This article will help you understand:
- What a Price Drop Interest Trigger is
- Why you should use a Price Drop Interest Trigger
- How the Price Drop Interest Trigger works
- How to use/customize all the different settings and filters, so it fits your solution
- How to combine the Price Drop Interest Trigger with product recommendations
🔍 Note: before you get started, it's essential to understand that Raptor isn't an e-mail marketing system, meaning it doesn't send e-mails directly. Instead, Raptor integrates with your chosen e-mail marketing provider, allowing you to utilize all of Raptor's functionalities alongside with the features in your e-mail marketing system.
See all e-mail marketing systems Raptor works with here: Raptor integrations
What is a Price Drop Interest Trigger ?
During the consideration phase, many users explore different products on your website. However, some products draw more attention than others.
Even though users show great interest by visiting the same product multiple times, they often end up not making a purchase on your webshop.
The Price Drop Interest Trigger activates when there is a price reduction on a product that a user has visited a specific number of times within a defined period without making a purchase and without adding the product to the cart.
This lets everyone who has shown interest in a product know that it just got cheaper, encouraging them to save money by buying your product now.
A Price Drop Interest Trigger scenario could look like this:
🔍 Note: if a user has shown interest in multiple products that drop in price, the Trigger will activate for the product the user has visited the most.
The Trigger can of course be configured to fire only for products that are in stock since there is always a lookup in a product feed to check the stock status. The purpose of this email is to inform the user about a product they have shown interest in, where the price has dropped, or to potentially inspire them with similar items or other discounted products.
Trigger settings
The Price Drop Interest Trigger can be configured in the following manner:
1. Runtime
The Trigger setup exists of two different runtime settings:
- Automated: the Trigger runs every hour.
- Scheduled: the Trigger will run at a specific time. The schedule is custom, and can be customized to whenever you want the Trigger to fire.
It is common that e-commerce companies reduce prices at night, which is why it can be beneficial to use a scheduled runtime for the Trigger to time its release.
Most users open their e-mail between 9 am and 4 pm, making this the optimal time to activate your Price Drop Trigger.
💡 Example: at 5 am, a price reduction is applied to all products, generating a "pricechanged" event that activates your Price Drop Trigger.
With a scheduled runtime set to 9 am, the Trigger will wait 4 hours to fire, optimizing your chances for a conversion with perfect timing.
Before sending, a check is performed to see if the user has purchased the product or if the product is out of stock.
2. Look back period
Define how far back the Trigger should look to retrieve customer data. During this period, the Trigger searches for users with satisfactory behavior to activate a Price Drop Interest Trigger. The longer the look back period, the more Triggers will fire. Raptor recommends a look back period between 30 - 60 to fetch as many users as possible, while still being relevant for the user.
💡 Example: the Trigger utilizes the user's behavior within the last 30 days.
3. Visit occurrences
Here, you specify the minimum number of visits required for a user to receive the Price Drop Trigger.
💡 Example: a product must be visited at least 3 times before a Price Drop Trigger can be sent. Note that the higher the minimum visit occurrence, the better the click-through rate and conversion rate, as it indicates a higher level of user interest in the product. However, this also leads to fewer Triggers being sent, potentially resulting in lost revenue. Therefore, finding a sweet spot is essential. We recommend setting the minimum visit occurrence between 3-4.
4. Waiting time
Define the delay time that should pass before the user receives the Trigger. Raptor recommends that the Price Drop Trigger activates shortly after the price drop. This ensures that the discounted items remain at their reduced price at the time of the send-out. Users are then able to make a purchase before the item is set back to its original price or becomes sold out.
💡 Example: the Trigger should fire 2 hours after the prices drops.
5. Limit
Choose how many Triggers the user may receive within a specific period. To avoid spamming the user, a limit can be set. Raptor recommends a limit where the user can receive a maximum of one Trigger per 24 hours. *The limit can be combined with other triggers such as Category Interest, Abandoned Basket, and Price Drop Basket.
💡 Example: the user may receive a maximum of 1 Price Drop Product Interest Trigger within 24 hours.
6. Minimum discount
This function determines the minimum amount by which a product must be discounted before the Trigger activates.
- Percentage: here, you specify what the minimum discount in percentage should be to ensure relevant products to your customers. Raptor recommends setting the minimum discount percentage between 10-20 % to ensure enough trigger volume simultaneously with providing attractive offers.
- Absolute discount: here, you specify the minimum absolute discount, i.e., the actual amount saved, to ensure relevant products for your customers. Raptor recommends setting the minimum percentage discount along with the minimum absolute discount. We recommend setting this setting to a decent value like 10 euro or 50 Danish kroner and simultaneously apply the minimum discount percentage. This will filter irrelevant offers out.
💡 Example: if an apple that normally costs 3 kr. is reduced with 50 % then the new price is 1,50 kr. and thereby you only save 1,50 kr. which is not a significantly offer.
7. Disqualify settings
Depending on various use cases, there will be examples where you do not want to send a Price Drop Trigger to a customer. Raptor’s disqualification settings allow you to customize the setup to fit your business needs.
