Every Smart Recommender setup starts with your Product Catalog, the foundation that stores all product information, such as names, prices, images, and availability. However, every business organizes and prioritizes product data differently. A fashion brand focuses on sizes and stock, a real estate platform manages listings and availability, and a media company emphasizes publication dates.
To support these different business models, Smart Recommender offers multiple Product Catalog Feed Types, each designed for a specific way to structure and interpret product data. Selecting the right feed type ensures your recommendations remain relevant, up to date, and aligned with how your business operates.
Think of the feed type as a guide that helps Smart Recommender understand what matters most in your catalog. Whether you sell products, list properties, or publish content, you are defining how the system should interpret and prioritize your data.
Stock–Revenue Based Feed
The Stock–Revenue Based feed type is designed for ecommerce and marketplace businesses that sell physical products and rely heavily on pricing and stock availability. It is ideal for retailers where inventory levels and prices change frequently.
Example:
Consider a fashion brand selling sneakers. When a customer browses a product page, Smart Recommender checks the catalog to identify which items are currently in stock and which are discounted. It then recommends related products that are available, highlights best sellers within the same category, or suggests similar models at slightly higher price points.
If a specific sneaker is out of stock, Smart Recommender automatically excludes it from recommendations and instead surfaces a comparable option that is available in the shopper’s size. This ensures recommendations always reflect real inventory and prevents users from encountering unavailable products.
Availability-Based Feed
The Availability-Based feed type is suited for businesses where items are either available or unavailable, and pricing is not the primary factor. It is commonly used by rental, booking, or listing platforms where availability changes frequently.
Example:
Imagine a real estate platform where property prices may vary based on dates or custom agreements. What matters most is whether a listing is available.
With an availability-based feed, Smart Recommender displays only properties that are available to book within the user’s selected timeframe. For instance, if a visitor searches for a seaside villa in Antalya for mid-July, the system excludes already-booked properties and recommends similar available options. This helps users find relevant listings quickly while avoiding dead ends.
Published-Time Based Feed
The Published-Time Based feed type is ideal for publishers, blogs, and media platforms that work with time-sensitive content. The key attribute is the publication or update time, which determines content relevance.
Example:
On a news website, when a reader views a breaking news article, Smart Recommender uses publication dates to recommend the most recent related stories, such as follow-up coverage or expert commentary published within the last few hours.
On a lifestyle or content platform, this feed ensures that newer posts, such as current seasonal guides or trending topics, are prioritized over outdated articles. This keeps the content experience fresh and encourages users to continue exploring.
Start–End-Time Based Feed
The Start–End-Time Based feed type is designed for time-bound offerings such as events, travel deals, ticketing platforms, or limited-time experiences. Each item has a defined start and end date, ensuring recommendations are shown only while they are relevant.
Example:
On an event platform, Smart Recommender checks the start and end dates before displaying recommendations. Past events or expired offers are automatically excluded.
If a user is looking for activities happening this weekend, the system recommends upcoming concerts, exhibitions, or tours scheduled within that timeframe. This prevents outdated promotions and ensures users always see current and actionable options.
Choosing the right feed type
You can think of Smart Recommender as a knowledgeable assistant that adapts to your business context. The Product Catalog Feed Type defines the rules it follows:
Retailers tell the system to focus on price and stock
Publishers emphasize recency and freshness
Event-based businesses define when items are valid
Selecting the correct Product Catalog Feed Type is what enables Smart Recommender to deliver recommendations that are not only intelligent but also perfectly aligned with your data structure and business goals.