Scheduling

Merchandising rules can be scheduled to activate and deactivate automatically on specific dates. This is useful for seasonal promotions, flash sales, product launches, and holiday campaigns.

How Scheduling Works

Each merchandising rule has optional start_date and end_date fields. When set:

• Before start_date: The rule is inactive and does not affect search results
• Between start_date and end_date: The rule is active
• After end_date: The rule automatically deactivates

Dates are in ISO 8601 format and validated to ensure end_date is on or after start_date.

Setting Up a Scheduled Rule

1. Go to Merchandising > Rules
2. Create a new rule or edit an existing one
3. In the Schedule section, set:
   • Start Date -- When the rule should activate
   • End Date -- When the rule should deactivate
4. Click Save

The rule will appear in your rule list with a schedule indicator showing when it activates.

Example Scenarios

Black Friday Sale

Action: Boost
Condition: tag contains "black-friday"
Start Date: 2026-11-27
End Date: 2026-11-30

This rule boosts all products tagged "black-friday" during the sale period, then automatically deactivates.

New Product Launch

Action: Pin (position 1)
Target: New product
Start Date: 2026-04-15
End Date: 2026-04-30

This pins your new product to position 1 in all search results for two weeks after launch.

End-of-Season Clearance

Action: Boost
Condition: tag in ["winter-2026", "clearance"]
Start Date: 2026-02-01
End Date: 2026-03-31

This boosts winter clearance items for two months, then stops automatically.

Rules Without a Schedule

If you do not set dates, the rule is active immediately and stays active until you manually disable or delete it. This is appropriate for permanent merchandising policies (like hiding out-of-stock products).

Overlapping Schedules

Multiple scheduled rules can be active at the same time. When they overlap:

• Rules follow the standard priority and conflict resolution system
• Higher-priority rules take precedence
• Hide actions always override boost/demote actions

Viewing Scheduled Rules

In the merchandising dashboard, you can filter rules by status:

• Active -- Currently active rules (within their date range or with no date range)
• Scheduled -- Rules with a future start date
• Expired -- Rules whose end date has passed

Best Practices

1. Set both start and end dates for promotional rules -- Do not leave end dates blank, or the promotion will run indefinitely
2. Create rules in advance -- Set up your holiday rules a week early so you can review them
3. Use descriptive rule names -- Include the campaign name and dates for easy identification (e.g., "BF2026 - Boost Sale Items")
4. Review expired rules monthly -- Delete or archive rules that have completed to keep your rule list manageable