Product Attributes: What Are They and Why They Matter

Every product listed online has a set of attributes or characteristics that help describe it. These attributes are known as product attributes.

Product attributes include every detail of a product, such as its color, design, size, etc., depending on the type of product. These details help ecommerce merchants showcase their products more effectively on their storefronts and allow customers to understand whether a particular product will suit their needs or not.

Since online shoppers cannot physically experience your products, they rely entirely on the information displayed on product detail pages. Therefore, it is important that you create well-defined attributes for your products that guide your customers and help them make confident purchasing decisions.

To streamline this process, many businesses now use ecommerce automation software to automatically generate, manage, and optimize product attributes across their catalogs—saving time and reducing errors.

But to create product attributes? What’s the exact process, and what are the actual benefits of investing your efforts in creating these attributes?

We have created this guide to answer all these questions. In this blog, we will discuss product attributes, their types, examples, etc., in detail. We will also cover other important topics, such as how you can create attributes for your products and why product attributes are important for marketing and selling.

By the time you finish reading this article, you will have a clear understanding of product attributes and how you can use them to improve your product’s presentation online.

Bonus: Jump directly to the ‘Product Attributes Examples’ section.

What Are Product Attributes? 

Product attributes are the characteristics and qualities of a product that help define it. These attributes help your product stand out in a crowded market by clearly communicating what makes your product unique or valuable. Since these attributes help to provide important information about your product to the customer, they have a significant role in influencing how consumers perceive your product. 

Generally, product attributes can be tangible, such as size, shape, color, etc., or intangible, such as quality or brand reputation.  

Where Do Product Attributes Appear? 

In the ecommerce industry, product attributes appear across different touchpoints of a customer’s journey, which include: 

1. Product Detail Pages: On these pages, a customer can easily view different product attributes for an item, such as size, color, weight, material, etc. (depending on the product type). 
2. Product Search Result Pages: Whenever you search for products on any marketplace like Facebook, Google Shopping, or even an ecommerce platform like Walmart, the results are displayed with product attributes. These attributes appear within the product listings. 

Here’s an example of Walmart: 

3. Marketing and Advertising Campaigns: You can also view product attributes in ad campaigns as well as other marketing campaigns for any product run across platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. 

For example, in this Google Shopping ad, you can view different product attributes like color, size, etc. 

This helps a customer quickly analyze what’s being offered and if they should click on this Google product listing ad and visit your website to explore the product further. 

4. Product Packing: A product’s packaging also includes its attributes. For example, you can view different attributes of a food item, such as its flavor, price, etc.
5. Checkout Pages: Some attributes also appear during the checkout stages or in the shipping section. These attributes can include the ‘estimated delivery date’, ‘packaging type’, etc. 

Note: As mentioned at the beginning of this section, we have discussed where product attributes appear from a customer’s perspective. Moreover, you should also note that we covered the e-commerce industry in the section above.  Different industries display these attributes in different ways that are suitable for how their customers interact with the product. For example, in the manufacturing or automotive sectors, you will also be able to see product attributes in product manuals, spec sheets, etc.  In the food industry, you can view the details of any food item on labels and packaging material.

Types of Product Attributes  

Let’s understand the different types of product attributes used in the e-commerce industry.

Tangible Product Attributes 

The tangible attributes of a product are those characteristics that a customer can easily view, weigh, touch, or measure.

Tangible attributes aren’t difficult to identify on a product listing page. For example, while shopping for a t-shirt online, you would see different attributes such as its color, size, fabric type, etc. Well, these measurable and visible traits are tangible attributes of that product.

Common tangible attributes include:

• Color
• Size
• Shape
• Weight
• Material
• Packaging

Intangible Product Attributes 

As you would guess, intangible product attributes are the polar opposite of tangible attributes. These refer to features that you cannot directly see or measure for a product. But even though these attributes are non-physical, they influence your perspective regarding the product.

Examples of intangible attributes include:

• Brand trust
• Product Quality
• Company reputation
• Customer experience
• Aesthetic appeal
• Social value

Emotional Attributes

Emotional attributes form a subcategory of intangible attributes. As the name suggests, these attributes are mainly associated with how customers connect with your brand emotionally.

Emotional attributes don’t reflect how your product looks or how it functions. Rather, these reflect what a customer feels about your brand or what it represents to them.

Emotional attributes can include:

• Loyalty built over time
• Values like sustainability
• Cruelty-free or ethical practices
• Feelings of nostalgia or comfort
• Brand personality or tone
  

Functional Attributes 

Functional attributes help inform the customer how well your product performs its job. These attributes can include durability, power, speed, etc. 

It’s important to note that some functional attributes are tangible (material strength, sturdiness of a product), while others are intangible such as (user-friendliness, etc.) 

Examples of functional attributes include:

• Durability
• Speed 
• Power or strength
• Battery life or usage time
• Ease of use
• Performance reliability

15+ Product Attributes Examples and Their Importance 

Now, we will be looking at some of the most common product attributes that are applicable in the e-commerce industry. 

