Multi-view catalog

For specific customer scenarios, Bloomreach might recommend a multi-view catalog implementation. Simply put, a multi-view integration allows us to use a common base product catalog while changing some product display attributes for each customized view.

Is a multi-view catalog appropriate for my site?

Here are a few scenarios in which a multi-view catalog can help.

1. B2B e-commerce site: if you change your pricing or product availability based on specific contract terms with other businesses, a multi-view integration allows you to pass the various product versions of a given product, and tell us which version to display to which views.
2. Multi-brand site: when a site has multiple brands that sell the same product but use different product names, a multi-view catalog enables Bloomreach to understand the various titles for a product and know which title to display to which user.

View ID values

We have designed our multi-view system to accept most view ID values that you might need. A view ID, simply put, allows us to filter the catalog to only show the products and versions of products that you want a particular site visitor or subsite within your account to see. The view ID values you choose must be consistent across the pixel, product feed, and API. This is important for Bloomreach to properly associate product information and user behavioral information to optimize the appropriate view's ranking.

Product Catalog

If your product catalog has more than one version of the same product, you can include more than one product entry with the same product ID (pid), then specify for each entry the view_id values to indicate which specific entry to display to which site visitors or subsites. Here is a truncated sample feed:

In this example, Acme.com has three views of their product. Acme.com displays version 01 of the product on their regular site. When visitors land in their flash sales micro-site, they see version 02 at the discounted price of $220. Acme.com shows to their most loyal customers version 03 of the product, a VIP discounted version. Acme.com uses view_id values of regular, sale or loyal_customer when calling Bloomreach, and Bloomreach returns the appropriate version of the product based on the view.

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Tips

1. Multiple view IDs
You can add multiple view_id values in the feed for a given pid entry. Simply add the various view_id values in a comma-separated format to the view_id field.

2. Base catalog
If you have a base catalog, which is a set of products that can be included for all views, let your Bloomreach representative know which view to set as the base view. Products marked as base products will be included whenever they match a page, regardless of the view_id passed. In the event that two versions of a pid match, one part of the base catalog and one view-specific variation, we return only the view-specific variation.

Tracking Pixel

You must include the appropriate view_id value in the general Bloomreach tracking pixel for each user throughout the journey. This enables Bloomreach to leverage the view_id information to further optimize ranking on your site for specific views.

API

The view_id parameter must be included in all API calls to allow Bloomreach to return the appropriate product details for a given view. If view_id is not included in the API call, a default view of the product catalog can be used in the API response. Your Bloomreach representative can help you configure your default view.