WooCommerce is the one of the most reputed names among the commerce solutions. It is so popular that more than 23.43% of the total online stores have been built with WooCommerce! It offers some interesting and useful tools for managing a product store. However, we have seen that many users become confused about using these features. WooCommerce covers a vast range of product types, this is an untapped opportunity for many stores.
In this blog, we will give you a clear idea about “Product Types” in WooCommerce store. Besides, we will give you some advice on how you can make your business more profitable by adding variations in your product store.
WooCommerce Product Types You Can Create for Your eCommerce Store
Here are the WooCommerce product types you can create for your eCommerce store-
- Simple Product
- Grouped Product
- Variable Product
- Virtual Product
- Downloadable Product
- Subscription Product
- Bookable Product
- Auction Products
- Membership Products
- Composite Products
- Bundle Products
- External/Affiliate Products
Now, lets see the details-
Simple Product
This is the most commonly uploaded product types in an WooCommerce store. It is a stand-alone physical product that you need to ship to your customers. For example, it can be furniture or television set that you want to sell. Remember, the products must not vary in properties and other value additions for the customers. You just need to assign a price and define SKU as per your requirement.
Grouped Product
It refers to a collection or cluster of products the customers can buy separately. It consists of multiple simple products. Suppose you have a winter wear collection which includes several cloths and shoes. You can group it as “Stylish Winterwear Collection” and add all the items here. Your customers will be able to check the collection page as grouped product. Then if they want to view details, it will redirect them to the respective pages of simple products.
Variable Product
If you have different variations of a certain brand or product line, you should enlist it as Variable Product. Say for example, you want to sell a phone which comes in multiple options like color and memory size. So you can create a product by the name, and then add 8gb, 16gb, 32gb, blue, red what ever choices it can have. Each variation can have its own price as well. So you can set the price, code, color and other specifications according to your convenience!
Virtual Product
As the name suggests, virtual product are not tangible and it does not require to be shipped. Basically, virtual products can be any services delivered through digital channels. For example, if you want to provide article translation or animation services to your customers, you should set the product type as “virtual product”.
Downloadable Product
Downloadable product are basically premium contents that are sold as a downloadable file with an URL. These contents can be article, photo album, digital magazine, music and so on. Interestingly, WooCommerce has kept the option available to ship downloadable products. As a store owner, this is an opportunity for you! You can offer a packaged version of the downloadable product as a DVD and bring in more money.
Subscription Product
Subscription products type is one of the newest addition to WooCommerce. It is applicable for any type of product that requires customers to pay according to common subscription model. For example, you can open up a club for Violin lessons. How do you monetize through it? You can offer restricted contents to the subscribers of this club, which in this case, is a “subscription product”. You can set a sign up fee for the customers which they will have to pay one time. Then you can add your desired subscription price for a specific time range. It can be per day, per week, per month or even per year.
Bookable Product
Apart from all the aforementioned product types, WooCommerce has a booking plugin for selling bookable product. So what is exactly a bookable product? It can be any simple or virtual product that is sold on specific time or appointment basis. You, as a seller, can define when your booking is available. You also have the control to approve or disapprove the booking request of your customers.
To know more about how you can create a bookable product in WooCommerce, read this doc.
Auction Products
Auction products turn your WooCommerce store into an auction site. Customers can place bids on items, and the highest bid at the end of the auction wins. You can set a starting bid, bid increments, and a reserve price.
Plugins like “WooCommerce Simple Auctions” can add this functionality to your store.
Membership Products
Membership products allow you to create membership plans for your site. These plans can grant access to premium content, exclusive discounts, or special services. For example, you can offer a “Premium Membership” that provides access to members-only blog posts and a private forum. Plugins like “WooCommerce Memberships” are used to create these products.
Composite Products
Composite products are used to create customizable products made up of multiple components. For instance, if you're selling a custom-built computer, customers can select different components such as CPU, RAM, and storage. Each component can have multiple options, allowing for a highly personalized product. The “WooCommerce Composite Products” plugin facilitates this type of product.
Bundle Products
Bundle products are similar to grouped products but with a key difference: they are sold as a package at a discounted price. For example, a “Back to School Bundle” might include a backpack, notebooks, and pens, sold together at a lower price than buying each item separately. WooCommerce offers this functionality through the “Product Bundles” extension.
External/Affiliate Products
External or affiliate products let you list items that are sold on another website. These products are perfect for affiliate marketers. Instead of adding a product to the cart, the customer is redirected to the external site to complete the purchase. This can be easily set up in WooCommerce by selecting the “External/Affiliate” product type when adding a new product.
Manage and Create Product From Frontend Using Dokan Multivendor Plugin
But what if you are running a multi-vendor e-commerce business instead? The safest bet is to go for Dokan!
Dokan is the most complete multi-vendor eCommerce solution powered by WooCommerce. With Dokan, you can allow the vendors to manage their stores from the frontend. Similar to the users of WooCommerce, Dokan vendors have full liberty to create any kind of product with ease. It is very useful for vendors who are looking for ways to grow their business by offering wide range of products!