Note: Not all product attributes are directly added to the product feed. Some attributes like quality are often shown through ratings or badges. Others, like country of origin, may be displayed separately or only when required by certain marketplaces.

Product Name

The first and foremost attribute is the product name. It helps you set your product and brand apart from your competitors. 
A product name can also include other important details, such as the name of your brand, product type, trademarks, etc. 

Example: Zamora Jogger Scrub Pants™

Important Note: On some channels like Google Shopping, the product name is treated as the product attribute title [title].

Brand Name

Then comes the brand name, which basically denotes the name of a company or manufacturer that is selling the product. 

You can view brand names more often in product titles on marketplaces and e-commerce platforms. Some platforms also showcase brand names in advertisements. 

Example: As we can see, in Google Shopping ads, brand names are clearly highlighted like this:

Description 

The description attribute allows a seller to explain their products in a clear, detailed, and simple manner. With this attribute, sellers can highlight all the important information about their product, such as: 

1. The core functionality of the product 
2. Any technical or non-technical features 
3. Benefits to the customer 

When leveraged correctly, the description attribute can help you as a seller to build trust with your customers. This is because, with a detailed product description, you can answer all the common buyer questions upfront which will reduce confusion about your product and reduce returns. 

Example: 

Price

The price attribute refers to the selling price of the product. It is based on different factors like the quality and features of the products you are offering to the end customer. 

Example: 

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) 

The Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a unique identifier for products that sellers use for tracking and managing their inventory internally. Usually, SKUs are a combination of numbers and letters and can also include the product name, size, etc. 

Example: While SKUs are mainly used for internal use, and aren’t visible to consumers who are shopping online, some brands display SKUs on their stores. This can help customers quickly reference or reorder the item. It also helps customer service teams resolve order-related issues faster.

Take the example of this Kit + Ace Tee, which shows the product’s SKU. 

Barcodes 

Talking about the list of important product attributes, we can’t skip on Barcodes. 

Barcodes are printed symbols that include a set of black and white lines that store important data such as a product’s GTIN (Global Trade Item Number.) These codes are useful for multiple use cases, such as managing inventory, identifying products, and data tracking. 

Barcodes are part of the GS1 system, and some of the most common types of barcodes include:

• UPC-A (used in North America): contains a GTIN-12
• EAN-13 (used outside North America): contains a GTIN-13
• EAN-8 (for small items): includes a GTIN-8
• ITF-14 (for grouped products or cartons): This includes a GTIN-14

With this knowledge in place, there are some important things that you must note: 

On different platforms, the way barcodes are denoted and used differs. 

• For example, Shopify denotes barcodes as GTINs. Thus, in order to submit your barcode information to Shopify, you will need to provide a GTIN, UPC, ISBN, or any other valid identifier for your product. 
• Whereas on Google Shopping, a valid GS1 barcode is a GTIN. This means that if your physical item has a valid GS1 barcode stamped on the product by the brand or manufacturer, then you will have to submit the GTIN to the Google Merchant Center. But in other cases, you can skip submitting GTIN by setting the identifier_exists attribute to ‘no.’  

Example: 

As we can see, this is how a GTIN is submitted in a product feed (via Google Sheets) on the Merchant Center: 

After an extensive discussion on product identifiers, barcodes, etc., you should deepen your understanding of these concepts from these blogs:  How to Buy UPC Codes for Amazon: A Complete Guide with Tips GTIN vs UPC: What’s the Difference between these Codes? How To Fix GTIN errors on Google Merchant Center & Shopify?

Product Category 

The product category attribute is important to help online e-commerce platforms, comparison shopping engines, and marketplaces understand what type of products you are selling. 

Based on the product category that you submit for an item (on the respective marketplace or platform), your product will be assigned a proper and relevant category so that it appears for relevant queries, filters, or even ads. 

Example: As we discussed already, marketplaces and e-commerce platforms have their own systems to define product categories. 

• For example, on Facebook, you will have to use Facebook Product Category (FPC) to represent your items on the platform as per Facebook’s product taxonomy.  

If you want to sell Mascara on Facebook, then you will have to provide its taxonomy path such as Health & Beauty > Beauty > Makeup > Eye Makeup > Mascara) or the category ID number, such as 281.

• On the other hand, Amazon has its own set of product categories, such as Amazon Kindly, Baby Products, Video Games, etc., that you must define when creating your product listings. 

Take the example from the image below:

The product “Indiana Jones and the Great Circle” is listed for PlayStation 5. Its path on Amazon is:

Video Games > PlayStation 5 > Games.

This highlights that it is listed under the main product category of Video Games, a subcategory of PlayStation 5. This ensures that the game will appear correctly when a shopper applies filters related to console, game type, etc.

Quality 

Quality attributes reflect how valuable and reliable your product is. These are often based on the materials, components, or ingredients used to, how well your product performs, how much durable it is, and even how it’s presented on your site or e-commerce platform to customers. 

