Selling customizable products can be a challenge when customers are asked to navigate multiple pages or deal with a lengthy checkout process. This often annoys the customers and they leave the store abandoning their cart.
However, you can address this setback with WooCommerce composite products. Composite products allow customers to build their ideal item by selecting different components on a single page, reducing shopping complexity and cart abandonments.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about WooCommerce composite products, including best plugins, use cases, best practices and how they can boost your sales.
Let’s get started!
Offer attractive discounts to composite products and boost your sales using Discount Rules for WooCommerce.
What are WooCommerce Composite Products?
Composite WooCommerce products refer to a product set that customers can create by selecting different product options based on their preferences.
Unlike simple products, composite products allow for more flexibility and personalization.
WooCommerce Composite Products: Examples
Some of the use cases of composite products are:
Custom-built Computer: Customer can select CPU, RAM, storage device, and graphics card to build their required configuration.
Gift Basket: A composite product where customers can select chocolates, wine, candles, and cards.
DIY Kit: Customers can choose what they want, like paints, brushes, canvas, and templates.
Subscription Boxes: Customers can customize their box with snacks, beauty products, clothing, accessories, and gadgets.
Customizable Furniture: Fabric, cushion, legs, and armrest styles can be customized by the customer based on their requirement.
Personalized Apparel: Custom apparel where customers can choose color, text, logos, and clothing designs.
Composite, Variable, Grouped, and Bundled Products: The Difference
Here’s a comparison outlining the differences between composite product, variable products, grouped products, and bundled products.
| Features | Composite Products | Variable Products | Grouped Products | Bundled Products |
| What it is | Products made up of multiple components that customers can customize by selecting based on their needs. | A single product with variations (Color, size) that customers can select. | Simple products grouped together for easier selection. | Collection of Products offered as a bundle. |
| Pricing Structure | Price is calculated based on the selected component. | Price is charged based on the chosen variation. | Price is the sum of individual products grouped. | A price is set for the bundle as a whole. |
| Example | Custom-built computers, gift baskets, etc., | T-shirt with different color and size options. | Different types of coffee beans are grouped. | Camera kit that includes camera, lens, and case. |
| Use Case | Best for products that require detailed customization. | Ideal for products with a few selectable variations. | Suitable for offering related products together. | Perfect for selling bundled products at a discounted price. |
Why Use WooCommerce Composite Products?
Some of the pros of using composite products are:
1. Enhanced Customer Personalization
Since composite products are personally created by customers based on their needs, this enhances their shopping experience, ensuring they get exactly what they want.
2. Increased Average Order Value (AOV)
When customers choose premium components, the overall price of the product increases and directly leads to an increased average order value of your store.
3. Simplified Inventory Management
Each component of the composite product is treated as a separate product, making inventory tracking easier. You can also monitor stock levels for individual items and prevent overselling of a specific item.
4. Increased Customer Engagement
By letting customers build their product, it provides an interactive and engaging experience. This customization creates a stronger connection with your product and increases the chances of completing the purchase.
5. Better Upsell and Cross-sell Opportunities
You can suggest related upsells and cross-sell products as the components to be added to the composite product.
When to Use Composite Products in WooCommerce?
Here are some of the use cases to sell composite products:
1. Customizable Products
Use composite products when you sell items that require customer input to configure. For instance, customers might select components like colors, materials, or sizes.
2. Upsell and Cross-Sell Items
Composite products are a great fit for upselling and cross-selling. They allow you to recommend one-click upsells and cross-sells as a part of the configuration process, increasing sales per customer.
3. Product Kits and Bundles
Composite products would be perfect when you sell kits or bundles that require customers to choose various components. DIY kits and gift baskets are some of the product kits you can sell.
4. Subscription-Based Products
Composite products are best for subscription-based products as they help customers select the items they want included each month.
5. Multiple Add-Ons
Composite products can be used if you’re selling a core item that needs additional product add-ons. For instance, a base camera product can be paired with a lens, tripod, and a case.
3 Best Plugins for WooCommerce Composite Products
WooCommerce composite products list:
- WPBundle
- WPC Composite Products for WooCommerce
- YITH Composite Products for WooCommerce
1. WPBundle
WPBundle is the best WooCommerce composite products that allows you to group multiple items into a single, customizable offer. This way, you can offer related products together, making it easy for customers to select and purchase items that complement their main product.
This plugin gives you full customization options over suggesting related products. Additionally, you can also create personalized product bundles.
Features
- Set up composite products with just a few clicks without any codes.
- Manage stock directly from the settings page.
- Offer percentage and fixed discounts.
- Customize your composite products with templates including font, color, and layout options.
- Track the performance of your products via built-in reporting tools.
- Automatically calculate discounts for bundled items based on regular or sale prices.
- Create fixed bundle, cross-sell bundle, dynamic bundle, and mix-and-match bundle.
Pricing
This is a free plugin. Pricing starts from $99 per year.
2. WPC Composite Products for WooCommerce
With this WooCommerce composite product builder, you can create composite products by combining multiple individual items into one customizable product. This way, you can let customers select the components that suit their needs.
You can also set the minimum/maximum quantity for each component, make components required or optional, and customize the default product. With its discount feature, you can set a percentage discount for the entire composite product or individual components.
Features
- Drag & Drop configuration to rearrange the order of components.
- Allows customers to find components using search keywords quickly.
- Auto calculate the price based on chosen components and quantities.
- Tracks the inventory for each component like standalone products.
- Adjust customizable texts for selections and options.
Pricing
The pricing starts from $36.
3. YITH Composite Products for WooCommerce
YITH WooCommerce composite products provides a simple and efficient way for customers to build their own product. It offers flexible pricing, layout options, and inventory management for each component, making it perfect for a wide range of customizable product offerings.
Features
- Display components in listed, accordion, or step formats.
- Set base prices and add component pricing dynamically.
- Apply discounts on individual components or the entire composite unit.
- Set unique or cumulative shipping fees for composite products.
- Choose which products to display based on tags or categories.
- Set minimum/maximum quantities for components.
Pricing
Pricing starts at $109 per year.
Hot Tips for Optimizing Composite WooCommerce Products
Here are some of the hot tips for optimizing your composite products
1. Simplify the Product Selection Process
While offering customizable products is great, offering too many choices can confuse customers. So, combine related components to keep the selection process simple and organized.
Bonus Tip: Use conditional logic to display only relevant options based on previous selections, making it easier for customers to navigate.
2. Use Clear Visuals and Descriptions
Provide clear images and detailed descriptions for each component. Visual cues help customers understand what they are selecting, especially when customizing complex products.
Bonus Tip: Include 360-degree views or interactive images for more detailed options.
3. Offer Pre-Configured Options or Kits
Offer pre-configured kits or popular combinations of components to make the selection process easier.
Bonus Tip: For instance, provide a ‘Best value’ or a ‘Recommended configuration’ for customers who may not want to choose individual parts yet want a customized product.
4. Implement Real-Time Pricing Updates
Show customers how the price changes as they select different components of the composite package. Real-time price updates keep customers within their budget while customizing the products.
5. Streamline the Checkout Process
Make sure the checkout process is fast and seamless once customers have completed their composite product configuration. Remove unnecessary and extra steps to keep the cart simple.
Bonus Tip: A one page checkout is the ideal solution to avoid friction at the final stage of purchase.
6. Offer Flexible Shipping Options
For composite products, shipping can be tricky due to the varying sizes and weights of the individual items. In that case, you can implement advanced shipping methods with accurate shipping costs.
Bonus Tip: Offer free shipping for orders above a certain amount to incentivize bulk orders.
7. Provide Expert Customer Support
Complex composite products can sometimes overwhelm customers, so being available to assist them in real-time or providing detailed guidance can enhance their experience.
Bonus Tip: Give live chat support and detailed FAQs to help customers during the product selection process.
Offer fixed, percentage, and price based discounts to composite products using Discounts Rules for WooCommerce and increase your sales conversions.
Summing Up
WooCommerce composite products is not just a marketing tactic to boost sales but a way to give customers control over their purchases. This enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty.
By simplifying product selection, using appealing visuals, updating real-time prices, and suggesting pre-configured kits, you can easily market your composite products in WooCommerce.
No, composite products don’t work for any type of product. It suits best for customizable items with multiple options or parts.
Yes, each component of a composite product is tracked individually in the inventory, allowing for accurate stock management for all parts, reducing the risk of over-selling.
You can test composite products by creating a sample product, selecting components, and simulating the customer checkout process to ensure everything functions correctly before launching it live.
Yes, most composite product plugins allow real-time pricing updates, so customers can see how their selections affect the final price as they customize the product.
Yes, WooCommerce Composite Products can be used with subscription services, allowing customers to choose components for each subscription period or customize their recurring orders.
