Cascading data from a master SKU to its variants
Luminous can push a master SKU's product attributes — including pricing, shipping dimensions, custom fields, and product tags — to all of its active variant SKUs in one step.
Note: This feature must be enabled for your account by Luminous support before either mode is available.
What is cascaded?
The following categories of data propagate from the master SKU to its active, non-discontinued variants:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Retail price, wholesale price, target price, estimated landed cost, manufacturing fee |
| Classification | Product category, sub-category, department, tax category, HS code |
| Fulfillment & ops | Preferred vendor, drop-ship flag, sellable flag, lead time, reorder level, fulfillment priority list |
| Units of measure | Default selling unit, default purchase unit, unit class |
| Product dimensions | Weight, length, width, height |
| Packaging & shipping | Shipping dimensions, box/carton/pallet dimensions, units per carton, units per pallet |
| Content | Product description, photo, product design, expiry date |
| Custom fields | All custom fields defined on the master SKU |
| Product tags | All tags attached to the master SKU |
Fields that are never cascaded: SKU code, UPC/barcode, product name, inventory quantities, status, discontinued flag, or any field that is intentionally unique per variant.
Option 1 — Manual cascade (on demand)
- Go to Inventory → SKUs and open the master SKU's detail page.
- Click the Cascade to variants button (visible on master SKUs only, when the feature is enabled).
- Confirm the action in the dialog.
Luminous will immediately write the master's current values for all cascadable fields, custom fields, and tags to every active, non-discontinued variant under that master.
Use this when you want a one-time sync — for example, after a price update, after correcting a shipping weight, or after adding a new custom field value.
Option 2 — Auto-cascade on save (account setting)
When enabled, Luminous automatically cascades to variants every time you save a master SKU and at least one cascadable value (including custom fields or tags) actually changed.
Important behavior details:
- If you save the master but only changed something non-cascadable (e.g. internal notes), no cascade runs — variants are left untouched.
- The cascade is triggered only when saving a master SKU. Saving a variant SKU never cascades to its siblings.
- Custom-field and tag changes count as trigger events, so updating only a custom field on a master will cascade all cascadable data to variants.
To enable auto-cascade:
- Go to Settings → Inventory.
- Find the Master SKU Settings section.
- Toggle on "Automatically cascade Master SKU changes to variants on save."
If you do not see the Master SKU Settings section, the feature has not yet been enabled for your account — contact Luminous support.
Which variants are updated?
Only active, non-discontinued variants under the master are updated. Discontinued variants are skipped and must be updated manually if needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cascade from a variant SKU to its siblings? No. The cascade always originates from a master SKU. The cascade button does not appear on variant SKU pages.
What happens to custom-field values a variant already has? The manual cascade and auto-cascade both fully replace the variant's custom-field values with the master's current values (treating them as system-applied). If you need a variant to keep a custom field value that differs from the master, update it directly on the variant after the cascade runs.
Will this affect inventory quantities or stock? No. The cascade only updates product attribute data. It does not move or adjust any inventory quantities.
Will cascaded changes push to Shopify or other channels? The cascade updates Luminous's product catalog records. Whether those changes propagate to a connected sales channel depends on your channel sync settings (e.g. a Shopify Sync Update).