Product hard launch

This guide introduces the Product hard launch feature.

What is Product hard launch

Product hard launch lets you prepare and schedule product releases without exposing them to customers beforehand. You can globally hide specific products while still accessing them in your merchandising dashboard to optimize placement, create campaigns, and coordinate marketing assets—all before the official launch.

This feature eliminates last-minute tweaks by letting you plan weeks in advance. Position products, apply boost rules, and prepare promotional materials while keeping everything completely hidden from customers until the launch day.

How Product hard launch works

Product hard launch controls product visibility through two approaches that let you hide products while preparing merchandising strategies.

Global rule method

• Create include or exclude rules in your merchandising dashboard that prevent products from appearing anywhere on your site.
• Products remain accessible for merchandising but stay hidden from customers until you manually remove the rules or let them expire on schedule.

API filtering method

• Add custom timestamp attributes to products in your feed and use API filter parameters to automatically control product visibility.
• Products appear and disappear according to their specified launch or expiration dates.

Both methods ensure complete control over product visibility while maintaining your strategic positioning work. Global rules offer manual control and instant launches, while API filtering provides time-based management without requiring dashboard changes.

Business use cases

Global rule method

Launch pre-merchandised products

Perfect your product positioning weeks before launch while maintaining complete confidentiality. Eliminate last-minute merchandising scrambles and reveal everything instantly on launch day.

Manage multiple campaigns

Manage multiple product launches independently without campaign interference. Scale your merchandising operations by handling complex, overlapping product strategies with granular control.

API filtering method

Manage time-based launches

Launch products at precise times across multiple time zones without manual intervention. Perfect for coordinated global releases and 24/7 product drops that demand exact timing.

Schedule product launch windows

Manage seasonal products and flash sales with predetermined availability windows. Reduce manual oversight while maximizing revenue from time-sensitive promotions.