--- title: "Smart Recommender for Sports & Outdoors Verticals" slug: "smart-recommender-for-sports-outdoors-verticals" description: "Smart Recommender for sports and outdoors helps Insider One customers recommend seasonal gear, beginner kits, and activity add-ons such as helmets." updated: 2026-10-20T13:58:39Z published: 2026-10-20T13:58:39Z canonical: "academy.insiderone.com/smart-recommender-for-sports-outdoors-verticals" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://academy.insiderone.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Smart Recommender for Sports & Outdoors Verticals Sports and outdoors serve everyone from performance athletes to weekend explorers. Sport, experience level, season, location, and gear lifecycle shape buying behavior, and shoppers often browse by sport, goal, or need (clothing, equipment, or nutrition). This article shows how to use Smart Recommender in Insider One to recommend complete gear setups and drive repeat purchases across seasons. It includes an A/B test walkthrough for activity cross-sells and strategies for each page type. > [!NOTE] > **Before you start:** Make sure your product catalog includes the attributes this article filters on, such as Category, Season, Activity Type, and Kit ID. Create missing custom attributes on the **Product Attributes** page and mark them as filterable. ### What you can achieve with Smart Recommender #### Seasonal highlights Show collections such as "Get Ready for Hiking Season" or "Winter Training Gear" on the homepage. #### Starter kits for beginners Help newcomers with bundles such as "Trail Running Essentials" or "Beginner Camping Kit." #### Gear cross-sells Recommend add-ons like socks with shoes or hydration packs with hiking boots to increase average order value (AOV). #### Re-engagement Show inactive shoppers products tied to their past purchases and current activity trends. #### Impulse add-ons at checkout Suggest protein bars, gloves, or headbands on the cart page. #### Personalization by activity Adapt widgets to each shopper's preferred sport, such as cycling, hiking, or yoga. #### Attribute-based boosting Use Attribute Affinity to prioritize fit, size, material (for example, waterproof), or brand. #### A/B testing Test widget placement, themes, and bundled versus standalone items. ### Walkthrough: Boost AOV with activity cross-sells Sports and outdoors purchases often support a larger goal, such as a first bike ride or a hiking trip. Recommending the gear that completes the activity raises AOV. This walkthrough tests two cross-sell strategies on bike product detail pages: - **Variant A:** Recommend helmets. - **Variant B:** Recommend hydration gear. #### Step 1: Create the recommendation strategies Navigate to **Recommendation Strategies** and click **Create**. Configure the first strategy as follows: 1. Select **Product Detail Page** as the page type. 2. Select **Purchased Together** as the algorithm. 3. Enter the number of products to recommend. 4. Exclude products purchased in the last four weeks. 5. Add a filter for the category attribute: Category + is + Helmets. Create the second strategy with the same settings and change only the category filter: 1. Category + is + Hydration Gear. **Note:** Keep every other setting identical between the two strategies. If more than one setting changes, you cannot tell which change caused the difference in results. #### Step 2: Launch the campaign Navigate to **Web Smart Recommender** and click **Create**. 1. Select the integration method for the widget. 2. On the **Segments** step, select customers with a low AOV under **Purchasing Behavior** and set your threshold. 3. On the **Rules** step, use **Page Rules** to target the product detail pages of bikes. 4. On the **Design** step, assign one strategy to each variant and set the traffic allocation for each variant. 5. Click **Edit Design** to open the **Advanced Product Card Designer** and customize your product cards. 6. Select the locales and stores where the campaign appears. 7. Review the campaign details, confirm that every setting matches your goal, and click **Launch**. **Note:** Every attribute you show on a product card must exist in your product catalog. To show more information, create custom attributes on the **Product Attributes** page. #### Step 3: Track campaign metrics 1. Navigate to **Smart Recommender Analytics**. 2. Find your campaign in the **Campaign and Variant Metrics** table. When the test period ends, click the campaign name. 3. Compare Direct Revenue, Average Order Value (AOV), and Conversion Rate for the two variants. This shows whether helmets or hydration gear raise AOV more for low-spending customers. 