Example:

Let’s consider the example of this product from IT Cosmetics. They have reflected the CC+ cream product’s high-quality successfully with the help of both visual and textual information shared on their product detail page. 

• First they have highlighted that their product is the #1 SPF foundation in the USA, backed by a reputable source which is Circana’s study. This acts as a strong trust builder, and also shows the brand’s authority and high customer satisfaction. 
• Their average rating of 4.4 stars from more than 13,000 reviews shows that customers love their products because of their high quality. 
• Apart from that, IT Cosmetics has also highlighted that their CC+ cream includes an anti-aging hydrating serum that offers additional skincare benefits and not just makeup coverage. 

Color

The color attribute will highlight the main color options available for your product. It’s important to note that this attribute will only apply to some specific industries such as fashion, accessories, electronics, etc. 

However, for other industries like food, the color attribute won’t be relevant. 

Example: As we can see for this Levi’s Women’s Jeans, the color attribute has been used to highlight the three main colors of the product: 

Size 

The size attribute will denote the dimensions or capability of the product. 

It’s important to note that this attribute and its values will vary depending on the industry. For apparel, the size attribute can be “S/M/L,” denoting small, medium, and large sizes. 

Whereas for a shampoo bottle, the size can be “100ML” or even “12oz.” 

Example: The sizes for this Rosemary Mint Hair Care Bundle are available in milliliters. 

Material 

The material highlights what the product is made of. Again, this can vary depending on the product you are buying. For example, if you are buying jeans, you might see the fabric type, such as cotton. 

Whereas if you are purchasing a mobile phone case, the material can be silicone, leather, plastic, etc. 

Example: 

Country of Origin

This attribute is important to inform the customers about your product’s quality and authenticity. 

Including this attribute can be helpful to improve your conversion rates as many customers are often interested in buying products from a certain country that is known for its expertise in manufacturing specific products. 

Example: 

While exploring this leather bag from Floto, we found that they have mentioned the country of origin in the product description. 

Design 

The design product attribute defines the overall look and feel of your product. This attribute can cover both aesthetic elements (like shape, color, etc.) and functional elements (like size, layout, and usability).

Example: We will consider the example of an HP Laptop. 

According to the product page of this HP Envy Laptop 17, its design elements include: 

• 17-inch edge-to-edge touchscreen display
• Made with ocean-bound plastic
• Includes recycled metal in its design
• Uses post-consumer recycled plastic
• Designed to appeal to eco-conscious customers

Gender 

If your product varies by gender, then you need to submit the gender attribute as well. This helps e-commerce platforms or marketplaces to show your product listing or ad to the right audience. 

Additionally, the gender attribute is important to ensure that your products appear in the results when shoppers apply gender-based filters. 

Example: 

On Amazon, first, we go to the “Shop by Department” section on the left-hand side of the menu. Within that, we will select the “Men’s Fashion” > “Clothing” category. Once Amazon displays product results, we apply the gender filter “Unisex.” 

Based on those applied filters, we get to see the “Arm Sleeves for both Men and Women” product listing at the top. 

Once you click on it and scroll down to the “Product details” section in “Department,” you will find that the product was listed as “Unisex Adult.” 

This highlights that while creating the apparel listing, the manufacturer had selected valid values for the ‘Target Gender’ attribute as per Amazon’s official requirements. As a result, after we applied the unisex filter, this product showed up at the top. 

Note: The example that we discussed above was specific to Amazon. But submitting the gender [gender] attribute is important even for other marketplaces or shopping engines like Google Shopping.

Age Group 

Next, you will also have to mention which demographic your product is intended for. The age group attribute can help you do this. 

However, it’s important to check the specific marketplace requirements while preparing your product feed and submitting the age group attribute. 

For example, for the Facebook marketplace, the age group attribute is optional. However, for Google shopping ads, the age group attribute is required in some specific cases, such as advertising your apparel products in countries like the US, Brazil, the UK, etc (as per Google’s official page.) 

Additionally, even the supported values for the age group product attribute vary depending on the platform. 

Facebook supports these values: adult, all ages, teen, kids, toddler, infant, and newborn. 

Whereas, Google Shopping supports the following values: Newborn [newborn], Infant [infant], Toddler [toddler], Kids [kids], and Adult [adult].

Example: The same Amazon arm sleeves listing we talked about for the gender attribute also shows how the age group attribute was used correctly.

When we scrolled to the Product Details section, the product was listed under the department “Unisex Adult.” This means the seller had selected the proper age group value while setting up the listing.

According to Amazon’s guidelines, valid values for age groups include: Adult, Big Kid, Little Kid, Toddler, and Infant.

Since we were browsing the Men’s Fashion category, products here should ideally match the adult age group. And because this listing had “Unisex Adult” selected, it showed up in the right place with the right filters.

Note: We were able to confirm the conclusion shared above with the Amazon support team.

