Product Types

Simple products should be a 1:1 mapping of a product in Magento to an item on the shelf. The basic unit of inventory.

Use Cases

• Package of 10 pens = box on shelf (ships as one unit)
• Small, red t-shirt (child in configurable product)
• 64GB memory stick (child in bundle product)

Can Be Child In

• Configurable products
• Bundle products
• Grouped products

Virtual products are similar to simple products except they do not represent physical inventory. They represent non-tangible goods.

Use Cases

• Magazine subscription
• Gym membership
• Gift card (though Magento Commerce includes this natively)
• Fitness coaching plan (can be bundled with physical fitness equipment)

A configurable product is a tool to filter down a list of products to one product.

Setup Process

1. Create the configurable product.
2. Assign product attributes (global scope and dropdown or swatch type).
3. Create or assign simple products with values for each assigned attribute.

This creates a parent-child relationship where children are simple products.

When customer selects options (e.g., Size: S, Color: Blue) and adds to cart:

quote_item table:

• Row 1: Parent configurable product (qty = 2)
• Row 2: Child simple product (qty = 1)

Shipped quantity: [Child Qty] × [Parent Qty] = 1 × 2 = 2 children shipped

sales_order_item table:

• Both parent and child appear
• qty_ordered reflects actual products being shipped
• Only the simple child is shipped, not the parent

Magento allows uploading prices in one currency (base currency) and converting to display currency.

• Base currency: Currency in which product price is uploaded and order is charged.
• Display currency: Currency shown to customer (converted from base).

Scope: Configurable via Product Price Scope (Stores > Configuration > Catalog > Pricing).

Example: Base = USD, Display = INR. Payment processor receives USD; customer sees INR.

Grouped products display a list of similar products. Unlike configurables, you can add multiple products to cart at once.

Use Cases

• Sandpaper with different roughnesses
• Pipe fittings in multiple sizes
• Any scenario where customer wants multiple similar products from one page

After adding to cart:

quote_item table:

• Only simple child products appear (no parent row)
• product_type inherits from parent (shows "grouped" even though parent not in table)

sales_order_item table:

• Same behavior—only children, product_type shows "grouped"
• Parent grouped product doesn't exist in quote_item or sales_order_item

Bundle products allow customers to configure the product they want.

Use Cases

• Configure a computer: processor, memory, hard drive
• Build-your-own gift basket
• Customizable product kits

Bundle products can apply a discount to incentivize bundling vs buying individually.

After adding configured bundle to cart:

quote_item table:

• Parent bundle product row
• Child simple products rows for each selected option

sales_order_item table:

• Parent and children both appear
• Children are what actually ship

Two approaches:

1. SearchCriteriaBuilder with ProductRepository
2. Product Collection with addFieldToFilter()

private $productRepository;
private $searchCriteriaBuilder;

public function __construct(
    \Magento\Catalog\Api\ProductRepositoryInterface $productRepository,
    \Magento\Framework\Api\SearchCriteriaBuilder $searchCriteriaBuilder
) {
    $this->productRepository = $productRepository;
    $this->searchCriteriaBuilder = $searchCriteriaBuilder;
}

public function getAllGroupedProducts(): array
{
    $criteria = $this->searchCriteriaBuilder->addFilter(
        'type_id',
        \Magento\GroupedProduct\Model\Product\Type\Grouped::TYPE_CODE
    )->create(); // Must call create()!
    
    return $this->productRepository->getList($criteria)->getItems();
}

private $collectionFactory;

public function __construct(
    \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Product\CollectionFactory $collectionFactory
) {
    $this->collectionFactory = $collectionFactory;
}

public function getAllGroupedProducts(): array
{
    $collection = $this->collectionFactory->create();
    $collection->addAttributeToSelect(['name', 'url_key']);
    $collection->addFieldToFilter(
        'type_id',
        \Magento\GroupedProduct\Model\Product\Type\Grouped::TYPE_CODE
    );
    
    return $collection->getItems();
}

There are two parts to a product:

1. Product Model: \Magento\Catalog\Model\Product (implements ProductInterface)
2. Product Type Model: e.g., \Magento\GroupedProduct\Model\Product\Type\Grouped (extends AbstractType)

• Product Model: Doorway to product—contains data (ID, SKU, name, etc.).
• Product Type Model: Contains methods specific to this product type.

Access type model via: $product->getTypeInstance()

• getChildrenIds(): Find product IDs of all child products.
• getParentIdsByChild(): Find all parents associated with a child.
• getAssociatedProducts(): Load all products associated with parent.

Review These Files

• \Magento\Catalog\Model\Product\Type\AbstractType
• \Magento\Catalog\Model\Product\Type\Simple
• \Magento\Catalog\Model\Product\Type\Virtual
• \Magento\Downloadable\Model\Product\Type
• \Magento\ConfigurableProduct\Model\Product\Type\Configurable
• \Magento\Bundle\Model\Product\Type
• \Magento\GroupedProduct\Model\Product\Type\Grouped

To understand how bundle/configurable products render in cart:

1. Locate bundle product on frontend (e.g., /sprite-yoga-companion-kit.html).
2. Add to cart, go to cart page.
3. Inspect element in Chrome DevTools → look for "item-options".
4. Search for template: Magento/Checkout/view/frontend/templates/cart/item/default.phtml
5. Find layout handle: checkout_cart_item_renderers
6. Examine checkout_cart_item_renderers.xml for renderer blocks.
7. Block: checkout.cart.item.renderers (declared in checkout_cart_index.xml).

• Simple Product
• Configurable Product
• Grouped Product
• Virtual Product
• Bundle Product