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Custom Relationships

Custom Relationships in Product Experience Manager (PXM) enable businesses to create dynamic connections between products, enhancing the shopping experience and boosting sales. These relationships allow you to associate products in meaningful ways, such as linking complementary items or creating custom collections, directly improving product discoverability and customer satisfaction.

Custom Relationships can be created using both the Product Experience Manager API and Commerce Manager, giving you flexibility in how you define and manage these associations.

Overview of Custom Relationships​

Here’s what you need to know about Custom Relationships:

  • Uni-directional Relationships (Default):
    By default, Custom Relationships are uni-directional, meaning the relationship flows in one direction only. If Product A links to Product B, Product B will not link back to Product A. This is ideal when one product (e.g., a base product) recommends another (e.g., an upsell), but the reverse recommendation is unnecessary.

  • Bi-directional Relationships:
    In a bi-directional relationship, the relationship flows in both directions. For example, if Product A is linked to Product B, Product B will automatically link back to Product A. This bidirectionality ensures a consistent experience, where products always suggest each other as related items.

These characteristics make Custom Relationships a powerful tool for dynamically linking products in ways that reflect your merchandising strategy.

Use Cases for Custom Relationships​

Custom Relationships can serve multiple purposes to improve customer experience and drive revenue. Here are some common use cases:

  • Cross-Selling:
    Recommend complementary products that customers might buy alongside the one they’re viewing. For instance, if a customer is shopping for a smartphone, cross-sell items like screen protectors, chargers, or phone cases. Cross-selling increases the total cart value by promoting additional purchases. See Creating Cross-Selling Custom Relationships.

  • Upselling or Alternative Products:
    Suggest higher-end alternatives or products with enhanced features. For example, a customer viewing a basic coffee maker could be shown a premium model with advanced brewing options. This approach helps customers discover superior options while increasing the average order value. See Creating Up-Selling Custom Relationships.

  • Custom Collections:
    Create themed groupings of products, such as "Holiday Gifts" or "Eco-Friendly Essentials." These collections guide customers to curated sets of products tailored to specific events, needs, or trends, improving discoverability and conversions. See Creating Cross-Selling Custom Relationships.

Advantages of Custom Relationships Over Variations​

Custom Relationships can be used to group products in parent/child relationships, offering a flexible alternative to traditional variations. Here’s why this might be the better choice:

  • Use Existing Products:
    Custom Relationships let you link existing products without creating new ones. For example, a parent product (like a camera) can be linked to child products (like lenses or batteries) with minimal effort.

  • No Changes to External Data Workflows:
    If your catalog data is managed externally, Custom Relationships allow seamless integration without requiring changes to your source of truth. Once the data is synced with Elastic Path, products can be associated immediately.

  • Increased Flexibility:
    Variations are typically limited to predefined attributes (e.g., size or color), making them less adaptable for complex groupings. Custom Relationships, by contrast, support dynamic and varied associations, making them ideal for complex merchandising strategies.

Custom Relationships in Catalog Releases​

Once you create and associate Custom Relationships between products, they are automatically included in catalog releases. This means you can publish these relationships alongside your catalogs, making them instantly available for display on your storefront.

Dynamic storefront programming can use these relationships to show related products in real time. For example, a “You Might Also Like” or “Frequently Bought Together” section on the product detail page (PDP) can showcase products tied to Custom Relationships.

Custom Relationships in Organizations​

Custom Relationships can also be created and managed at the organization level. These relationships can then be utilized in individual stores to link store products with organization-level products.

For example, an organization-level custom relationship can be used in a store to relate store-specific products to products defined at the organization level.

Limits of Custom Relationships​

Custom Relationships are a powerful tool for dynamically linking products, but they have certain limits to ensure optimal performance and manageability:

  • Maximum Relationships per Product:
    A single product can participate in up to 5 Custom Relationships. This means you can define up to five distinct associations for any given product (e.g., cross-selling, upselling, custom collections).

  • Maximum Products per Relationship:
    Each custom relationship can include up to 2000 related products for a single product. This allows for extensive associations, such as linking a product to a large collection or catalog of related items.