You’re running a Diwali campaign. Same creative. Same timing. Two very different users:
Rina – Budget-conscious, looking for gifts under ₹1,500
Arjun – Abandoned a cart with premium formal shirts last night
Both get your “Diwali Offers” email.
Rina sees premium products at ₹8,000. She closes it.
Arjun sees basic discount items. He deletes it.
Same campaign. Zero relevance for either.
Recommendations are either too generic (Top Items) or too opaque (Personalised).
And too often, marketers find themselves looking at a recommendation widget thinking:
“This doesn’t feel relevant. And I can’t even explain why it showed up.”
And today, relevance delayed is relevance denied.
This happens because we’re still stuck with two types of recommendations:
Top Items – Show what’s popular overall
- Great for discovery and trending products
- Example: “Bestselling shoes this week”
Personalized Recommendations – Show what similar users liked
- Powerful for behavior-based suggestions
- Example: “Because you viewed this, you might like…”
Both are incredibly useful. But there’s been a missing piece: campaign-aware, context-driven curation. Personalized recommendations excel at behavioral patterns, but they’re the same whether it’s Arjun in Mumbai or Aman in Pune.
Collections gives the possibility of adding and capturing context that Arjun is in Mumbai, and Aman is in Pune.
You will now be able to geo-recommend popular items in e-commerce with range filters. Popular restaurants in your area for F&B brands. Or coupon codes for shops near you.
Because what if you could combine the power of recommendations with real-time campaign context?
We solved exactly that.
Introducing Collections.
Collections is the next evolution – a real-time curation layer that works alongside your existing recommendations.
While Top Items and Personalized Recommendations continue driving discovery and behavioral patterns, Collections adds campaign-aware, context-driven control.
Think of it as moving from:
- “What users generally prefer” (Top Items)
- “What similar users liked” (Personalized)
To:
- “What makes sense for this user, in this campaign, right now” (Collections)
It’s not about replacing recommendations – it’s about giving you another powerful tool for when you need precise, marketer-controlled curation.
How Collections Actually Work
Let’s go back to Rina and Arjun.
With Collections, you set up dynamic rules that filter your catalog in real-time:
Same campaign. One send. Infinite variations.
You already have this data in your catalog – seasons, tags, locations, stock levels, prices. Collections make it usable in real-time, without any engineering overhead.
Why This Changes Everything
The Key Difference
| Feature | Best For | Collections Adds |
| Top Items | Discovery, trending products | Campaign-specific filtering + business rules |
| Personalized Recommendations | Behavioral patterns | Marketer-controlled context + real-time rules |
| Collections | Campaign-driven curation | Transparent rules that adapt per user, per session |
When to Use What
- Top Items: Homepage discovery, “What’s trending now”
- Personalized Recommendations: “You might also like”, behavioral nudges
- Collections: Campaign-specific offers, festive sales, clearance events, geo-targeted promotions
- And customised rules when you want control.
They work better together. Use Collections when you need precise control over what shows up in a specific campaign or context.
What You Get
For Marketing Teams:
- Design campaigns around business goals (festive sales, clearance, geo-specific offers)
- Apply rules by season, location, behavior, or any custom user attribute
- No waiting on engineering to tweak logic
- Align recommendations with actual campaign strategy
For Product Teams:
- Complete transparency – no mysterious algorithms
- Reusable collections across emails, push, in-app, web
- Multi-sort and randomization to keep experiences fresh
- Mix automated rules with manual overrides when needed
Real-World Use Cases
🛒 Retail & D2C: Stop Losing Cart Abandoners
The Challenge: Someone abandons a cart. By the time your next campaign goes out, they’ve forgotten about it.
With Collections:
- User abandons formal shirts → Instantly see “Formal Shirts, Same Brand, In Stock, Price ≤ Cart Value”
- User browses Diwali deals but hasn’t bought in 90 days → Get “Ethnic Wear, Discount ≥ 25%, High Stock”
Impact: Instant, behavior-aware nudges the moment they interact.
✈️ Travel: Capture Last-Minute Urgency
The Challenge: Travel decisions happen fast. “Top hotels” lists ignore urgency.
With Collections:
- Sneha searches Goa beaches today → Instantly see “Beach Resorts, Goa, Rating ≥ 4.5, Pool = Yes, Available This Weekend”
- Raj books flights for tomorrow’s Delhi meeting → Get “Business Hotels, ≤5km from Airport, Tonight Available = True”
Impact: Real-time trip context powers same-session conversions.
🎬 OTT: Match the Mood, Right Now
The Challenge: Viewer moods shift daily. Static “Top 10” rows feel stale.
With Collections:
- Aditi finishes 3 thrillers this week → Homepage updates: “Latest Thrillers, Rating ≥ 4, Released ≥ 2022”
- Vikram logs into Kids’ profile → See “Family Movies, Age Rating = U, Duration < 90 mins”
Impact: Homepage refreshes the moment behavior shifts.
🍔 QSR: Time, Place, and Appetite
The Challenge: Cravings are momentary. Static menus ignore time and location.
With Collections:
- 1pm in Mumbai → “Paneer Specials, Discount ≥ 15%, In Stock”
- 10pm in Bangalore → “Chicken Specials, Fast Delivery < 30min”
Impact: Menus adapt instantly to time-of-day, city, and stock levels.
🎟️ Events: Create Real-Time Discovery
The Challenge: Event discovery is time-sensitive. Static newsletters miss urgency.
With Collections:
- Neha views an Arijit Singh concert → Next email curates “Similar Artists, Same City, Next 30 Days”
- Rahul browses comedy → Homepage shows “Comedy in Bangalore, Price < ₹500, This Weekend”
Impact: 3X higher booking conversions vs generic newsletters.
💊 Healthcare: When Urgency Matters Most
The Challenge: Health needs can’t wait. Static medicine lists miss context.
With Collections:
- User adds paracetamol → Instantly see “Fever Relief, In Stock, Same-Day Delivery”
- User searches diabetes → Get “Diabetes Panel, Price ≤ ₹1,000, Appointment Slots = Next 48h”
Impact: Real-time context builds trust and drives urgent conversions.
The Bottom Line
Recommendations have evolved:
- Top Items for discovery
- Personalized for behavioral patterns
- Collections for campaign-driven curation
Together, they give you a complete toolkit.
Collections adds the missing piece: the power to:
- Design recommendations around specific business goals
- Adapt in real-time to user behavior and campaign context
- Maintain full control and transparency
- Create infinite variations from one campaign
Collections aren’t about replacing what works.
They’re about giving you precise control when you need to show users exactly what matters to them, right now.
Ready to see Collections in action?
Request a demo now.
Harshita Lal