How to Set Up Associate Products for Cross-selling?

overview in many print businesses, certain products are often purchased together because one item complements or completes another instead of relying on customers to manually search for these additional items, onprintshop allows administrators to automatically include them in the order when a specific product option is selected the associate product functionality makes this possible by linking a ready to buy product with a particular product option or attribute value when the customer selects that option on the storefront, the linked product is automatically added to the order, ensuring that the customer receives everything required for the intended use this approach helps ensure customers do not miss essential add ons, simplifies the ordering process, and enables businesses to create logical product bundles for a smoother purchasing experience purpose the purpose of associate products is to automate cross selling based on customer selections prevent incomplete orders (e g , banner without stand) increase average order value through relevant add ons simplify the buying process by reducing manual product searches examples of associated products flyers + envelopes (direct mail campaign) a marketing agency orders 5,000 a5 promotional flyers for a mailing campaign since the flyers need to be distributed via post, matching envelopes are also required configuration setup master option “do you need matching envelopes?” (yes / no) if yes is selected, the ready to buy envelope product is automatically added a quantity multiplier ensures the envelope quantity aligns with the flyer quantity this ensures the customer completes the entire mailing requirement in a single order banner + banner stand (event display setup) a customer orders a 6x3 ft promotional banner for a trade show booth to display it properly, they require a compatible banner stand configuration setup master option “do you need a banner stand?” (yes / no) if yes is selected, the ready to buy banner stand product is automatically added multiplier 1 banner = 1 stand this avoids situations where customers forget to bring the necessary display hardware product configuration pre requisites before configuring associate products, ensure the following the primary docid 36z2mbsnisylwxctqmtjz (e g , flyer, banner) is already created the associated product (e g , envelope, banner stand, grommets) is created as a docid\ i7pwyfurgzasdfrckydis product pricing and quantity rules are properly configured the docid\ lsdgo wsrbvc kokrvtcd (yes/no or similar) is created for triggering the association both products are enabled and visible on the storefront watch the walkthrough watch the video tutorial for a quick overview of the configuration process follow the step wise guide once the ready to buy product and the required master option are created (as described in the prerequisites), the next step is to configure the product association so that the product is automatically added when the corresponding option is selected add a new associate product navigate to the admin panel > products > product options from the product options page, click on the associate product button available at the top right corner to open the product association configuration screen configure the association details on the associate product page, click the add button to create a new association and then configure the association details enter a title to identify the association internally then select the product option and the specific attribute that will trigger the association—for example, selecting “yes” for the option “would like to add grommets to your banner?” after this, define the quantity multiplier , which determines how many units of the associated product will be added for each primary product ordered for instance, if one banner requires one banner stand, the multiplier should be set to 1; if one banner requires 4 grommets added to all the corners, then the multiplier should be set to 4 similarly, if envelopes need to match the flyer quantity, the multiplier can be configured accordingly then, select the associate product , which is the ready to buy product that should be automatically added to the order, such as a banner stand or envelope finally, set the status to enabled and save the configuration assign the product option to primary product to complete the setup, you need to link the primary product with the associate product by assigning the relevant product option for example, you can assign options like “would you like to add grommets to your banner?” for a banner product or “do you need matching envelopes?” for flyers for this, navigate to the products > print products > choose the product > options from the options tab, click on the assign product options button and the appropriate option that you want to link with the product once the association is saved, the system will automatically add the associated product to the price calculator, product information page, and shopping cart whenever the configured option is selected on the storefront this helps streamline cross selling and ensures customers can easily order related products together best practices to ensure the associate product configuration works effectively and delivers meaningful cross selling opportunities, follow these best practices associate products based on real usage always map products that are logically used together for example, banners should be associated with banner stands, while flyers can be associated with envelopes for mailing campaigns this ensures the recommendation is relevant and useful for customers use clear and descriptive product options create master options with clear questions such as “do you need a banner stand?” or “do you need matching envelopes?” this helps customers quickly understand the purpose of the option and make an informed selection configure accurate quantity multipliers set the quantity multiplier carefully so that the associated product quantity aligns with the primary product for instance, if each banner requires one stand, the multiplier should be set to 1 proper configuration prevents incorrect quantities from being added to the cart avoid overloading with too many associations limit product associations to only the most relevant complementary items adding too many cross sell options may confuse customers and complicate the purchasing process ensure associated products are properly configured before mapping a product, confirm that the associated product has correct pricing, availability, and storefront visibility settings testing and validation after configuring the associate product setup, it is important to verify that the cross selling functionality works correctly on the storefront use the following checklist to validate the configuration test attribute selection behavior select the attribute that triggers the association (for example, yes ) and confirm that the associated product is automatically reflected in the price calculator validate associated product addition add the primary product to the cart and ensure the associated product is automatically added to the shopping cart along with it check quantity multiplier logic increase the quantity of the primary product and verify that the associated product quantity adjusts according to the configured quantity multiplier confirm attribute dependency change the option attribute to no (or any non triggering value) and ensure that the associated product is not added to the cart validate pricing calculation confirm that the total price reflects both the primary product and the associated product accurately perform end to end order test place a test order to confirm that the associated product appears correctly in the order summary, order details, and admin order view