- Disqualify if the user has seen the offer: Here you decide if you want to disqualify users that already have seen the offer. If the user already has seen the offer, it can be unreasonable to send the Trigger because the user is already aware of the offer. However, if the goal is to remind users of the offers, it doesn’t matter whether they have seen the offer before, as the aim is to encourage them to make a purchase. The Trigger will consider the latest seen price and compare it with the OnSalePrice (current price) and check if the minimum discount percentage and minimum discount actual are satisfied.
- Disqualify settings for users buying the product before the price drop: Depending on your business type (one-time purchases vs. repeated purchases), you might consider changing this parameter by setting the number of days back in time. This means the Trigger checks if the user bought the offer product within 60 days. Thus, if the user has bought the offer product within that time frame, then the person will not receive a Price Drop Trigger.
👀 Usecase:
One time buyers
If you, e.g., sell sofas, your sale will be dominated by one-time purchases, i.e., you do not buy the same sofa twice. In this case, you do not want to send products on offer that the user already has bought. To avoid promoting the same sofa, consider implementing a longer disqualification period, such as 60 days.
Repeated purchases
If you are a grocery store where the customers repeatedly buy the same products, it will be relevant to set a short disqualifying period, like 7 days which allows to Trigger on products that the user repeatedly purchases, but is still long enough not to agitate users. If the period is to short you can end in the situation where the user just has bought the product before the offer announcing, and then the user will get a triggered mail that the product is on offer which can agitate some users and resulting in refunds to get the product cheaper.
This is what the Trigger with the above mentioned settings will look like in the e-commerce funnel. Remember that all these settings are customizable (if a user visits the same product 3 times and this product drops in price, an e-mail will be send after two hours. After this, the limit period will not send any other Product Interest e-mails for 24 hours):
Organizing your Triggers
1. Execution order
When you've activated multiple Triggers, you can set a priority to determine the order of your Triggers. The Trigger with the lowest index set in the execution order will activate first. For this to work, the Triggers set with execution order must activate simultaneously.
💡 Example: if you've set up a Product Interest, Category Interest, and Abandoned Basket, you need to set all Triggers with the same latency to utilize execution order functionality.
2. Trigger grouping
Using the limit, you can ensure that the user receives only a specific number of Triggers within a certain period. With 'Trigger group', you can choose which Triggers should disqualify each other. In some cases, you may want a Trigger to always activate, regardless of what the user has received previously. For example, a Price-drop Trigger that only activates when there is sale on your website.
💡 Example: suppose you have 4 Raptor Triggers in your setup: Product Interest, Abandoned Basket, Category Interest, and Price Drop Product Interest. The Trigger groups are set up, named ‘Group 1’ and ‘Group 2’:
Group 1: contains Product Interest, Category Interest, and Abandoned Basket. These Triggers can disqualify each other. So the user only receives one Trigger from the group within a specific period.
Group 2: contains only the Price Drop Product Interest. This Trigger will always activate regardless of other Triggers the user has received, since it is in it's own group. The Trigger may disqualify itself, depending on the limit settings if there are multiple price drops in with a short interval.
Trigger filters
If certain products need to be excluded from Trigger communications, filters can be set up in Raptor's Data Manager. Filters can be created based on all product information's in your product catalog.
Examples:
- Exclude products low on stock.
- Exclude products with a low contribution margin.
- Exclude products from a specific category.
- Exclude products from a specific brand.
👀 Usecase: Sport24’s practice of removing products from their Price Drop Triggers when the stock status is less than 5 units serves a valuable purpose. By doing so, they give users a fair chance to purchase discounted products. There’s nothing more disappointing than falling in love with a product only to find out it’s sold out after seeing the reduced price.
If you have stock status in your product catalog, it’s easy to filter out these products in Raptors Data Manager.
Data enrichment
Raptor's Trigger events are enriched with data that can be used to provide a more personalized experience in your e-mail marketing tool.
Raptor Product Interest Triggers always include:
| Data | Description |
RecommendedId |
The product the user has visited |
Productname |
The name of a product fetched from the product feed |
Categorypath |
The full path to a specific category |
BrandId |
The Id of the brand |
Timestamp |
The time the Trigger was fired |
EventName |
The name of the event fired to the last-mile system |
EmailmarketingId |
Email or ID used in the email marketing system |
If additional data from your Product Catalog is desired to be included in the Trigger, this can easily be included, for example:
• RetailPrice
• Discount
• OriginalPrice
• OnsalePrice
• ProductCategory
• ProductDescription
• BrandName
• Stockstatus
• Producturl
• Imageurl
Also custom fields can be populated with any relevant information you wish to include to enhance the Trigger data:
• Customfield1
• Customfield2
• Customfield3
• Customfield4
• Customfield5
👀 Usecase: If you want to take your Trigger automation setup to the next level, you can use product information to create more personalized and relevant emails.
These are classic subject lines for a Product Price Drop Interest Trigger:
• Don’t Miss Out! Discount Inside
• Upgrade Your Style with Our Discounted Items
• Limited Time Offer: Sale!