Availability

The availability or stock status attribute tells customers if the product they are currently viewing is in stock, low in stock, or out of stock. 

It plays an important role in helping you manage customer expectations better. 

Some common availability statuses that you can view on any e-commerce store include:

• In Stock
• Only X Available 
• Out of Stock
  

Example: While browsing this ergonomic computer chair on eBay, we found that it clearly reflects the usage of the availability attribute: 

Shipping

The shipping attribute enables you to inform your customers about the costs they will incur for the product to be delivered to their location. It is also used to share other important details, such as when the product will be delivered and which locations you currently support for shipping.

Example:
For the same ergonomic chair example that we considered above, we can also see that the seller has used the shipping attribute to reflect free shipping for customers located in Ontario, California, and the United States. 

Variant 

Sellers use the variant attribute to showcase specific versions of a product that come in different variations. While each product variant is slightly different from the others- in terms of color, size, etc. – it still belongs to the same product family. 

Example: 

This Colgate toothbrush has two different variants, as highlighted in the image below: 

Sustainability 

The sustainability attribute is used to highlight the eco-conscious and ethical value behind your products. This product information is mainly shared to appeal to those buyers who care about the ingredients of the product they are using, animal welfare, etc. 

Example: In the product shown below (Thrive Causemetics eye brightener stick), the seller clearly highlights multiple sustainability-related values such as:

• Vegan
• Cruelty-Free
• Formulated without Phthalates
• No Synthetic Fragrance

It is important to note that the list of e-commerce product attribute examples that we have discussed above isn’t exhaustive. But we have covered the most common types of product attributes. 

However, if you want to have a look at the complete list of product attributes in e-commerce, we are sharing a PDF file that is an extensive.

Importance of Product Attributes in E-Commerce 

Now, we will understand the importance of product attributes in detail. 

1. Help Customers Make Confident Buying Decisions: Statistics show that around 85% of shoppers say product details and images matter the most to them when they are buying a product online, as they cannot physically see or use the product. 

This highlights that if you, as a seller, showcase clear attributes on your product detail pages, then the chances of conversions will increase significantly. Product attributes help you provide extra information about your products beyond the surface-level details, which will help your buyers feel assured about the product they are going to purchase.

2. Improve Product Visibility in Marketing and Advertising Results: Product attributes also decide where your products appear in your marketing and advertising campaigns. 

Let’s consider the example of these two Google Shopping ads visible in the image below. 

One of the important reasons why Mugsy’s jeans ad appears in the first position ahead of Mavi’s is likely because of how the former uses product attributes. As visible in the screenshot above, Mugsy’s ad includes detailed information such as  “Extremely Comfy,” and even the exact size “33 / 34”, in their Google Shopping ad’s title. 

On the other hand, if you analyze Mavi’s ad, their title has fewer details, which can be one of the most likely reasons why it doesn’t show in the first position. This insight is also derived from the fact that while preparing product feeds for Google Shopping ads, Google always advises that your feed should be as comprehensive as possible while including all the required and optional attributes. 

2. Reduce Cart Abandonment: As per Convertcart’s page, 53% of online consumers in the US have a tendency to abandon their purchases if they don’t get answers (related to a product) to their questions.  

By adding product attributes to the items you display either on your website or any other ecommerce platform, you are ensuring that you give shoppers the information they are looking for right away. This information about your product will include size, dimensions, color, etc. 

3. Reduce Return Rates: In continuation of the previous point, if shoppers have all the important information about your product, they will be assured about purchasing the right item. There will not be any confusion related to your product, and shoppers will set clear expectations. 

This will ensure that there are fewer returns and happier customers. 

4. Build Long-Term Customer Trust and Encourage Repeat Purchase: 87% of customers are unlikely to make a repeat purchase if they are misguided with incorrect or inaccurate product information. 

Thus, creating and showing detailed and accurate product attributes will help you build long-term trust with your customers and also encourage them to visit your online store again and make a purchase. 

5. Support better inventory and catalog control: Adding attributes to your product can be helpful to track items by size, style, or category. This can ensure that your stock is always accurate and catalog updates are quick.

For example, if you want to update the price or stock status of all “Large” size T-shirts or “Blue” jeans, you don’t need to edit each product manually. You can simply apply changes in bulk based on shared attributes. This saves time, reduces human error, and keeps your catalog clean and up-to-date. 

6. Product Attributes Are Required to List Items on E-Commerce Platforms: Lastly, if you wish to sell on popular e-commerce platforms like Amazon, etc., then you will need to submit your products attributes for listing and advertising items on the respective platform. 

For example, if you want to sell a new product on Amazon that is currently not listed on the platform, you will have to create a fresh Amazon product listing. This listing should include all the necessary information and attributes, such as title, brand name, price, variations (like size or color), etc. These attributes will help build the product detail page that your shoppers see. 

