Product Relationships
Product relationships are links between products in a catalog, such as accessories, cross-sells, upsells, substitutes, spare parts, bundles and variants.
What is Product Relationships?
Product relationships are links between products in a catalog that say how one product relates to another: an accessory that fits it, a better version, a replacement, a spare part, or a variant of the same product. These product-to-product relationships power the "related products" and "frequently bought with" blocks on product pages. The common types are cross-sells (a case for a phone), upsells (the model with more storage), substitutes (a similar item when one is out of stock), accessories and spare parts (a filter for a vacuum cleaner), bundles (a camera kit), and variants (the same shirt in other sizes and colors). Variants are a special case: they share one parent product and differ only in a few attributes, while the other types link separate products. For how to model the parent-child case, read the guide to variant management.
Why Product Relationships matters for e-commerce
Well-chosen product relationships help shoppers find what they need without searching again. Someone buying a printer needs the right cartridges; someone looking at a sold-out jacket wants a similar one in stock. When those links are missing or wrong, shoppers leave or order an accessory that does not fit, which leads to returns. Relationships also raise order value in a way shoppers appreciate, because the suggestion is useful rather than random. And they help with search: internal links between related product pages make it easier for search engines to find and understand your catalog.
Examples of Product Relationships
- 1Product: Smartphone 128 GB, Relationship: Cross-sell, Linked product: Protective case and screen protector
- 2Product: Smartphone 128 GB, Relationship: Upsell, Linked product: Same phone with 256 GB
- 3Product: Bagless vacuum cleaner, Relationship: Spare part, Linked product: Replacement HEPA filter
- 4Product: Running jacket (sold out), Relationship: Substitute, Linked product: Similar jacket from another brand
- 5Product: Cotton T-shirt, Relationship: Variant, Linked product: Same T-shirt in navy, size M
How WISEPIM Helps
- Manage variants under one parent product in WISEPIM, so sizes and colors stay linked instead of becoming separate products.
- Product families group products that share attributes, which makes it easier to see which items belong together.
- Bulk editing lets you update shared fields on a whole group of related products at once.
- Cross-sell analytics shows which products customers buy together, a useful starting point for choosing cross-sells.
- Opt-in auto-sync keeps variant data current on supported platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento 2 about 30 seconds after you save.
Common mistakes with Product Relationships
- Linking accessories that do not fit the product, which leads to returns.
- Showing the same generic bestsellers as related products on every page.
- Keeping links to discontinued or sold-out products.
- Setting up relationships in only one direction, so the case links to the phone but not the other way around.
- Turning variants into separate products, so shoppers cannot switch size or color on one page.
Tips for Product Relationships
- Start with accessories and spare parts for your bestsellers, where a wrong or missing link costs the most.
- Use compatibility attributes (model numbers, sizes, connectors) rather than free-text notes.
- Review links when products are discontinued and replace them with current items.
- Model sizes and colors as variants of one parent, not as related products.
- Check purchase data to find pairs customers already buy together.
Trends around Product Relationships
- Recommendation engines that combine manual links with purchase and browsing data.
- Compatibility data, such as which spare part fits which model, stored as structured attributes.
- Bundles built automatically from products that are often bought together.
- Relationships exported to marketplaces and feeds, for example variant groups for Google Shopping.
- AI shopping assistants that use relationship data to answer questions like what fits this product.
Tools for Product Relationships
- Shopify: offers product recommendations and a Search and Discovery app to set complementary products.
- Magento 2 (Adobe Commerce): has built-in related products, upsells and cross-sells per product.
- WooCommerce: lets you set upsells and cross-sells on each product's linked products tab.
- Akeneo: a PIM with association types such as cross-sell, upsell and pack.
- WISEPIM: a PIM with variants under a parent product, product families, bulk editing and cross-sell analytics.
Related Terms
Also Known As
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions?
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Please get in touch with our team.
Contact Support