Trigger comparison
Bloomreach offers multiple trigger mechanisms for different use cases. This guide compares three commonly confused approaches to help you select the best fit for your specific scenario:
- API trigger: Best for broadcasting a single event to many customers at once, such as urgent news or global alerts.
- Tracking API and On event trigger: Ideal for reacting instantly to individual customer actions when your system already sends Bloomreach-ready data.
- Omniconnect + On event trigger**: Perfect when you need to transform, clean, or authenticate incoming data before it becomes an event in Bloomreach.
API Trigger
Built for "world events" such as a football goal, price change, or weather alert. A single request sparks a scenario that fans out to the entire qualified audience.
Common examples: "A goal is scored in a football match" or "20M contacts get a push at kickoff."
Rate limiting: Global rate window enforced (1 request every 1-100 seconds, depending on project size). Exceeding it returns HTTP 429.
When to use
- Sports events (goals scored, game start times)
- Price changes or flash sales
- Weather alerts for affected regions
- Breaking news announcements
- System maintenance notifications
When not to use
- Individual customer events
- High-frequency events
- Real-time personalization
- Transactional messages
Tracking API + "On event" trigger
Tracking API is meant for real-time, per-customer events—"manipulating customer and event properties."
In a scenario, an "On event" trigger streams exactly one customer each time the event is tracked, allowing the journey to react immediately (for example, by sending financing options).
Best when: The external system can already send Bloomreach-ready JSON. No extra middleware needed.
When to use
- Financing applications requiring instant response
- Cart abandonment triggers
- Purchase confirmations
- Account status changes
- Subscription renewals
When not to use
- Broadcast scenarios
- Complex data transformation needed
- Third-party webhooks requiring validation
Omniconnect + "On event" trigger
Accepts third-party webhooks directly and lets you rewrite the payload in JavaScript before it becomes an event/attribute.
Added features:
- Built-in logging and retry visibility
- Governance guardrails: up to 5 integrations per account, 400k requests/month each
Ideal when: The inbound call contains extra nesting, different field names, or requires HMAC verification—things the plain Tracking API won't handle.
When to use
- Third-party system integrations with different data formats
- Webhooks requiring HMAC verification
- Payloads with nested data structures
- Custom authentication requirements
- Integration logging and monitoring needs
When not to use
- Simple, clean data (use Tracking API instead)
- Broadcast scenarios (use API Trigger instead)
- Real-time critical events (transformation adds latency)
Quick decision chart
| Use case | Recommended path |
|---|---|
| Kick-off at 7 pm; message 20M fans | API Trigger |
| Customer applies for financing (payload already clean) → trigger scenario for Customer | Tracking API + "On event" |
| Customer applies for financing (payload needs mapping or signing) → trigger scenario for Customer | Omniconnect + "On event" |
Detailed comparison table
| Feature | API Trigger | Tracking API + "On event" | Omniconnect + "On event" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use case | Send urgent weather alerts to all subscribers in affected regions | Send financing options when customer applies for credit | Process financing applications from ChargeAfter with custom payload transformation |
| Trigger source | Severe weather detection system | Customer financing application on website | ChargeAfter webhook with custom data format |
| Input data | Weather alert type, impacted regions, severity level, expiration time | Customer ID, application amount, credit score, product category | Raw ChargeAfter payload with nested data and HMAC signature |
| Customer message | SMS: "Severe thunderstorm warning for your area. Take shelter immediately." | Email: "Your financing options for $2,500 purchase" | Email: "Your financing application has been processed" |
| API payload example | { "alert_type": "severe_thunderstorm", "regions": ["NYC", "NJ", "CT"], "severity": "high", "expires_at": "2024-01-15T20:00:00Z" } | { "customer_id": "12345", "event": "financing_application", "amount": 2500, "credit_score": 720, "product_category": "electronics" } | { "chargeafter_data": { "application_id": "CA123", "customer": { "email": "[email protected]", "amount": 2500 } }, "signature": "hmac_hash_here" } |
| Setup configuration | API Trigger settings: Rate limit 60 seconds, authentication configured | Tracking API endpoint configured with authentication | Omniconnect webhook endpoint with JavaScript transformation |
| Scenario setup | API Trigger → Filter by region → Send SMS | On Event: financing_application → Send personalized email | Omniconnect → Transform payload → On Event: financing_processed → Send email |
| Expected outcome | All subscribers in NYC, NJ, CT receive SMS within 30 seconds | Customer receives the financing options email immediately | Customer receives confirmation email after payload transformation |
| Rate limits | Global rate window (1-100 seconds, depending on project size) | No global limits, per-customer processing | 5 integrations per account, 400,000 requests/month each |
| Technical complexity | Simple setup, complex rate limit management | Medium complexity, requires Bloomreach-ready JSON | High complexity, requires JavaScript transformation |
| Data processing | Broadcast events (one-to-many) | Individual customer events (one-to-one) | Individual customer events with transformation (one-to-one + processing) |
Updated 4 days ago