Daily ArchivesFebruary 17, 2022

Statista reports the average online order value for desktops in the U.S. jumped from $134.85 in Q2 2020 to $184.44 in Q2 2021. If you haven’t seen an improvement in your online order values, chances are you aren’t leveraging your Magento store for what it’s worth.

Magento helps you improve sales using strategically placed widgets for Related, Cross-sell, and Upsell products. But sometimes, these widgets can feel obvious and forced.

A better, more organic way to promote products is with the grouped product in Magento. It lets you provide your customers with convenience and helps you boost the average order value of your online store simultaneously.

Want to learn how?

Keep reading to learn:

Grouped Products in Magento 2 Explained

A grouped product in Magento is a collection of standalone products, called child products, sold as a group. They can be a mix of virtual, downloadable, or simple products from the catalog. The only requirement is that they shouldn’t contain custom options.

Although grouped products are a collection of items, each item is purchased separately and appears as such in the shopping cart.

For example, if you sell camera gear, you can create a grouped product consisting of a camera, tripod, memory card, and camera bag. Your customers will be able to add all the products to their cart in one click and configure each of the items individually.

Grouped vs. Bundle Products in Magento 2

Grouped products might seem similar to bundled products, but there’s a clear distinction between the two product types in Magento.

Although grouped products display as groups of items on a page, they’re sold as separate line items. Thus, shoppers can customize their quantities individually and remove the associated products individually even after adding them to the cart.

In contrast, customers can’t purchase the child products of a bundle product separately. You can let them configure the quantities for each Magento product before adding it to the cart.

But the product will display as a single line item in the cart, and customers won’t be able to remove items from the bundle.

Steps To Add a Grouped Product in Magento 2

Before adding a grouped product in Magento, make sure the products you want to sell as a grouped item exist in the catalog without product custom options.

Once you’ve done that, follow these steps:

Step 1: Select the Grouped Product Template

1. In the Magento admin, navigate to Catalog > Products.

2. Expand the Add Product menu and select the Grouped Product option from the list of Magento 2 product types.

Step 2: Assign an Attribute Set

Choose an attribute set for the grouped product on the New Product Template page.

Alternatively, create a new one using the Add Attribute button.

Step 3: Complete the Required Settings

1. Enter the values for the Product Name, SKU, and Quantity.

2. Set the Enable Product toggle to No and click Save to save the product. We’re not ready to publish the grouped product in Magento yet. (We’ll update this setting in the end once we’ve created the product.)

After saving, you should see the product name appear on the top of the page. You’ll also see the Store View option appear under the product name.

1. Assign a Store View using the dropdown or continue with the default value if you haven’t configured store views.

Step 4: Configure the Basic Settings

Configure the value for the following settings:

• Stock Status: Set this value to In Stock.
• Visibility: Set visibility to Catalog, Search.
• Categories: Assign the grouped product to an existing category or create a new one using the New Category button.
• Set Product as New From: Feature the product in the New Products List by assigning a date range.
• Country of Manufacture: Assign the country of manufacture from the dropdown.

Step 5: Add Child Products to the Group

1. In the Grouped Products section, click Add Products to Group.

2. Use filters to find the products you want to include.

3. Once you’ve located the products, click on the checkbox beside them. 

4. After selecting all products, click on the Add Selected Products button.

The newly created group of products will appear in the Grouped Products section. You can reorder them using the grid icon and remove product association by clicking Remove.

Step 6: Add the Optional Product Information

Expand the following sections and configure them as needed:

• Content: Add the main product description and a short description.
• Images and Videos: Upload product images here, rearrange them, and configure where each image displays on the storefront.
• Search Engine Optimization: Customize the Grouped product URL Key, Meta Title, and Meta Description settings in this section.
• Related Products, Up-Sells, and Cross-Sells: Set up promotional product blocks in this section by adding related products that might interest customers.
• Customizable Options: Add customizable options here if you’d like to allow customers to add customizations to their products before adding them to the cart.
• Products in Websites: Assign the grouped product to websites if you’re running a multi-site install. If not, you can skip this section.
• Design: Customize the theme and layout for the product page by assigning a custom XML layout.
• Gift Options: Add an option to include a gift message with the purchase and configure pricing for it here.

Step 7: Publish the Product

1. Once you’ve verified all settings are correct, scroll to the top of the page and set the Enable Product toggle to Yes.
2. Click Save to publish the grouped product in Magento.

Step 8: (Optional) Configure the Product Cart Thumbnails

If you want to show child product images in the shopping cart, follow these steps:

1. In the Magento admin, navigate to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
2. Expand the Shopping Cart section.
3. Set the value for the Grouped Product Image setting to Product Thumbnail Itself.
4. Click Save Config on the top-right corner.

Make sure you refresh the Magento cache to update the changes on the frontend.

Final Thoughts: Adding a Grouped Product in Magento 2

Adding a grouped product in Magento 2 is a simple yet effective way to organically boost your average order value.

Magento doesn’t limit the number of products you can group. But if your hosting isn’t optimized for performance, large product groups might hurt your website speed.

