Variations (also known as parent-child relationships) are sets of products that are related to one another. Good variation relationship listings allow buyers to compare and choose products based on different attributes such as size, color, or other characteristics from the available options on a single product detail page. For example, a customer searching for a short sleeved T-shirt might click on a product detail page for a shirt that comes in three sizes (Small, Medium, and Large), and three colors (Blue, Red, Black). Rather than a cluttered view of all possible color and size combinations, the customer can select the preferred size, and choose the color from the three available color variations.
Examples of good variation families are:
Here is an example of how a variation appears to customers:
There are three components to a parent-child relationship:
The listing displayed only in the Seller Central’s search results. Amazon catalog uses the parent listing to establish relationships between the child products. For example, if 2 shirts have the same parent, then they are related and are considered child products.
The child product is an instance of the parent product. You can have many child products that are all related to one parent product. Each child varies in some way, for example, by size or by color.
The variation theme defines how related products differ from each other. Depending on the category chosen to list your products, variation themes also vary. For example, in the Clothing, Accessories & Luggage category, child products can differ from each other by size or color, or package quantity; and child listings in Pet Supplies category can differ in flavor, scent, quantity, etc.
The following examples illustrate relationship listings in different product categories: