POP- Filling out the Parent & Child SKU Template Columns

Introduction:

The Parent & Child SKU columns in the templates group sizes within a run, called Style Grouping. Style Grouping groups size runs together so Mom can see all available sizes before selecting a size to purchase.

Industry-wide, there are many ways we refer to items: SKUs, UPCs, Styles, etc. Below are terms we reference in this article and how we at Zulily interpret these terms:

Style = Item + color  

Example: Red T-Shirt 

Product = Item + Color + Size

Example: Small Red T-Shirt

Parent & Child SKUs allow for Style Grouping

Style Grouping = Item + Color + Size Run

Example: Red T-Shirt in Small, Medium, Large, X-Large

Style Grouping and Customer Experience

To provide a consistent customer experience across Zulily.com, and complete visibility into all colorways of a style, Zulily considers each color as a separate style.

For example, if you have shoes that come in 3 colors, 3 separate tiles will be shown to the customer on the site. This helps to showcase each color equally and allow each color to adjust based on its own performance.

To provide a consistent shopping experience for our customers, it is important to ensure that each style is grouped or separated correctly when set up in the system.

A properly configured Style Grouping will include the following on the template:

• A unique combination of Vendor Style Name and Vendor Product Color
  • Please refer to the POP Style Name Guidance article for best practices
• A unique combination of Vendor SKU and Vendor Product Color
• A clearly designated Parent Vendor SKU within the size run
  • An exception is made for styles with "One-Size" (spelled exactly) as their size
  • The Parent SKU must be selected from the SKUs provided in the Vendor SKU column of the template.
• A Vendor Product Color
  • An exception is made for styles with "One-Size" (spelled exactly) as their size

Common grouping errors include:

Improperly configured Style Groupings can have a down stream effect on the customer experience. Below are several examples of what the customer may find if a Style Grouping is incorrect. 

• A separate style for each size. This results in a customer experience where one size of a style is represented by a tile within an event, and another size is represented by a completely different tile in the event.
• Every color variation is set up as one style with the same tile in the event. Zulily considers each colorway to be a separate style, so this is not 'best practice' for our platform. The resulting customer experience would be the option to select a size, but no option to select the preferred color of the style.
• Separate styles with the same style name and color are combined into one style. The resulting customer experience would be the option to select the size, but no option to select which style they would like.

To prevent these errors, Parent/Child relationship columns are on the template to enable users to designate which SKUs should be grouped together

Parent/Child SKU Configuration

When completing the template, a Parent SKU and Child SKU(S) must be designated for the system to properly group all sizes within a size run together.

There are many different combinations of Vendor Style Name, Vendor Product Color, and Vendor Size to consider as we discuss the proper configurations for Parent/ Child SKU columns. The scenarios below describe the most common formats and the specific instructions on how to configure:

One-Size styles

Style with only 1 size

Same SKU for all color variations

Many styles with the same Style Name 

Format #1: One-Size Styles - Configuring Parent/ Child

Minimum action is needed for styles with only one size. Complete the Vendor Size column then leave the Parentage and Parent SKU columns blank.

Please note: For "One-Size" (spelled exactly) color is needed AND the vendor size formatting must be exact

Format #2: Style with only 1 size (which isn't "One-Size") - Configuring Parent/ Child

For styles with only one size, where the size is not spelled exactly as "One-Size", a selection in the Parentage (Parent/Child) column is required. Additionally, a Vendor Product Color is required in these circumstances.

• Please select "Not applicable" within the Parentage (Parent/Child) column for these styles and leave the Parent Vendor SKU blank

Format #3: Each color variation is set up as a separate style - Configuring Parent/ Child

Correct Setup:

1.  Ensure that the Vendor Product Color column on the template is filled out

2. One SKU from each color variation of a style is first designated as the Parent SKU

• Select Parent in the Parentage column
• Enter the SKU for that product in the Parent Vendor SKU column

3. All other SKUs that are part of that style are designated as the child. All remaining sizes for a style should be designated as the child. 

• Each subsequent row within a size range after the "Parent" should be a "Child"
• Copy the Parent Vendor SKU from the "Parent" row of that size range and paste it to the Parent Vendor SKU column of all "Child" rows within that size range.
  • It is important that all sizes within the range have the same Parent Vendor SKU

Format #4: Many Styles with the same Style Name and Color - Configuring Parent/ Child

For this scenario, the Vendor Style Name will need to be revised to comply with the direction provided in the POP! Style Name Guidance article.

Once the Vendor Style Name is corrected, please follow the steps provided in Format #3 above.

Click the arrow below to see additional errors and solutions for Parent/Child SKU setup