📣 Marketing

Event-Based Trigger

Event Trigger · Behavioural Trigger

Definition

An event-based trigger is the condition that automatically launches a marketing reaction when a specific user event is recorded, giving the communication maximum relevance to the moment.

How an event-based trigger works

A trigger is the condition if X happened, or did not happen, then do Y. In e-commerce X is a
behavioural event and Y is a marketing action.

Event:     add_to_cart → no purchase within 2 hours
Action:    show a popup about limited availability
Condition: not more than once every 48 hours

The decisive difference from a schedule is the individuality of the moment. Each person receives
the reaction at their own moment, not at a shared send time.

The top scenarios in e-commerce

Abandoned cart. An item added, no purchase after one or two hours → a popup or notification with
a reminder. One of the highest-converting triggers, because intent is at its peak.

Price drop. The price of a wishlisted or previously viewed item falls → an immediate
notification. Relevance of the signal drives conversion.

Back in stock. An item returns to availability → a notification to the people who viewed it
while it was unavailable.

Onboarding. A registration with no purchase within 24 hours → an onboarding popup offering help
with the choice or a first-order incentive.

Trigger	Event	Typical reaction delay
Abandoned cart	add_to_cart minus purchase	1–4 hours
Abandoned browse	product_view × 3	24–48 hours
Reactivation	last_purchase older than 90 days	Immediately on the visit
Price drop	price_decrease on a wishlisted item	Immediately

Data quality is the foundation

Triggers work exactly as well as the event tracking behind them. Missing events are silent triggers.
Duplicated events are false firings.

Important: audit event completeness before launching event-based triggers. A classic failure is
the purchase event not firing when a payment errors, so the shopper receives a you left your cart
message immediately after trying to pay.

Frequently asked questions

How does it differ from a scheduled send?

A scheduled send is tied to a clock: every VIP customer on Friday at 11:00. An event-based trigger is tied to an action: this specific person, two hours after they added to cart and did not order. The timeout is individual rather than shared.

Can inactivity be a trigger?

Yes, and it is an important class. Has not purchased for 60 days or has not opened the app for 14 days are event-based triggers on a negative condition. They are implemented as a scheduled check: the system tests the inactivity threshold daily.

How is the frequency controlled?

Through a cooldown period: once the trigger fires for a person, a timeout blocks it from firing again. An abandoned cart popup, for example, shows no more than once every 48 hours. Without a cooldown, aggressive triggers irritate people and cost loyalty.

Which events are most valuable in e-commerce?

In descending order of the value of the moment: add_to_cart without purchase (high intent, hot moment); a product viewed three or more times without buying (declared interest); a search with no click (unmet demand); a wishlist add (intent on a longer horizon); a first purchase (onboarding toward the second).

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