Tips & Tricks: Using evaluators to improve the user experience

Hi there,

The data available on (or connected to) a page is extensive. Although not all of it is trackable using standard Dynamic Yield scripts, we can mine valuable insights using evaluators. Evaluators are a powerful tool, allowing marketers to target users based on available data in real-time, such as how many items are currently in the cart or what loyalty tier a user is a part of. Today, I am going to break down the nuances of Dynamic Yield evaluators and how to leverage them to create seamless user experiences.

An evaluator is a custom, Javascript code that runs on a page and returns a value based on the data available on the page. They can be used as a targeting condition in a campaign. Additionally, the data collected can be used as a variable within a variation. Some key benefits include:

• Access to snapshot data: Evaluators collect a snapshot of data – made available when a campaign is set to run – allowing you to serve a highly-relevant experience to the user.
• Ability for instant personalization: Evaluators can be used on the first page view, allowing personalization to begin at the earliest moment possible.
• Freedom to customize campaigns: Built as custom code, you can use evaluators to define exactly how the data is collected. Easy to use, the output of data can be a number or a string, depending on what the purpose of the data is.

Using evaluators to improve user experiences
Below, read a few examples of how to use evaluators during experience creation.

Free shipping threshold
As a user adds or removes items from their cart, the cart total changes. Using an evaluator, the system is able to process the current cart total to then alert the customer of the amount still needed to reach the shipping minimum. Those who have surpassed the threshold will be notified of their eligibility for free shopping.

Cart reminders
Even after a user has added an item to the cart, they may abandon a site. For those that return and have at least one item in their cart, expand the cart upon site re-entry to prompt them to instantly proceed to checkout. This can be done by using an evaluator to determine whether the following are both true: (1) It is the user’s first pageview in the session, and (2) There is an item in their cart.

Geo-based alerts
Using the custom evaluator to identify the current location of the users, present options for users to pick-up items or conduct a curbside pickup for items they’ve purchased online if they are within close range of a physical store. This can be achieved by cross-referencing the value returned from the evaluator with a list of the stores’ brick-and-mortar locations, using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Product Recommendations
The number of recommended products served in a widget depends on the algorithm and filters being used. If there are not enough products that meet the filtering rules, the widget will look sparse or even worse, display no products. An evaluator checks the number of items that meet the criteria, ensuring you never serve an empty recommendation widget on your site.

We recently held a three-part webinar series centered on strategies to help marketers navigating the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The recordings of parts one and two are available here. The third part, exclusive to customers, is available here.

Best,
Meira