Promotions
Promotions provide you the ability to offer customers incentives to purchase. WebSphere Commerce supports numerous types of promotions. For example, price promotions that include offering simple discounts; merchandise specials such as gifts with purchase and buy-one-get-one. More service promotions are available that include offering reduced shipping costs.
Business users create and manage promotions with the Promotions tool in the Management Center.
Promotion groups
Promotions are grouped according to their type. There are three promotion groups by default:
- Catalog-entry-level promotions
- Order-level promotions
- Shipping promotions
Fixed price on the subtotal of catalog entries
from a category
Buy catalog entries from category X, get a percentage
off catalog entry Y- All of the promotions within a group share a common group of promotion policies, that control how promotions are applied to items and orders.
- Promotion groups are one factor that determines the order in which
the promotion engine evaluates promotions during the shopping flow.
Promotions are evaluated according to their promotion group in the
following order (by default) :
- Catalog-entry-level group
- Order-level group
- Shipping group
Redemption methods
You can select the redemption method that is associated with any promotion. The choices include the following methods:- Qualifying purchase
- Customers who meet the purchase conditions automatically qualify for the promotion; no promotion code or coupon is required.
- Requires promotion codes
- Customers must enter a promotion code to apply the promotion to
their order.
For the Promotion
code specification, specify either public or unique promotion
codes:- Public promotion codes can be reused by any customer, provided
they know the promotion code. To create public promotion codes:
- Select Create public promotion codes.
- In the Promotion codes table, type a reusable public promotion code, for example, HOLIDAYPROMO.
- Unique promotion codes provide you the ability to prevent customers
from sharing promotion codes. Unique promotion codes help ensure that
only targeted customers are given discounts. To create unique promotion
codes:
- Select Simple system-generated unique promotion codes. Then, enter a prefix, code length, suffix, and the number of unique promotion codes to generate. For more information about this type of unique promotion codes, see Simple system-generated unique promotion codes.
- Select Advanced system-generated unique promotion codes. Then, specify an advanced pattern of characters to generate promotion codes. For more information about this type of unique promotion codes, see Advanced system-generated unique promotion codes.
- Select Using imported promotion codes. Then, find and add an existing list of imported promotion codes. For more information about using imported promotion codes, see Importing promotion codes.
- Public promotion codes can be reused by any customer, provided
they know the promotion code. To create public promotion codes:
- Coupon promotion
- Customers must possess a virtual coupon to qualify for the promotion. You can make coupons available to customers by using an e-Marketing Spot to display content that has the following predefined click action for a promotion: Add coupon to customer's coupon wallet. Another option is to create a Dialog activity that uses the Issue Coupon action to specify this coupon promotion. If the customer applies the coupon when checking out, the promotion is applied to the order. If you select the Coupon promotion redemption method, you must also enter a number in the Number of days until coupon expires field. This expiration date means that customers have a limited time in which to redeem the coupon, starting from when they receive the coupon.
Dialog
activities are available only in the Professional and Enterprise editions
of WebSphere Commerce.
Combination with other promotions
- Combine with other promotions
- This promotion can be combined with all other promotions in an
order; however, the following promotion policies apply:
- For catalog-entry promotions: If this promotion is applied to an item, no other catalog-entry promotions can be applied to the item.
- For shipping promotions: If this promotion is applied to an item, no other shipping promotions can be applied to the item.
- For order promotions: If this promotion is applied to the order, no other order promotions can be applied to the order.
- Combine with other promotions stackable
- This promotion can be combined with all other promotions in an
order. In addition, this promotion can be stacked on top of other
promotions in the same group, which overrides certain promotion policies.
Specifically:
- For catalog entry promotions: If a catalog-entry promotion is already applied to an item, then this type of promotion is applied on top of the existing promotion.
- For shipping promotions: If a shipping promotion is already applied to an item, then this type of promotion is applied on top of the existing promotion.
- For order promotions: If an order promotion is already applied to the order, then this type of promotion is applied on the top of the existing promotion.
The priority of promotions determines whether a stackable promotion applies to an order. If an order qualifies for multiple promotions in the same group, the promotion with the highest priority is applied first. If subsequent promotions are stackable, then those promotions are applied in order of priority.
- Exclusive within the same group
- If a promotion with this setting is applied, no other promotions from the same promotion group
can be applied to the order. For example, if this promotion is a catalog-entry promotion, no other
catalog-entry promotions can be applied to the order. This setting still follows priority rules.
This option is labeled Exclusive within selected
groups - Exclusive within an order
- If a promotion with this setting is applied, no other promotions can be combined in the order.
This setting still follows priority rules.This option is labeled
Exclusive within all groups.