Try combining engaging text with the product name to grab the user's attention. For example:
• Limited Time Offer: [Product Name] Sale!
• Upgrade Your Style with Our Discounted [Product Name]
• Your [Product Name] Deal Awaits
You can also use brand or category information to create more targeted email with communication about the product's features, or brand/category specific content.
• Explore Our Sale on [Brand] Collection
• Discover [Category] Deals: [Product Name] Edition
Technical requirements
How does it work?
Raptor monitors prices in the product catalog in the ‘OnsalePrice’ field. When a price changes, a ‘pricechange’ event is generated, activating the Price Drop Interest Trigger. Combined with user tracking, Raptor can identify which users have viewed the discounted products and fire the Trigger.
1. Tracking.
The following parameters must be sent in the tracking:
- Eventtype (P1): Visit
- ProductId (P2): Your product ID must be sent in the tracking under P2 (ProductId) when a user visits a product.
- ItemPrice (P12): Send the actual price of the product under Itemprice. (Sales-price if the item is on sale - otherwise the original price)
- RUID (Email Marketing ID): E-mail or other External identifiers for the e-mail marketing system must be set under RUID (Email Marketing ID). Read more about user tracking here.
Find tracking documentation here: I Need a link here (Coming Soon)
2. Product Catalog: The Product Catalog must be set up with the following parameters at a minimum:
- ProductNumber- ProductUrl
- ImageUrl
- OriginalPrice
- OnsalePrice
Read more about the Product Catalog setup in the Product Catalog documentation in Raptor’s Help Center.
🔍 Note: it is important that the field Onsaleprice always holds the product’s price, even when the product is not discounted, which means the parameter must never be null or empty. Raptor monitors the field and activates the Trigger when prices in Onsaleprice change.
The Raptor Price Drop Trigger defines a product as being on sale when OnsalePrice changes AND when OriginalPrice is greater than OnsalePrice.
Find tracking for setting up the product feed here: https://support.raptorsmartadvisor.com/hc/en-us/articles/13480621408156-Setting-up-a-Product-Catalog-for-Recommendation-Engine
🔍 Note: Ensure that the ProductId in the tracking matches the ProductNumber in the feed.
Combine the Trigger with e-mail personalization modules
Combination 1
Top selling items on sale
Popular items are often in high demand, and showcasing them can capture the attention of users, encouraging them to spend more time browsing the site.
Highlighting top-selling products that are on sale can create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, prompting customers to make a purchase before the deal ends.
When customers see that certain items are popular and have been purchased by many others, it builds trust and encourages them to consider those products more seriously.
🔍 Note: if you wanna build you recommendations on products on offer, simply go to the data manager and make a new product with products on sale. Look for the module "Most popular items" in the Raptor Control Panel
E-mail example:
Combination 2
Product Interest Price Drop x Look Alike Products
The recommendation method "Look Alike Products" is the king of product recommendations. every ecommerce brand worth its salt has a product carousel featuring look alike products on all PDP pages. Across all industries, this is the most used and best converting recommendation method. Why not utilize this in your emails? Enrich your product interest emails with AI-generated look alike products to provide users with the best alternatives to the products they've already shown interest in. Boost products within the same category and brand if you want to ensure that the products are exactly alike. If you want to introduce the user to a new brand, you can easily boost similar products from other brands within the algorithm. Of course, the recommendations can be personalized.
Look for the module "Other customers have also seen" in Raptors Control Panel
E-mail example:
Combination 3
Product Interest x Content
Let us help you make the right choice. The Raptor engine can, through AI, combine products and articles, allowing you to use dynamic content images in your Product Interest Triggers. By offering high-quality articles, your brand can establish authority within the market, fostering trust and credibility among customers. The articles also serve to educate customers about products, industry trends, and best practices, empowering them to make informed purchasing decisions. Look for the module 'Customers who viewed this product also saw this content' in Raptor’s Control Panel.
🔍 Note: in order to provide content recommendations in newsletters, it's necessary for you to have a content feed.
E-mail example:
Price Drop Interest Reminder
With the Raptors disqualification features, you can easily send a Price Drop Interest Reminder if the user hasn’t viewed the offer that was sent in the first Trigger
A Price Drop Product Interest Reminder email is a smart strategy for several reasons.
By reminding users, you trigger their memory about the specific product. It nudges them to revisit the site, reinforcing their intent to make a purchase. Users might also need more time to decide or may have been busy during their initial visit. Consistent messaging increases the chances of conversion. Some users delay purchases. The reminder encourages them to act promptly before the discount expires.
Also the reminder emphasizes that the reduced price won’t last forever. FOMO drives action—users fear missing out on a good deal. Users perceive the reminder as an urgent call to action. They understand that time is of the essence.
Last, a timely reminder shows that your brand cares about users’ interests. Even if they don’t convert immediately, the positive interaction contributes to a favorable brand experience.
In summary, a well-timed reminder email complements the initial notification, reinforces user intent, and optimizes conversion rates.