Shopify Product Type vs. Collections: What's the Difference?
Learn how to differentiate between Shopify collections and Shopify product types for optimal information architecture.
Updated July 8, 2024.
When you're running a Shopify store, it's important to keep things organized so your customers can easily find what they're looking for. Shopify has a couple of ways to help you do this, but the terms they use can be a bit confusing—especially if you're new to the platform.
Two terms that often trip people up are "product type" and "collection." It's easy to mix them up or use them interchangeably, but doing so can lead to problems with your store's organization. To help clarify the confusion surrounding Shopify product type vs. collection, this article will explain what each one is, how they work, and when you should use them.
» Need help keeping your stock levels in sync? Discover how to optimize your inventory across multiple Shopify stores
What Is a Product Type in Shopify?
Every product in your Shopify store can have one standardized product type and one custom product type. You use these labels to categorize your products and keep your store organized. While product types are helpful, you don't need to use them. You can still run your store without them.
Standardized product types are ready-made options that you can pick from a list. On the other hand, you can create custom product types to fit your specific needs.
Product types are more useful to you as the store owner than to your customer—but your customer will benefit from product types because they create a more intuitive layout.
» Gain deeper insights into advanced inventory management. Find out how to create custom sort rules for Shopify product variants
Let's say you run a clothing store and want to organize your products even further. You can create a custom product type called "Belts" to group all your belts together. To make this work, you'll need to include the word "belt" in each relevant product's description. Shopify will then automatically categorize these products under the "Belts" product type.
Here's another example: if you have a clothing store, your product types might include "Skirts," "Pants," "Shirts," "Shoes," and "Dresses." These terms help you and your customers quickly find specific types of clothing without having to sift through your entire inventory.
How to Add Shopify Product Types
Now that you have a better understanding of a product type, here's a step-by-step guide to adding them to your store:
- Log into your Shopify admin panel.
- Click on Products and then Add a product.
- Fill out the product title and description and add a high-quality product image.
- Look for the Organization section on the right-hand side panel.
- Click on Product type within the Organization section.
- To create a new product type, type it into the field and hit enter.
- If you want to use an existing product type, simply select it from the drop-down menu.
» Discover more tips on how to effectively organize your products in Shopify
What Is a Collection in Shopify?
A Shopify collection is a way to group related products together, making it easier for customers to see their choices. Think of collections as pages that showcase a specific set of products.
For example, let's say you sell hats. You might create a collection called "Smart Hats" for your dressier options, another one called "Sports Caps" for your athletic headwear, and a third called "Beach Hats" for your sun-protection offerings.
Shopify allows you to group your products purely to make it easier for your customers to get what they need. It's all about organizing your store in a way that makes sense and helps people navigate your offerings. You can think of collections as a way to create a logical structure for your products, kind of like a map that guides customers to the right place. Some more examples of collections include "color," "size," "seasons," "discounted items," or even "gender."
» Know how to manage products on Shopify for better inventory organization
How to Add Shopify Collections
Now that you understand what collections are used for, here is a step-by-step guide to adding a new collection within your eCommerce Shopify store:
- Go to the Products section in your Shopify admin.
- Click the Create collection button.
- On the new page, click Add product to select the products you want to include in your collection.
- Drag and drop the products to change their order, or use the Sort feature to arrange them automatically.
- Give your collection a clear, descriptive title and description.
- Click Save to create your new collection.
- Repeat the process whenever you want to create a new collection to showcase your products.
» Learn the difference between Shopify categories vs. collections and how to organize collections on Shopify
Should You Use Both Product Types and Collections in Shopify?
You should absolutely use both product types and collections in Shopify. They serve different purposes and work together to create a well-organized and user-friendly store for you and your customers. Here's a breakdown:
Why Add Shopify Product Types
- Categorizes your products in a way that makes sense for you
- Simplifies tasks like managing stock levels, filtering products by specific criteria, and creating targeted reports
- You can create custom product types to fit your specific needs—beyond the standard Shopify categories
Why Add Shopify Collections
- You can create collections based on various factors like theme, season, product type, or even occasion
- Customers can use them to quickly find their desired items
- Perfect for launching targeted marketing campaigns
» Expand your product offerings. Discover the major benefits of creating sub-collections in Shopify
The difference between product types and collections is subtle and sometimes difficult to explain to new eCommerce store owners. Put simply, you would use collections to make your customers' lives easier. Collections are like signposts in your store that point shoppers towards the products they want.
Product types, on the other hand, are more for your own benefit as the store owner. They're a way to categorize your products behind the scenes based on shared characteristics.
By combining product types for internal organization and collections for customer navigation, you'll:
- Boost efficiency: Product types make it easier to manage your inventory. You can quickly see how many items you have in each category, making it easy to track stock levels and reorder when needed.
- Improve usability: You can create a user-friendly shopping experience with clear and well-organized collections.
- Drive more sales: Collections help you showcase your products in a way that's appealing and intuitive, which can lead to higher sales and happier customers.
» Need to improve navigation? Learn how to leverage multiple tags in Shopify for faster collection filtering
Using Inventories to Further Refine Your Store
In addition to keeping your product catalog organized, you need to manage and track your inventory so you can fill orders smoothly within your eCommerce store. When you've got a good handle on your inventory, you can keep your customers happy and avoid any frustration that comes from stock-related issues.
You may need inventory management software to track stock levels, adjust quantities, and monitor order fulfillment. And if you're running more than one Shopify store, you might want to check out multi-store inventory management. This lets you sync up your inventory across all your stores so you can keep tabs on your stock, returns, and out-of-stock items no matter where you're selling.
» Boost your sales with strategic product placement. Find out what types of products are best sellers on Shopify
Synchronize Products and Collections Between Stores
You can automatically synchronize stock levels, product availability, and product collections across all of your Shopify stores with Multi-Store Sync Power.
Learn more about how Multi-Store Sync Power can help you create and update collections in multiple Shopify stores at once:
Take It One Product at a Time
For you to use collections and product types correctly, it's best to map your store out on paper before setting it up in Shopify. Make sure you have thought it through properly so that your layout makes logical sense. It might take a bit of time, but it will be worth the effort in the long run. Here are some tips that'll assist you with determining how many products you can start out with.
» Boost your store's visibility. Learn how Shopify product handles can enhance your SEO and increase rankings