Promotion priority
- A 10% off your order promotion with a priority of 1.
- A $15 off your order promotion that has a priority of 10.
Promotion states
- Inactive
- New promotions are inactive by default when created. Inactive promotions are not available on the storefront.
- Active
Active promotions are available on the storefront.
Any submitted orders are evaluated against promotions that are active at the time the order was submitted. If a promotion is deactivated after the customer adds qualifying SKUs to a cart, but before the order is submitted, the promotion does not apply.
Activating- When you activate a promotion that imports codes from a CSV file
or generates codes, the promotion is set to the Activating state while
the codes populate. The promotion refreshes every 5 seconds, providing
updated information about the status of the promotion and its code
population. After promotion codes are successfully populated, you
cannot repopulate promotion codes for the same promotion. Reactivating
a promotion does not generate new codes.
- Suspended
- When the total maximum redemptions are reached for a promotion, the promotion state changes to be suspended. For example, if you create a promotion with a redemption limit of 1000, the next customer who qualifies for this promotion does not receive it. The promotion state changes to Suspended. Promotions in Suspended state can be deactivated. The Suspended state displays on the Promotions - List when one or more promotions are in this state.
Archive- When you archive an inactive promotion, the promotion is automatically
removed from the main Promotions - List view
and from any promotion folder that the promotion was included within.
To find an archived promotion, business users can use the new advanced
search for promotions. By archiving promotions, you can control which
inactive promotions display in the main promotions list or in folders.
For more information, see Archiving promotions.
When you change or recalculate an order, WebSphere Commerce reevaluates the order against promotions that are currently active. As a result, a promotion that applies to the order might be removed from the revised order if, for example, that promotion expires or deactivates. If you want the customer to receive the original promotion, you must manually adjust the order.
Storefront availability
To determine whether a promotion is available, the system checks the status of the promotion. If the promotion is in the Active state, then the evaluation continues. If the promotion is Inactive, it is considered unavailable, and is not evaluated. The next consideration is the schedule for a promotion. When you create a promotion, you can define start and end dates. Furthermore, when you create a promotion, you might optionally specify that the promotion is only available on one or more specific days of the week. In the same manner, you can define a promotion so that it is only available within a certain time period, such as between noon and 5:00 PM. If the current timestamp (according to the server) falls between the two availability dates, and meets the other optional scheduling criteria, the promotion is considered available. Otherwise, the promotion is considered unavailable, and the promotion is not evaluated further.
Promotion description display
The description of a promotion displays on the product display page for a particular product. The storefront JSP file that handles the display action uses a data bean to determine whether a product is entitled to a particular promotion. The data bean, however, is limited for filtering product attribute values. For instance, if a promotion applies to SKUs that contain specific attribute values, such as a medium size or red color, the promotion description can still display on the product display page regardless of which SKUs are selected for the product.
Given
the limitation of this CalculationCodeListDataBean data
bean, the promotion description can show up on product SKUs that do
not qualify for the promotion. When a shopper views the promotion
description on a product display page, the shopper can assume that
the product SKU they selected is entitled to the promotion. To avoid
this confusion, ensure that the promotion descriptions are descriptive
enough to include any targeted attribute value conditions or customer
segments. For example, instead of having a description that read: 50%
off Luigi Valenti Empire Waist Slip Dress, the promotion can
instead read: 50% off on Red Luigi Valenti Empire Waist Slip
Dress. By including attribute value conditions in promotion
description shoppers are correctly informed of the potential promotions
that they are entitled to.
Applicability to customers and shopping carts
When a promotion is determined to be available, it is evaluated to determine whether it is applicable to the current shopping cart. You can target specific customers by selecting one or more customer segments to either target or exclude. If the current customer is not in the target segment, or is in an excluded customer segment, then the promotion is not applicable. If you include multiple customer segments in a promotion, the promotion applies to customers that belong in any of the segments. The customer does not need to belong in all of the segments.
You must define purchase conditions during promotion creation. These conditions might be at either the catalog-entry level, or the order level. For example, in a 10% price reduction on a catalog entry promotion, the purchase condition requires that the catalog entry is in the customer's shopping cart. If you wanted to offer free shipping on orders that total over $100, the purchase condition requires that the shopping cart total exceeds $100.
Redemption limits
- Maximum redemptions for this promotion
This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used in total, by all customers. This option can be used to define a loss-leader style of promotion that limits redemption of the promotion to the first 100 qualifying orders. When the maximum redemption limit is reached, the promotion status changes to Suspended the next time the promotion is evaluated.