Apart from Amazon, even if you decide to list your products on a comparison shopping engine (CSE) like Google Shopping, you will have to meet certain feed requirements. These Google Shopping feed requirements will require you to submit different attributes such as: 

7. Title [title]
8. Price [price]
9. Brand [brand]
10. GTIN [gtin]

Thus, if your goal is to implement a multichannel e-commerce strategy and expand to other platforms for marketing and selling your product, you will need to create product attributes as per the respective platform’s requirements. 

Product Attributes in Marketing 

Let’s discuss in detail how adding attributes to your products can help you improve your marketing efforts. 

1. Boost Visibility on E-Commerce Platforms 

You must also note that product attributes can also be used as filters on product category pages on e-commerce platforms like Amazon.

Through these filters, any customer can refine their e-commerce search results. This enables them to find the most suitable products which will cater to their needs.

Therefore, as a seller, it’s important for you to enrich your product data with attributes. This will help you ensure that whenever a shopper is refining the product results that the e-commerce platform displays, your product shows up at the top. This will improve its visibility and boost your conversions.

Let’s consider an example on Amazon.

First, in the ‘Shop by department’ menu, we select ‘Men’s Fashion’ and then ‘Shoes.’ 

Once the product results appear, we will refine them with filters.

The different filters that we apply include, Men’s Shoe Size: 9, Outer Material: Leather, Color: Black, etc.

Based on these filters, Amazon narrows the results and shows products such as the ‘Waterproof Steel Toe Boots For Men-6 Leather Moc Toe Work Boots’, which match these attributes. 

This highlights that products with clear and accurate attributes have a high chance of appearing at the top of e-commerce search results when filters are applied.

On the other hand, if, let’s say, your Amazon products are not optimized with attributes, they will fail to appear at the top of Amazon product results even if they match all a shopper’s requirements. This means that you miss a golden opportunity for visibility and sales. 

2. Improve Ad Performance and Targeting: As we discussed above, using attributes in your product data can also help you improve the performance of your ads. 

For example, if you decide to run Google Shopping ads, then you will notice that keywords don’t have an impact on your ad’s performance. Rather, it’s the product data in your Google Merchant Center account and its details that decide where your ad will appear. 

Therefore, submitting rich product data along with relevant and accurate product attributes will also help you ensure that your ad performance improves and your ads are displayed to the right audience at the right time. 

Bonus: Read our blog on Google Shopping ads keywords.

3. Improve Organic Search Performance: 

There’s another innovative and less-explored way in which product attributes can help you market your products better.

It includes improving and optimizing your product page and its content with high-volume keywords. But there’s a catch. Those high-volume keywords should be related to your product attributes.

Let’s say you are selling red-colored, medium-sized t-shirts for men. Then, conduct keyword research to find keywords like ‘red-colored skin t-shirts for men’ and optimize your product page with them. Add those keywords naturally across your product title and description.

That will help search engines connect your page with what people search.

As a result, your page may rank higher in organic search results.

Let’s understand this point with the help of an example. 

We searched for ‘black sneakers for men size UK 9’ on Google. At the top, we get some shopping results. Underneath that, the search engine displays this Macy’s product page. 

As we can see, this product page matches multiple parts of the query that we searched on Google. These include:

• Product type – Athletic Shoes & Sneakers
• Color – Black
• Gender – Men’s

Now, you might wonder how their page matches our queries, even though we haven’t searched for their brand exactly. Also, do product attributes help improve organic search results, too? 

Well, their page matches those queries because they have optimized it for different keywords like ‘‘black sneakers men’’, ‘‘black sneakers for men,’’ ‘‘men’s black leather sneaker,’’ etc. And if you carefully notice, these keywords for which Macy’s page is ranking at the top in Google Search results include product attributes such as ‘black’, ‘leather’, etc. 

This highlights that as a seller, you can strategically optimize your product titles, descriptions, meta tags, etc., using keywords based on your product attributes. That can help you to rank higher in organic search.

Pro tip: You can use this technique even on different marketplaces like Etsy, eBay, Amazon, etc.  For example, on Etsy, you can use Shop stats to identify the search terms shoppers use to find your listings. Also, amongst those search terms, you should also look for terms that match your product attributes. These terms would mainly include details like color, size, etc.  Once you find such terms, incorporate them naturally into your product titles and descriptions. That will make your listings more relevant and also easier to find.

What’s the Purpose of Attributes in a Product Feed? 

Product attributes are important for creating a high-performing and accurate product feed. A product feed is a file that includes all the products and their attributes, which are useful for tasks like listing and advertising your products on different marketplaces, social commerce platforms, comparison shopping engines, and e-commerce platforms. 

Product attributes in a feed enable e-commerce platforms and marketplaces to understand what you are selling. They use this data to ensure that your products are categorized properly, appear for the right search terms in results, and are available for filters like size, color, etc.  

Also, these product attributes are helpful to show your products to the right audience through ads and recommendations. 

If your product data includes missing or incomplete attributes, then there is a high chance that your product might get rejected from the respective marketplace or e-commerce platform. Additionally, your products may be displayed in the wrong category.

