Target: Purchase History

Use this target in Web and Dialog activities to target customers whose purchase history with your site meets certain criteria. You can build purchase history scenarios around the orders a customer has placed or the items a customer has purchased. You can specify additional criteria related to quantities purchased, money spent, and the time frame for the purchases.

WebSphere Commerce ProfessionalWebSphere Commerce EnterpriseDialog activities are available only in the Professional and Enterprise editions of WebSphere Commerce.

You can then build targeted Web and Dialog activities to communicate relevant marketing messages to customers whose purchase history matches your scenario.

Introduced in Feature Pack 2You can also use this target in search rules.

Example 1

Here is an example of a Web activity that uses a purchase history scenario to display a targeted advertisement:

When a customer views the e-Marketing Spot in the first row of the home page: If the customer has ever purchased anything from the Children's Clothing category, then display an ad for the new line of children's clothes.


Example of the Purchase History target

Example 2

Here is another example; this time the purchase history scenario focuses on orders placed and includes a minimum value and a time frame:

When a customer views the e-Marketing Spot in the catalog banner: If the customer has placed at least three orders with a total value of at least $100 in the last 90 days, then display an ad about the benefits of "Preferred Customer" status.


Example of the Purchase History target

Prerequisite for using this target

Make sure your site is configured to support the Management Center marketing features.

Guidelines for using this target

This target considers the complete, recorded purchase history of a customer on your site.

When setting up this target, you must specify which aspect of the customer's purchase history you want to focus on. Options are:

  • Orders containing any catalog entries; use this option to focus on a customer's order history in general, regardless of what they purchased.
  • Purchases of specific catalog entries.
  • Purchases of catalog entries from specific categories.

You can also specify:

  • The number of orders placed or catalog entries purchased
  • The value of orders placed or catalog entries purchased
  • The time frame during which the customer placed the orders or purchased the catalog entries

Alternatively, you can use this target to target customers whose purchase history does not match the criteria that you specify.