Launch pre-merchandised products

This Product hard launch use case lets you merchandise products weeks before launch. Ideal for confidential launches like brand collaborations, exclusive collections, or press-sensitive product releases where timing flexibility is crucial.

How it works

Use a simple "Secret" attribute to control product visibility. Mark new products as "Secret=Yes" and create a global rule to hide all secret products until you're ready to reveal them.

Prerequisites

Ensure that you have access to the Global merchandising editor and Catalogs & events admin permissions.

Implementation steps

Step 1: Add feed attribute

Add the new attribute “Secret = Yes/No” to the product feed. All current products in the feed should have this attribute. Include secret products in your feed with "Secret=Yes"

Step 2: Create global include only rule

1. Go to Merchandising → Global merchandising → Ranking rules.

2. Click the + New ranking rule button.

3. Create an "Include Only" rule with the condition: Attribute: Secret = No. This rule prevents any product marked as secret from appearing on any Bloomreach-powered pages or modules (Search, Category, Product Suggest in Autosuggest, and more).

   

Note: Once a new product is included in the product feed, there is a chance that the Autosuggest algorithm will pick up terms from the new product and expose it to users who use Autosuggest. If you are concerned and would like to prevent this from happening, do the following:

• For product suggestions: Add the global include only rule to prevent those products from appearing.
• For query suggestions: Add the term to the autosuggest blocklist and ensure to turn the toggle OFF when products go live.

Step 3: Merchandise your hidden products

1. Due to the global rule, the secret products (with Attribute: Secret = No) won't appear on your live site but will be available in your merchandising dashboard.

2. Search for secret products in the category ranking rules and add them to the desired categories.

   

3. Apply merchandising operations like boost or bury as needed. Note that the global rule for Include only: Attribute Secret = No rule appears under the External changes tab.

Step 4: Launch pre-merchandised products

On launch day, delete the global "Include only" rule or let it expire if you set a schedule. The pre-merchandised secret products show up in the proper categories with AI-optimized ranking.

Caching and rule expiration considerations

• Remove any site caching to prevent delays in showing new products to visitors.
• If you use scheduled global rules, all rules within that global configuration will expire together, which may affect other merchandising settings.

Example

Coordinated brand collaboration launch

Acme Corp partners with the Nina Stewart Collection for an exclusive home goods line. They need to pre-merchandise products on Home Furnishings and Home Decor category pages while keeping the collaboration completely secret until the press launch.

Using the Secret attribute method, Acme Corp marks all Nina Stewart products as "Secret=Yes" and creates a global rule to hide them.

Their merchandising team spends weeks optimizing product placement and creating promotional banners. On launch day, they remove the global rule, and all pre-positioned products appear instantly across the site.