A product attribute is a named field that describes a characteristic of a product. Attributes are defined on a product family and automatically apply to every product in that family.
For example, the “Apparel” family might define attributes for Size, Color, Material, and Care Instructions. Every product created in that family will have fields for all four attributes, ensuring a consistent data structure across your catalog.
Attribute Types
Each attribute has a type that determines what kind of data it stores and how it appears in the interface:
| Type | What it stores | Example attributes | Interface |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Free-form text of any length | “Description”, “Care Instructions”, “Country of Origin” | A text input or text area |
| Number | A numeric value (integer or decimal) | “Weight (kg)”, “Thread Count”, “Voltage”, “Length (cm)” | A number input |
| Boolean | A yes/no toggle | “Is Waterproof”, “Is Organic”, “Requires Assembly” | A checkbox |
| Date | A calendar date | “Release Date”, “Expiry Date”, “Manufacture Date” | A date picker |
| Select | One choice from a predefined list of options | “Color” (Red, Blue, Green), “Material” (Cotton, Polyester, Silk) | A dropdown menu |
| Multi-Select | Multiple choices from a predefined list | “Features” (Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS), “Certifications” (CE, FCC, RoHS) | A multi-select dropdown |
Choose the type that best matches the data. Select and Multi-Select are particularly important because they enforce consistent values — instead of users typing “red”, “Red”, “RED”, and “rouge”, everyone picks from the same list.
Variant Attributes
An attribute can be flagged as a variant attribute. This is the key to Beelocity’s automatic variant generation for configurable products.
How Variant Generation Works
When a configurable product is created, Beelocity generates one variant for every combination of the family’s variant attributes (the Cartesian product). For example:
- Family “Clothing” has two variant attributes:
- Size — options: S, M, L, XL
- Color — options: Red, Blue, Green
- A new configurable product “Basic T-Shirt” automatically gets 12 variants:
| Variant | Size | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Red | S | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Blue | S | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — S/Green | S | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Red | M | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Blue | M | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — M/Green | M | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Red | L | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Blue | L | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — L/Green | L | Green |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Red | XL | Red |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Blue | XL | Blue |
| Basic T-Shirt — XL/Green | XL | Green |
Each variant is an independent, sellable, and stockable item with its own SKU, barcode, price adjustment, and inventory level.
Variant vs. Non-Variant Attributes
| Variant attributes | Non-variant attributes | |
|---|---|---|
| Set on | Each individual variant | The product itself (shared across all variants) |
| Drives generation | Yes — each combination creates a variant | No |
| Example | Size, Color | Material, Care Instructions, Weight |
Non-variant attributes describe the product as a whole. “Material: Cotton” applies to all 12 variants of the T-Shirt — you do not need to set it separately on each one.
Important Considerations
- Only Select type attributes can be variant attributes, because variant generation needs a finite list of options to create combinations.
- The number of variants grows multiplicatively. 4 sizes × 3 colors = 12 variants. Add a third variant attribute with 5 options and you get 4 × 3 × 5 = 60 variants. Be mindful of this when defining variant attributes.
Finding an Attribute
The Attribute Definitions page lists every attribute in the organization. The filter button beside the search box narrows it by Type, and by whether an attribute is Required or a Variant attribute — “every Select that drives variants” is two picks (see Working with lists).
Creating Attributes
Attributes are created and managed on the family level:
- Go to a product family and click Manage Attributes.
- Click New.
- Fill in:
- Name — a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “Color”, “Weight (kg)”, “Is Waterproof”).
- Type — choose from Text, Number, Boolean, Date, Select, or Multi-Select.
- Variant attribute — check this if the attribute should drive variant generation for configurable products.
- Required — check this if the attribute must be filled in when creating a product. Required attributes cannot be left blank.
- For Select and Multi-Select types, define the available options — the list of values users can choose from (e.g., “Red”, “Blue”, “Green” for a Color attribute).
- Save.
Tips
- Name attributes clearly — “Weight” is ambiguous. “Weight (kg)” tells users both what the attribute is and what unit to use. “Color” is fine because it is self-evident.
- Use Select over Text when possible — if an attribute has a known set of valid values, make it a Select. This prevents inconsistent data entry and enables filtering. “Material” with options (Cotton, Polyester, Silk) is better than a free-text “Material” field where everyone types differently.
- Be conservative with variant attributes — only mark an attribute as a variant attribute if you genuinely need separate SKUs and stock levels for each combination. If “Material” does not affect pricing or inventory (you stock the same product regardless of material), it should not be a variant attribute.
- Plan attributes before creating products — changing a family’s attributes after products exist is possible, but existing products will have empty values for new attributes. It is smoother to finalize your attribute structure first.