- Maximum redemptions on a single order
This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used in a single order. This option can be used to define a promotion that limits the redemption of the promotion to the first 5 qualifying catalog entries in an order. This option has no effect on order level or shipping promotions.
- Maximum redemptions by a single customer
This option limits the number of times that a promotion can be used by a single customer. This option can be used to define a promotion that limits redemption of the promotion to a single use per customer.
For example, if you have a gift-with-purchase promotion that offers a free tie when a customer buys two dress shirts, you might want to allow a customer to apply this promotion only once on an order. Otherwise, a customer that buys 10 shirts might qualify for 5 ties.For order- and shipping-level promotions with a maximum redemption of one by a single customer, the promotion applies to the first order placed by the customer. Subsequent orders by the same customer do not qualify for the promotion.
A promotion is considered redeemed when a customer actually submits their order, not when their shopping cart is evaluated. If the customer later cancels their order, the promotion is still considered redeemed by that customer.
Redemption limits are often communicated to customers so that there are no surprises. For example, some promotions are communicated as being in effect, "while supplies last," while other limits are communicated directly, such as "Limit is two per customer." If you impose redemption limits on a promotion, consider including this information in the Customer viewable long description field and any advertising messages to ensure accurate customer expectations.
Multiple discount ranges
For certain promotion types, you can define multiple discount ranges for a single promotion. Defining multiple discount ranges increases the amount, or percentage of a discount as the volume of the order grows. For example, when you are creating a percentage discount on a total order, you might create a promotion that offers a 5% discount on an order that totals less than $100, but offers a 10% discount on orders that total $100 or more. You can define as many ranges as necessary for the promotion.
Advertising your promotions
You can advertise promotions by creating a web activity that uses either the Recommend Content or the Recommend Promotion action in the Management Center Marketing tool. To do so, create content that advertises a promotion and assign it to a particular e-Marketing Spot with a web activity. You can create content that ranges from simple, flat text that describes the promotion, to images with actions defined for how to respond when a customer clicks the image.
Changes in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator promotions and Management Center promotions
If you create promotions in Management Center, or migrate promotions from WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to Management Center, you must use Management Center to manage those promotions.
There are several changes between Promotions functionality in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator and the Promotions tool in Management Center.
| Promotion Group | Management Center promotion type | WebSphere Commerce Accelerator promotion type (or closest match) |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog-entry level promotions | Percentage off the subtotal of catalog entries | Percentage off per item |
| Percentage off the subtotal of catalog entries from a category | Percentage off per item | |
| Amount off the subtotal of catalog entries | Fixed amount off for all | |
| Amount off the subtotal of catalog entries from a category | Fixed amount off for all | |
| Buy catalog entry X, get catalog entry Y free | Free gift with purchase | |
| Buy catalog entries from category X, get catalog entry Y free | Free gift with purchase | |
| Buy catalog entry X, get additional X at a percentage off | Buy X, get additional items at a discount | |
| Buy catalog entries from category X, get additional catalog entries from category X at a percentage off | Buy X, get additional items at a discount | |
| Buy catalog entry X, get a percentage off catalog entry Y | Buy X, get additional items at a discount | |
| * Buy A and B, get a percentage off both | Buy X, get additional items at a discount | |
| Percentage off individual catalog entries | Percentage off per item | |
| Percentage off individual catalog entries from a category | Percentage off per item | |
| Amount off individual catalog entries | Amount off per item | |
| Amount off individual catalog entries from a category | Amount off per item | |
| Order-level promotions | Percentage off an order | Percentage off |
| Amount off an order | Fixed amount off | |
| Free gift with an order | Free gift with purchase | |
| Shipping promotions | Fixed price for shipping an order | Discounted shipping |
| * Amount off shipping on an order | Discounted shipping | |
| * Buy catalog entry X, get shipping at a fixed price | Discounted shipping | |
| *Buy catalog entries from category X, get shipping at a fixed price | Discounted shipping |
Other terminology changes between WebSphere Commerce Accelerator and Management Center include:
| Management Center term | WebSphere Commerce Accelerator term |
|---|---|
Promotion group
|
Promotion group
|
| Priority A value that ranges from 0 (lowest) to 1000 (highest). |
Priority
|
Promotion status
|
Promotion status
|
WebSphere Commerce Accelerator provides reports to detail the information gathered during the current, or most recent active period. See Viewing a promotion's statistics. The Management Center does not provide any promotions reporting.
In the Management Center, you can select which price to use as a price adjustment base, either the standard offer price, or the contract price. In WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, the contract price is used by default. Additionally, the price adjustment base selection is configured as site level. In Management Center, the price adjustment base selection is configured by promotion, which provides you the ability to create more dynamic business rules.