Product Variant
A version of a product that differs by an option like size or color but shares the same base product listing.
What is Product Variant?
A product variant is a specific version of a product that differs from its siblings by one or more options (like size, color, or storage capacity) while still belonging to the same overall product listing. A pair of running shoes sold in six sizes and three colors is one product with up to eighteen variants; a shopper picks a variant, not an abstract product, when they actually buy.
Why it matters
Structured data and most ecommerce platforms model this parent-child relationship explicitly: schema.org uses a ProductGroup to represent the shared listing, with a variesBy property declaring which characteristics (size, color) distinguish the variants, and hasVariant linking to each individual Product. Google's product structured-data guidelines specifically recommend this ProductGroup pattern so search results can show one entry with size and color pickers rather than dozens of near-duplicate listings. Getting variant grouping wrong, for example giving every color its own untagged listing, is a common cause of product duplication issues in search results and shopping feeds.