How to Create Product Attributes in E-Commerce? 

Now, there is another important question to answer: how to create product attributes? 

The answer to this question will depend on multiple factors, such as:

1. Which e-commerce marketplaces (like eBay, Etsy, or Facebook Marketplace) do you want to list your products on? Or do you plan to use e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Wix to create your own store?
2. The types of products you sell. This is important because depending on the products you are selling, the product attributes that you use will also vary. 
3. Whether you are creating new listings to sell products or updating existing ones. 
4. Lastly, are you going to use some tool for adding or managing product attributes? 

It is only after you answer these questions, you can move toward the next step of creating product attributes. 

Below, we have discussed how you can create product attributes for your Shopify products. Please note that the attributes, their values, etc., will vary depending on the channel you decide to sell on. 

For this section, we’ll use Shopify as our reference point.

Step-by-Step Process to Create Product Attributes in Shopify 

1. Go to products in your Shopify admin. 

2. Click on ‘Add Product’ at the top. Rather than editing an existing product and its attributes, we will focus on creating new attributes from scratch. 

3. You will come to the product page, where you will notice that you can add all the attributes, such as title, description, etc. 

4. Start by adding a product title. Ensure it is concise and clearly reflects your product. 

For our product, we will go ahead with this title: ZenBrew Stainless Steel Travel Mug – 16 oz (Matte Black)

Note: As per Shopify’s official product details page, there isn’t any character limit defined for titles. However, as a best practice, you should keep the title between 90-150 characters.

5. Then, we will have to write a product description. Again, as there isn’t a specified character limit, we will ensure that our product description is in the ideal range of 2000-5000 characters. 

It is advised that you use a combination of paragraphs and pointers in order to enhance readability for shoppers. Also, ensure that you are highlighting the most important features of your product with bullet points.

6. Then, you will have to add media elements for the product, such as images, videos, and  3D Models. 

Ensure that you are uploading high-quality media elements that clearly display the product. 

Note: For detailed information on Shopify’s guidelines related to product media, you should refer to their help article.

7. After that, we will have to add the category of this product to define the group or class this product belongs to. The product category of this item will be selected from Shopify’s standard product taxonomy. 

For the Thermos that we have created, the product category will look something like this as per Shopify’s taxonomy: 

Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Food & Beverage Carriers > Thermoses

8. You will also have to decide the product’s pricing. 

Note: For more information on how to set up pricing for your product, you can visit Shopify’s product details help article, for which we have shared the link above.

9. Under the Inventory section, you can manage your product’s stock using two fields: 

• SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) 
• Barcode (GTIN, UPC, ISBN, etc.): Barcodes are required by many sales channels and help link your product to global databases. If your product has a valid GTIN (like a UPC or EAN), enter it here. You can find it printed near the barcode on the product packaging.

10. Then, you will have to add the shipping details. If your product needs to be delivered, you will have to check the “This is a physical product” option. Additionally, you will also have to details about other product attributes such as weight, country of origin, etc.

11. If you have any variants of your product, i.e., if your product comes in different colors, dimensions, etc., you can add those in the ‘Variants’ section. 

For our thermos, we have added a Bronze color variant. 

12. After that, you will also have the option of adding metafields. Metafields in Shopify allow you to add extra custom details that won’t be reflected on your product pages in general. 

13. Lastly, we have ‘Product Organization.’ 

Within this, you can, 

• Add Shopify Product Type, which allows you to define a custom category for your product. 
• Add the Vendor name, which will be the manufacturer or wholesaler of your product. 
• Showcase Collections your product is included in. 
• Also, add Tags, which are keywords associated with your product, that make it easier for customers to search for products on your online store. 

That’s it. We have added all the possible product attributes for our new listing on Shopify! 

Note: Shopify provides its own set of attributes that you can add to your product. However, any other platform, such as WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce, might have a different structure for managing product data. The field names, required values, and attribute formats can vary depending on the platform you’re using.

Best Practices to Create Product Attributes  

Here are some practical tips to keep in mind: 

1. Conduct Market Research: It is always important to conduct market research to understand which types of product attributes you can add to your products. You can analyze your competitors and their listings to spot those attributes which are commonly highlighted, and replicate it for your products. 

In fact, you should also take into consideration what type of questions your customers ask for your product. For example, on Amazon, if you scroll down on your product page, you will find customer questions and reviews. From that section, you can get some insights into what attributes matter the most to them or which details might be missing from your current product listing. 

Take the example in the image above. A customer is asking whether the product is available in men’s size 13. This shows that “size availability” is an important product attribute for that particular listing. If this information isn’t clearly mentioned, you should update it to avoid any hesitation that affects your conversion rate. 

2. Use Platform-Specific Attribute Names: It is important that you follow the standard naming conventions for each product attribute as provided by different platforms or marketplaces like Amazon, Shopify, Google Shopping, etc. 

