one hamburger product then made a variant for each quantity. They want the different prices to show for the different quantities when people look directly at the page but the Shopify Search Engine Listing shows the product name with the price for the least expensive variant which is 5lbs.

This makes it look really expensive since there is no context in the SERP that this is the cost of the least expensive bulk variant.

I’d like set a 1lbs unit price to show in the SERP so people don’t get scared off by the lack of context. I keep reading about setting unit price and ticking a “Show unit price” as the solution to this but when I click on a variant and change the Unit Price it just changes the price of the variant itself. Not sure what the disconnect is there.

I’d suggested simply adding the word “Bulk” in the title to give context in the SERP but that’s kind of a last resort.

Is this even a good use of the variants feature? Obviously the 5, 10, and 20 lbs options all draw from the same inventory. I don’t know how he’s planning on keeping up with that part of it. Something seems a bit off but this isn’t my area.

Thanks!

3

If you’re talking about Google SERPs, then it’s up to:

  1. Structured data markup on the product pages and
  2. Merchant center product data feed.

Structured data depends on the theme you’re using, but here is the Google suggestion for your case: How To Add Merchant Listing Structured Data | Google Search Central  |  Documentation  |  Google for Developers

The referenceQuantity property:

"offers": {
  "@type": "Offer",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/perfume_offer",
  "priceSpecification": {
    "@type": "UnitPriceSpecification",
    "price": 200.00,
    "priceCurrency": "EUR",
    "referenceQuantity": {
      "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
      "value": "200",
      "unitCode": "ML",
      "valueReference": {
        "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
        "value": "100",
        "unitCode": "ML"
      }
    }
  }
}

You need, however, to ensure that your data feed does not contradict this info, or it may cause problems with your listings.

Finally – Unit price may not be available in your area be default, but I was able to get it switched on via support chat (but quite some time ago, I must say).

4

is this is one of those riddles we had to solve on tests in middle school? lol

so…. Google, for example, reads the Structured Data of the product page. that data has the prices and the lowest price is what Google shows, and really for the reasons you mentioned (show the lowest price to attract customers) with the word From in front of it if there are variants. the simplest way? add a sold out variant for 1 lb and Google will read that and show it in the SERP. maybe not ideal but it would work. and when you land on the page the 5 lb with pop up initially as it will skip the 1 lb as it is sold out.

you really don’t want to override the Structured Data with your own numbers because Google Ads, etc. will get all messed up and it will cause problems going forward. but you can if you like. not incredibly difficult once you find where it is in the code

I do the same for Case Quantities where it pulls from different inventory than single items. also not ideal but mostly fine. I do check the inventory and adjust it on occasion so it is more accurate. hopefully your customer isn’t that close to selling out and it is manageable

since ecom platforms (and most business in general) run on SKUs that are different for each product variant, you would need a third party app to be able to pull the inventory of all three from one bucket. I would not advise using a third party app unless it is 100% necessary to run the business. but if that is the case that is what you need to do

hope that helps a little

5

Hi @TSolCG

I’m not really familiar with the SERP pricing issue, so hopefully, you’ll find the right fix for that.

But for the inventory part, you can try Easify Inventory Sync — it lets you set up a shared inventory pool for all your variants. So, for example, if you have 100 lbs of beef in total, and a customer buys 10 lbs, the system will automatically deduct that amount from the total stock. Here’s how it works:

1. Create your inventory tracking product: Beef with 100 lbs inventory and hide it so customers cannot find it

2. Create your main product with 3 variants 5, 10, 20 lbs

3. Set Up Bundle Groups: Use the app to create Bundle groups that connect your Bundle product with your inventory tracking product. Here’s how to set up a bundle group for your product:

  • Master Product: 5 lbs beef variant

  • Component Product: Tracking Beef with the Quantity per Bundle set to 5

Do the same with 10 and 20 lbs variants

4. How It Works:

  • The inventory for your beef variant will be automatically calculated based on the tracking beef’s inventory

  • When 5 lbs beef variant is purchased, the inventory of tracking beef will be reduced by 5. The app will then recalculate the available quantities for your variants based on the updated tracking beef inventory, ensuring accurate inventory tracking.

This app is straightforward, and I believe it will work well for you. Reach out to Easify if you need any assistance! :blush:

6

Variants work but add more complexities for inventory, and SEO visibility. The search listing in Shopify always fetches the lowest variant price so it is not possible for Shopify to show a per-pound unit price in the SERPs. Better method: have separate products for each pack size, or add a custom metafield, and use Liquid to display “from $X/lb” pricing on product and collection templates.

7

Hello @TSolCG,

You can use MultiVariants-Bulk Order app to achieve this functionality.

MultiVariants has a feature called “Bundle Quantity” where you can set the quantities as 5lbs, 10lbs, and 20lbs. Also, the quantities will be shown in drop-down. The variants prices will also change according to the selected quantities.

bundle quantity demo
bundle quantity demo1594Ă—834 173 KB

If you want to check the demo product let me know.