MAGENTO 2 · RECOMMENDATIONS · PROFILES · MERCHANDISING

Kowal Related Products Profiles

Design recommendation profiles based on attributes, conditions, and filters. Show matched lists on the product page, in the cart, and in checkout, and supplement or replace native Magento lists.

Conditions and attributes · Grid, Slider, Compact · Related, Upsell, Crosssell

HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE

Build intelligent product recommendations in Magento 2 without being limited to rigid related, upsell, and cross-sell relationships.

Kowal_RelatedProductsProfiles is a module that lets you design your own recommendation scenarios based on profiles, product attributes, activation conditions, target filters, and flexible embedding in the store layout. As a result, recommendations stop being a static list and become part of the store’s sales strategy.

In standard Magento, related products are often too simple to support more demanding implementations. A store may want to show different products on the product page, different ones in the cart, and different ones in checkout. Sometimes a list should work only for selected customer groups, only during a seasonal campaign, or only when a product meets specific catalog conditions.

This module was built exactly for those cases.

Instead of manually connecting products, you create a recommendation profile. The profile defines:

• where it should work,
• for which product it should activate,
• how to select target products,
• how to narrow and sort them,
• how they should look,
• where they should be rendered,
• and whether they should feed native Magento lists.

The module works in the most important areas of the store:

• on the product page,
• in the cart,
• in checkout,
• in native Related Products blocks,
• in native Upsell Products blocks,
• in native Crosssell Products blocks.

This means one profile can become part of several different merchandising scenarios, and the implementation team does not need to build separate logic for each place in the store.

The module’s greatest strength is that recommendations can be built not only manually, but also dynamically based on product attributes.

You can create profiles that:

• select products from the same collection,
• find products with the same graphic,
• show products from the same category,
• promote another product base related to the viewed product,
• narrow results to specific product types,
• work only for selected store views and customer groups.

Example?

A customer views a rashguard with the HALLOWEEN 25 graphic. The profile can automatically find products with the same graphic in other product lines, such as shorts, leggings, or accessories. Another profile can use the same product as context in the cart and suggest that the customer complete the order with products from a selected assortment base.

Each profile can have its own:

• Activation Conditions,
• Matching Rules,
• Target Product Filters,
• sorting,
• product limits,
• rendering variant,
• activity time range.

In practice, this gives you tremendous freedom.

You can build a profile that launches only for products with the brand = Nike attribute, only in the B2C store, only for retail customers, and only during a specific campaign. You can also build a profile that uses a product from the cart as a reference point and suggests add-ons based on shared catalog features.

This is no longer a simple product list. It is a rule-based recommendation engine that can be adapted to the store’s real sales model.

On the product page, the context is the current product. But in the cart and checkout, that answer is not always obvious. That is why the module lets you define the Context Strategy, meaning the method for selecting the context product.

You can decide that profiles should be based on:

• the first product in the cart,
• the most recently added product,
• the product with the highest price.

This flexibility makes a big difference in projects where the customer adds several different products to the cart and recommendations must follow specific business logic.

What works well on the PDP does not always make sense in the cart. The module lets you separate these scenarios without multiplying separate extensions.

On the product page, you can display a list of products from the same collection or the same style. In the cart, you can promote add-ons that increase order value. In checkout, you can prepare a simplified, more cautious list of products supporting cross-sell.

All of this within one profile system.

Not every store wants to give up native Magento mechanisms right away. That is why the module supports integration with:

• Related Products,
• Upsell Products,
• Crosssell Products.

Each profile can work in one of two modes:

• append
  keeps native products and adds module results to them,
• replace
  completely replaces the native list with products from the profile.

This is a very convenient implementation solution. You can start with a light extension of existing Magento lists and later move to full recommendation control from the profile level.

A major advantage of the module is the ability to control the rendering location using XML fields assigned to the profile.

