The evolution of product management in Shopify: from manual merging to AI-powered solutions

In the world of e-commerce, efficiently managing your product catalog is crucial for success. For Shopify merchants, the decision between merging products into variants and bundling them has long been a topic of debate. While merging offers numerous advantages, the process has traditionally been fraught with challenges. However, with the advent of AI-powered solutions like Merges, the landscape is changing dramatically.

The challenges of manual product merging

Historically, merging existing Shopify products, especially those with single variants, has been an extremely time-consuming and error-prone process. Merchants faced a daunting list of tasks:

• Copying and pasting large amounts of data from original products to the merged product

• Reuploading pictures and other media

• Removing duplicates and reassigning them to the correct variant

• Manually updating inventory items

• Creating redirects from original products to the merged product

• Archiving old products

• Creating different options and variants based on specific properties

• Cleaning titles and descriptions to remove variant-specific references

Some merchants attempted to streamline this process by exporting data to Excel sheets, manually manipulating the data, and then reimporting it. However, this approach still required significant time and effort, including the need to reupload images.These challenges led many merchants to opt for product bundling instead, despite the limitations it presented.

The game-changer: AI-powered merging with Merges

Enter Merges, an innovative Shopify app that harnesses the power of AI to revolutionize the product merging process. Merges automates all of the above tasks, dramatically reducing the time and effort required to consolidate products into variants. This AI-driven approach eliminates human error and ensures a smooth, efficient merging process.

Additional benefits of merged products

Beyond the advantages mentioned earlier, merging products using a tool like Merges offers several other significant benefits:

Seamless storefront integration

One of the most substantial advantages of merging products is that it requires no modifications to your storefront. The merged products integrate seamlessly with your existing store design and functionality, maintaining a consistent user experience.

Full POS compatibility

Unlike bundled products, merged products with variants are fully compatible with Shopify's Point of Sale (POS) system. This compatibility ensures a unified inventory and sales process across both online and offline channels, which is crucial for businesses operating in both spaces.

Future-proof with expanded variant capabilities

Merges is prepared to support up to 2000 variants and more than 3 options per product. This capability aligns with Shopify's upcoming feature rollout, which has already begun for selected shops and is expected to be fully available by early 2025. By using Merges, merchants can future-proof their product catalog and be ready to take advantage of these expanded capabilities as soon as they're available.

Implementing AI-powered merging in your Shopify store

To leverage the power of AI for product merging:

1. Install the Merges app from the Shopify App Store.

2. Select the products you want to merge.

3. Let the AI analyze your products and suggest the best merging strategy.

4. Review and approve the suggested changes.

5. Let Merges handle the complex process of merging, including data transfer, image management, and inventory updates.

By utilizing AI-powered tools like Merges, you can enjoy all the benefits of merged products without the traditional headaches associated with the process.

Conclusion

While the advantages of merging products into variants have always been clear, the process has traditionally been challenging and time-consuming. With the introduction of AI-powered solutions like Merges, Shopify merchants can now easily consolidate their product catalogs, improving organization, enhancing the customer experience, and boosting SEO performance.As Shopify continues to evolve, offering expanded variant capabilities and improved product management features, tools like Merges ensure that merchants can stay ahead of the curve. By embracing these AI-driven solutions, you can create a more efficient, user-friendly, and future-proof Shopify store that's poised for success in the competitive e-commerce landscape.

Remember, while AI-powered merging offers numerous benefits, it's essential to consider your specific product range and customer needs when deciding on your product management strategy. For some stores, a combination of merged products and strategic bundling might still be the optimal solution to maximize sales and customer satisfaction.

Frequently asked questions

1. What are the advantages of merging Shopify products into variants?
   Merging Shopify products into variants offers several advantages:
   • Improved product organization
   • Enhanced customer experience
   • Better SEO performance
   • Simplified inventory management
   • More efficient marketing campaigns

   
   

2. How does merging Shopify products improve SEO?
   Merging Shopify products improves SEO by:
   • Concentrating SEO value on one comprehensive product page
   • Reducing duplicate content across multiple similar product pages
   • Improving search engine rankings for the consolidated product
   • Driving more organic traffic to a single, optimized product listing

   
   

3. What is the Merges app for Shopify?
   Merges is an AI-powered Shopify app that automates the process of merging products into variants. It handles tasks such as:
   • Consolidating product data
   • Managing product images
   • Updating inventory items
   • Creating redirects from original products
   • Cleaning titles and descriptions

   
   

4. How does merging products compare to bundling in Shopify?
   Merging products offers several advantages over bundling:
   • Greater flexibility for customers to choose specific variants
   • Simplified order processing as a single item
   • More accurate inventory tracking for each variant
   • Full compatibility with Shopify POS
   • No modifications required on the storefront

   
   

5. What are the benefits of using AI to merge Shopify products?
   Using AI to merge Shopify products offers several benefits:
   • Saves time and reduces manual effort
   • Minimizes errors in the merging process
   • Ensures consistency across product data
   • Optimizes product listings for better visibility
   • Allows for easy scaling of product catalogs