For example, if you want to include the category of your products on Google Merchant Center, you will have to use the parameter [google_product_category]. You can’t submit a product category for an item while using a generic term like “category” in your feed file, as it will result in product disapproval. 

Thus, refer to each platform and its documentation for a better and proper understanding of the supported product attributes. 

3. Group Attributes into Logical Sets: If you have a large catalog with thousands of SKUs, it is important to group your attributes and keep them structured. Grouping related attributes by product category will save you time and also help avoid any confusion across different listings.

For example, in apparel, shirts might include:

• Fabric type (Cotton, Linen, Polyester)
• Sleeve length (Short, Long)
• Fit (Slim, Oversized, Regular
  

This will also ensure that feed management is hassle-free and bulk editing your product attributes is easier and smoother. 

4. Create Attributes That Truly Define Your Product: Start by creating basic attributes like product name, brand, size, etc., which will apply to most products. 

Further, you can go deeper and create attributes depending on the product type: 

• Electronics: battery life of the device, compatibility
• Apparel: Fit type, style, fabric, etc. 
• Food: Flavor, ingredients, dietary tags, etc. 

5. Use Attributes For SEO Optimization: While creating product attributes, you can also analyze whether any attribute will contribute to SEO benefits for your store.  

For example, you can conduct keyword research and identify if any high-volume keywords align with your product attributes. Once you identify such keywords, you can naturally incorporate them into your product titles, descriptions, etc. 

For instance, instead of just writing “16 oz thermos,” you could optimize it as “16 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Travel Thermos for Coffee.” 

This way, your listings will not only cater to your customer searches but also appear higher in organic search results. 

6. Keep Formatting Consistent: Use a standard format for different product attributes and their values. 

For sizes, you can use values such as S, M, L, etc., across your entire catalog. Although, you must ensure that you use the same format across all listings. If you start adding other values, such as “Small, Medium, or Large”, then it can make internal tracking difficult for you. 

7. Add Visual Context to Support Attributes: It’s always a good practice to add supporting visuals for your product features, descriptions, etc. 

For example, if your product description says “matte finish,” you must include a product photograph (with a close-up shot) that demonstrates it. 

It will help customers better understand your product and make quicker and more confident buying decisions.

9. Create Attributes for Variants Separately (When Applicable): If your product comes in multiple versions—like sizes, colors, or materials—you’ll need to define product attributes for each variant separately. We have already discussed how to create product attributes for a product on Shopify. 

However, when you create a variant, Shopify will take you to a separate product edit page for that variant. There, you won’t need to add the title or description again, but other attribute values like color, pricing, size, SKU, and barcode (GTIN, UPC, etc.) must be entered for that variant.

This will help you clearly separate inventory and marketing details for each variant. 

10. Use a Tool to Manage Product Attributes: If you are manually managing all the product attributes in an Excel sheet or CSV file, then there’s a high chance that beyond a certain stage, you will make mistakes.

Using feed management software or a product information system can help you create, edit, and manage your product attributes efficiently. These tools come in with built-in validation rules, bulk editing options, and integrations with popular marketplaces which can help you save time and also accurately sync data across all channels! 

Bonus: Jump directly to the ‘Tools to Manage Product Attributes’ section.

Did you know? 1. Marketers competing on product attributes and image are said to be participating in nonprice competition. This happens when companies try to stand out by using features like design, branding, quality, or promotional strategies rather than changing the price

How do Product Attributes Work on Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento? 

All three platforms, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, allow you to create and customize product attributes for your listings. However, the way each platform handles attributes is different from that of others.

Let’s understand that in detail. 

WooCommerce

On WooCommerce, product attributes are mainly used for two use cases: 

1. The first one is filtering and displaying products based on their attributes. 

Basically, you can allow your customers to use attributes like color or size and filter listings your listings. This is how it will appear on WooCommerce: 

This can be helpful for customers who want to quickly find a product which suits their style and fit.  

2. The second use case of product attributes on WooCommerce is to define and create product variations. 

Apart from these two use cases, WooCommerce allows you to: 

• Define product attributes globally so that you can use these attributes across your entire store easily. 
• Or define attributes individually, which is at the product level. In that case, the attribute will only exist for that individual product. 
• Define custom attributes. These are ideal for single-use on individual products.

Magento

Like other marketplaces, or e-commerce platforms, even on Adobe Commerce (earlier known as Magento) product attributes are used to describe a product’s features such as size, color, material, etc. 

These attributes are grouped into sets, and each product has to follow that set. For you as a seller, this makes it easier to manage your products based on their type. 

Also, each attribute can affect search results by assigning a search weight. For example, “Color” can rank higher in search than “Description.” Adobe Commerce (Magento) also handles variations using configurable products. You can link simple products with different attributes under one listing.

Note: Read more about how product attributes work on Adobe Commerce, technicalities like configurable products, what types of best practices you should follow, and how you can create them in this official help article.

Shopify

We have already discussed how to create Shopify product attributes in detail above. Like other platforms, even on Shopify, you can use product attributes to create variants of an item. 

