What are three areas a business user can apply custom catalog dimensions?

In Salesforce Personalization (formerly Interaction Studio) or other Industry-specific Marketing Cloud extensions, you can configure custom catalog dimensions (sometimes called “catalog attributes” or “dimensional data”) for products, content, or other catalog objects. Once configured, these additional attributes become available throughout the platform for various use cases.

Below are the three core areas (from the listed options) where a business user can leverage these custom catalog dimensions, along with Salesforce documentation references:

1. Segmentation

How It Works

Custom catalog dimensions allow you to define attributes (like product color, brand, or style) and then use these attributes in segment criteria. For example, if you create a dimension called "Brand," you can build a segment of visitors who have viewed or purchased items where Brand = X.

Why This Matters

By leveraging catalog-driven segments, you can more precisely target audiences based on the items they browse or purchase.

Salesforce Reference

Salesforce Help: Segment Builder OverviewExplains how to build segments using catalog attributes (dimensions).

2. Reporting

How It Works

Custom catalog dimensions can appear as breakdowns or dimension filters in certain Personalization reports and dashboards. For instance, you might see reporting that shows conversion, clicks, or revenue segmented by a custom dimension like “Category” or “Brand”.

Why This Matters

Analyzing performance metrics by these custom dimensions provides deeper insight into how different attributes perform (e.g., which brand sells best, which category has the highest click-through rate, etc.).

Salesforce Reference

Salesforce Help: Analytics and Reporting in PersonalizationIllustrates how catalog dimensions can be used in various analytics views.

3. Recipe Exclusions and Boosting

How It Works

Recipes (the rule sets and algorithms that generate personalized recommendations) can use custom dimensions to exclude certain items or boost others. For example, you might boost items with Sustainability = "EcoFriendly" or exclude products where Brand = "CompetitorBrand".

Why This Matters

This gives merchandisers or marketers fine-grained control over product recommendations, ensuring the right products are shown (or hidden) based on business goals and strategies.

Salesforce Reference

Salesforce Help: Recipe Builder OverviewExplains how to create and configure recipes to boost or exclude items using custom catalog dimensions.