Instead of adapting the module to one rigid layout, you can embed the list exactly where the project needs it:

• below the product description,
• below the price,
• below the purchase form,
• in an additional section,
• in a custom theme container,
• in a location resulting from a custom frontend layout.

This is especially important in stores based on extensive or heavily modified themes. The module does not force you into one layout. You decide where and how the profile should be embedded.

The module does not stop at product selection logic. It also lets you match the list presentation to the page type and implementation style.

Available variants:

• Grid,
• Slider,
• Compact.

You can use the same recommendation engine both for an expanded section on the product page and for a tight list in the cart or a more compact module in checkout.

You also get control over view elements:

• product name,
• price,
• regular price,
• short description,
• add-to-cart button,
• image role.

The module was built so that an implementation team or agency can develop additional scenarios without rebuilding the entire solution.

When creating a new profile, you configure:

• basic administrative information,
• placements and scope of operation,
• store views and customer groups,
• context strategy,
• activity date range,
• activation conditions,
• matching rules,
• target product filters,
• sorting and display method,
• integration with native Magento lists,
• embedding via XML.

This means that the next merchandising scenario does not immediately require another custom module. Very often, another profile is enough.

A customer views a product from a specific line. Based on matching rules, the module finds products with the same graphic but from other assortment families. This is a great scenario for lifestyle, sports, and fashion brands.

The customer already has a selected product in the cart. The profile uses it as context and selects add-ons that match the purchase but are not manually connected as native cross-sell.

Need recommendations that work only during a specific sales campaign? Simply configure a profile with From Date and To Date, without building additional logic.

If standard Magento upsells are too simplified, the profile can take over this role and work in replace mode, offering much more precise product matching.

Thanks to XML fields, the list can be embedded exactly where the project frontend requires it, without building another dedicated layout extension.

Kowal_RelatedProductsProfiles will be especially valuable for:

• Magento 2 implementation agencies,
• software houses developing e-commerce stores,
• merchants who want to make recommendation logic independent from manually maintained relationships,
• projects with an extensive catalog and many business attributes,
• stores using custom themes and complex layouts.

When you purchase the module, you get not just another product list, but a tool for designing your own recommendation scenarios in Magento 2.

This solution:

• increases implementation flexibility,
• organizes merchandising logic,
• reduces the need to write additional code exceptions,
• makes better use of catalog attributes,
• lets you grow the store without rebuilding the entire recommendation mechanism.

If the standard related, upsell, and cross-sell options are too limited for your project, Kowal_RelatedProductsProfiles provides a control layer that Magento simply does not have by default.

This description applies to the Kowal_RelatedProductsProfiles engine, available as kowal/module-related-products-profiles. It is a separate package from the earlier Kowal_AutomaticRelatedProducts. During implementation, choose the correct package for the described functionality.

The current code also allows native Related, Upsell, and Crosssell assignments to be rendered in the module template without changing product selection. Appearance settings are available per list, along with controls for moving Related/Upsell blocks.

Composer declares PHP in the ^8.1, ^8.2, or ^8.3 ranges and a dependency on kowal/base. After installation, enable the module, create a profile, and check its conditions, time range, cart context, and selected presentation location.

Adjust XML embedding and checkout behavior to the theme you use. Recommendations come from rules and catalog data; the module does not require an AI model for product selection.

Package kowal/module-related-products-profiles, module Kowal_RelatedProductsProfiles. After configuring access to the Kowal repository, install the package, enable the module, update Magento, and clear the cache. In production, include compilation and static content deployment according to the store’s process.

1. Create a profile
You choose the scope, conditions, and presentation method.

2. The engine selects products
It applies context, matches, and target filters.

3. The list appears in the store
It renders in the location selected for the profile.

A customer views a rashguard with the HALLOWEEN 25 graphic. The profile compares the graphic attribute and suggests matching shorts, leggings, or accessories from other assortment families.

A second profile can use a product from the cart to suggest completing the order.