In short: Line item properties attach custom information, such as engraving text, dimensions, artwork or PO numbers, to a specific item in the cart. They keep your catalog lean, keep you under the variant limit, support paid add-ons, and send cleaner data to your analytics and ERP, without an app.
If you sell personalized, configurable or wholesale products you usually hit the same two problems very quickly.
The catalog fills up with variants for every possible combination (Worse: You hit the variant limit).
Or custom information goes in the order notes and your team needs to manually chase it down and enter it somewhere else.
Shopify has a built-in feature that solves both.
This feature also lets you charge for add-ons, see which upsells drive sales and send cleaner order data to your ERP.
It’s called line item properties.
A property is a piece of information attached to one specific item in the cart.
The customer enters it on the product page and it stays attached to the item through the entire order process.
These are the specific problems you can solve with line item properties
Leaner catalogs. Engraving text, monograms, custom dimensions and uploaded artwork are saved on the item at order time, so you don’t need variants for each possible combination.
Revenue from add-ons: Extras like gift wrap or rush production can be added and priced extra, without needing a separate product, which makes the cart experience wonky.
Cleaner analytics. You can create hidden properties that the customer doesn’t see, but are available as filters in your Shopify analytics.
B2B functionality. You can allow the customer to enter PO numbers, project names or cost centers per line item and push that information to your ERP system.
Fewer fulfillment errors. You can attach production and shipping notes at the line item level, so your team does not need to enter anything manually.
Pros and trade-offs
Line item properties are the right tool for most custom information, but they have limits:
| Pros | Trade-offs |
|---|---|
| Built into Shopify, no app required. | Properties do not track inventory. If an option uses stock, it still needs to be a variant. |
| Keeps you well under the variant limit. | The input fields and validation on the product page need theme code. |
| Custom details travel with the order, so nobody re-types them. | Your order exports, ERP and packing slips need to be set up to read them. |
Frequently asked questions
What is a line item property?
Do line item properties replace variants?
Can customers see every property?
Can line item properties send data to our ERP?
Sources
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