4. If one variant clearly wins, set its traffic allocation to 100% so every visitor sees the better strategy. After you find a winner, test other pairings, such as lights or locks, by changing the category filter. #### Step 4: Optimize your campaigns After the campaign has run long enough to collect data, use **Smart Recommender Analytics** to improve it: - **Engagement funnel:** Review product impressions, click-through rate, add-to-cart rate, and conversion rate to see where shoppers drop off. - **Campaign and variant performance:** Compare AOV, Conversion Rate, and Direct Revenue in the **Campaign and Variant Metrics** table, then refine or scale the winning variant. - **Product-level impact:** Open **Top 100 Product Analytics** to see which recommended products perform best. Give extra visibility to strategic products that perform below expectations. - **Category trends:** Use **Category Analytics** to find the categories that drive the most conversions, and decide whether to prioritize them or promote weaker ones. ### Use cases by page type #### Home page ##### Seasonal gear highlights Show the products gaining interest this season, such as trail shoes in spring or thermal leggings in winter. 1. Create a strategy with the **Trending Products** algorithm. 2. Turn on the **Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity** toggle. 3. Add the filter Season + is + Spring. **Tip:** Use titles such as "Spring Trail Favorites." ##### Starter kits for beginners Help first-time visitors with beginner bundles, such as trail shoes, a water bottle, and a daypack. 1. Create a strategy with the **Top Sellers** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + is + Starter Kits. 3. Target new users on the **Segments** step. **Note:** To recommend the rest of a kit, create a custom attribute called Kit ID on the **Product Attributes** page and give every item in a kit the same value (for example, Sports Kit 01). **Tip:** A/B test headlines such as "Outdoor Starter Pack" and "Your First Trail Kit." ##### Recently viewed items Remind returning shoppers of the gear they explored earlier. 1. Create a strategy with the **Recently Viewed** algorithm. 2. Exclude products the user already purchased. 3. Target returning users on the **Segments** step. **Note:** Recently Viewed and User Based rely on each user's past behavior. Target returning users so these widgets always have data to show. #### Product detail page ##### Complete the activity Recommend the gear that completes the activity, such as a helmet and gloves with a bike, or sleeping mats with a tent. 1. Create a strategy with the **Purchased Together** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Activity Type + matches the item they're currently viewing. 3. If you do not have an Activity Type attribute, create it on the **Product Attributes** page (for example, Cycling, Camping). **Tip:** Use the activity type in a dynamic widget title, such as "Complete Your Cycling Setup." ##### Similar products you might like Help shoppers compare alternatives with similar features, such as other trail running shoes. 1. Create a strategy with the **Similar Products** algorithm. 2. Turn on the **Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity** toggle. This prioritizes preferred brands and fit. #### Category page ##### Best sellers by sport Show the best-selling products in the sport the shopper is browsing, such as tennis. 1. Create a strategy with the **Top Sellers** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + contains + the category they're currently viewing. 3. If your categories are hierarchical, select the **Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display** checkbox, so the widget still fills when the current category has few products. 4. Turn on the **Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity** toggle. ##### Price drops in this category Show the most discounted products in the category the shopper is browsing, such as yoga gear. 1. Create a strategy with the **Highest Discounted** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + contains + the category they're currently viewing. 3. If your categories are hierarchical, select the **Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display** checkbox, so the widget still fills when the current category has few products. 4. Leave Attribute Affinity off. **Tip:** Add a "Limited Time Deal" badge to product cards. #### Cart page ##### Essentials to add Suggest easy-to-forget essentials such as gloves, performance socks, or energy gels. 1. Create a strategy with the **Most Popular** algorithm. 2. Add the filter Category + is one of + Gloves, Socks, Nutrition, Safety Gear. 3. Leave Attribute Affinity off. ##### Reach free shipping Show products that help shoppers reach your free shipping threshold. 1. Create a strategy with the **Checkout Recommendation** algorithm and set the spend threshold (for example, 100 USD). 2. No filters are required. Attribute Affinity is optional. **Tip:** Use copy such as "You are 15 USD away from free shipping." If you do not offer free shipping, use **Purchased Together** instead. ### Related articles - [Algorithm Descriptions](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/algorithm-descriptions) - [Recommendation Strategies](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/smart-recommender-recommendation-strategies) - [A/B Test Recommendation Strategies](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/ab-test-recommendation-strategies) - [Smart Recommender Analytics](https://academy.insiderone.com/docs/smart-recommender-analytics)