Don’t let your hosting limit your business growth. Managed Magento hosting by Hostdedi provides performance-optimized servers with auto-scaling to handle sudden traffic surges from viral moments. Sign up for a plan today.

Do you daydream of quitting and walking out of your cubicle for the last time or, more likely, in today’s work-from-home environment, dramatically closing your laptop after quitting over Zoom?

You’re not alone.

More than 47 million Americans made their dreams a reality and quit their jobs in 2021 as part of what’s being called the “Great Resignation.”

As tempting as it may be to quit on the spot, most people plan for what they’ll do instead. Short of winning the lottery, what can you do to continue earning money? The Great Resignation is accelerating as more people embrace the gig economy or launch ecommerce stores from their homes.

So before you draft your resignation letter, let’s examine what you can learn, including:

What Is the Great Resignation?

In the spring of 2021, more and more Americans began leaving their jobs. The trend continued throughout 2021 and into the first part of 2022. Analysts and media started using the term the “Great Resignation” to describe the phenomenon.

People assume the Great Resignation is nothing more than media hype, but any HR manager could tell you otherwise. The numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are staggering.

The Great Resignation Statistics

• More than four million people quit their jobs every month for the last five months of 2021.
• Nearly 4.5 million people quit in November, an all-time high since the government started tracking resignation data.
• In total, 47.4 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021.

Why Are So Many People Quitting Their Jobs?

The Great Resignation is the result of the perfect storm of societal and economic conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many workforce trends already in motion, such as the shift to remote work.

So while we can’t point to one reason why the Great Resignation is accelerating and people are quitting, we can identify some contributing factors.

Better Job Market

Not everyone who quits their job decides to start freelancing or selling homemade pottery online. Some of the people who resigned left to go to another job. Companies can’t fill vacancies fast enough, which makes it easier for job seekers to find better pay, benefits, and overall work fit as employers compete for candidates.

Related reading: Profitable Hobbies That Make Money >>

More Flexibility

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new flexibility into many workers’ schedules. As people balanced childcare, remote school, and working from home, Zoom meetings at odd times and quick updates over Teams replaced traditional eight-hour workdays at an office.

As vaccines became more widely available, companies started bringing workers back to the office. Many people didn’t want to give up their flexibility, so they quit to find a more flexible workplace or to work for themselves.

Burnout

The pandemic ushered in unprecedented work flexibility for some people and unparalleled stress for others. Frontline workers without the privilege of working from home faced challenging work conditions and an agitated public.

Hospitality, food service, and healthcare industries had the highest resignations and job openings throughout 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

New Goals or Priorities

Some workers decided now was the time to change their lives. The burnout experienced by frontline workers drove some of them to consider changing career fields or going to school for higher-paying jobs.

The unique combination of political, economic, and social turmoil from the last couple of years led some people to search for employers who were more aligned with their personal values.

Where Are People Going?

Just as the reasons people quit vary, their choices of what to do next depend on their circumstances.

People who quit their jobs as a part of the Great Resignation tend to:

• Find Another Job. Finding a job is easier in this market. Some people leave for more lucrative jobs at a different company or in a different industry.
• Return to School. People in demanding jobs with traditionally low wages are going back to school to retrain for new careers.
• Freelance. Some people want to be their own boss and set their own schedule. The high number of job openings also creates a need for more contractors and freelancers. If you’ve ever thought about a freelance career, now is the time. If you’re a web developer, be sure to read our guide to becoming a freelance web developer.
• Start Their Own Business. Did you develop any new hobbies during quarantine, like baking bread or making jewelry? Many people are turning their new or existing hobbies into online businesses.

Related reading: How To Open an Ecommerce Store in 11 Steps >>

How to Earn Income After Quitting Your Job

For people who want to opt out of traditional and more flexible work arrangements like freelancing, starting an ecommerce business is a great way to earn income. In addition to more people quitting their jobs in 2021, more people shopped online. Ecommerce grew more than 14 percent in 2021.

Ecommerce offers a distinct advantage when you’re looking to leave your job. You can start while still employed. Many employers discourage or won’t allow freelancing while you work full time. But running an ecommerce store is a viable side hustle.

You don’t even have to make your own products or even store them. With a dropshipping partner, you just need to create and market your website. The dropshipping partner handles fulfillment.

Related reading: A Beginner’s Guide to Dropshipping with WooCommerce >>

Getting Started With an Ecommerce Store

If you’re ready to take the leap and join the Great Resignation, the team at Hostdedi is here to help build your new business. In addition to our web hosting services, we also offer one of the fastest and easiest ways to make a website to sell products.

With StoreBuilder by Hostdedi, you just answer a few simple questions and the StoreBuilder engine does the rest. You’ll be ready to add products to your site in less than a day. 

StoreBuilder is a quick and affordable solution for building an ecommerce website. StoreBuilder uses WooCommerce, the most trusted ecommerce platform.

Before you try other platforms like Shopify, try StoreBuilder risk-free for 30 days. Sign up for an account today.