Additionally, your customers will get the option of filtering products with the help of these attributes in your store: 

As a seller, you can filter and view products based on attributes like ‘Product Type’ within your Shopify store. 

Beyond that, you get some advanced features like metafields, which allow you to add custom information to your products. For example, you can show details like burn time for candles, expiry dates for groceries, or fabric care for clothes.

Tools to Manage Product Attributes 

Managing product attributes manually can be time-consuming and error-prone. It can get even more cumbersome if you have an extensive catalog. 

In this section, we will cover some tools that can help you create and manage product attributes for your feed. 

AdNabu 

AdNabu is a Shopify feed management app that helps you optimize and manage your product feeds for multiple channels such as Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, and Bing. 

It is a Built For Shopify app that can help you boost your Shopify marketing efforts. 

For managing and editing your product attributes, AdNabu can help in the following ways: 

1. AI-Powered Feed Optimization: With AdNabu’s advanced AI, powered by the GPT-4o mini model, you can easily edit, optimize, and manage different product attributes such as titles, product highlights (for Google Shopping ads), age group, gender, etc. 
2. Keyword Suggestions: AdNabu also offers fresh keyword suggestions sourced from Google’s Keyword Planner that you can use in product titles to improve your product page’s SEO value. 
3. Creation of Google Merchant Center Feed Rules: Within AdNabu, you can also create feed rules to edit attributes like product titles and descriptions in bulk for your Google Shopping feed. 
4. Bulk Editing: The app also allows you to bulk edit 70+ product attributes, such as color, material, size, etc., which saves time and ensures that your feed is accurate and well-optimized. 
5. Shopify Flow Integration: AdNabu’s Shopify Flow integration helps automate updates to product attributes like Google Product Category, Age Group, Gender, and more. It uses triggers, conditions, and actions to streamline feed management, reduce manual work, and keep your Google Shopping listings accurate and compliant.

Note: This list of features isn’t exhaustive. AdNabu offers a plethora of other features that help with editing and managing various attributes of your Shopify product feeds.

Pricing: 

AdNabu offers a 14-day free trial. 

Its starter plan is free, and paid plans start from $29.99/month. Also, Shopify merchants have the option of contacting AdNabu’s support team at support@adnabu.com for custom quotes. 

Pimcore

Pimcore is an advanced product information management (PIM) solution that helps manage large catalogs, product attributes, and digital assets from one place. It supports product data syndication, multi-language content, and workflow automation. Available in Professional, Enterprise, and PaaS editions.

Pricing: Starts at  $9,900/year with no limits on products or users.

Salsify 

Salsify is another PIM platform that helps automate and manage product attributes across different channels. It supports regional data management and lets you sync product information with systems like Shopify or Salesforce. This is helpful when selling in multiple markets or updating product details across platforms.

Pricing: Available on request.

Conclusion 

Product attributes are the backbone of selling online effectively. They help shoppers understand your products better and improve your reach across ads, search, and marketplaces. By using the right tools and following each platform’s specific guidelines, you can manage your catalog easily, avoid errors, and increase both traffic and sales.

FAQs

1. What are the four types of attributes of a product?

The four main types of product attributes are tangible, intangible, functional, and emotional. Tangible attributes include things like size or material. Intangible attributes relate to trust or brand value. Functional attributes focus on how the product works. Emotional attributes describe how the product makes customers feel.

2. What are product quality attributes?
Product quality attributes describe how well a product performs and how reliable or durable it is.

These can include material strength, shelf life, craftsmanship, and overall safety. Such attributes help customers judge if a product is worth the price and meets their expectations.

3. What is the difference between tangible and intangible product attributes?

Tangible product attributes are things you can touch or measure, like color, weight, or material. Intangible attributes are not physical but still matter—such as the brand’s reputation, customer trust, or how the product makes someone feel.

4. What role do product attributes play in SEO for e-commerce websites?

Product attributes can be used to include high-volume keywords in your product titles and descriptions. For example, using size, color, or material in the title helps search engines match your listings with what shoppers are searching for—improving your organic traffic and visibility.

5. How should businesses manage product attributes across multiple sales channels?

Businesses should use a centralized system like a Product Information Management (PIM) tool. This ensures product attributes are stored in one place, can be edited in bulk, and are always consistent across channels like Amazon, Google Shopping, and Shopify.

6. How do product attributes impact inventory management?

Product attributes help group and track inventory better. For example, you can monitor how many small, blue t-shirts are left in stock. This helps avoid stockouts, manage reorders, and makes updates easier across your product catalog.

7. What challenges can arise in managing product attributes?

Some challenges include inconsistent attribute formatting, errors in large catalogs, missing required values for channels like Google Merchant Center, and managing different platform guidelines. These issues can lead to product disapprovals, poor search visibility, or even customer confusion.

8. What are the main attributes of a good product listing?
Clear title, detailed description, high-quality images, barcodes, etc., are the main attributes of a good listing.