Creating dynamic customer segments

A Dynamic segment calculates membership from customer rules. Use it for a group such as returning customers whose default address is in the United States.

See Managing customer segments for the list and type comparison. Use Static segments when you want to select individual members manually.

Before you start

You need customer-segment permissions, plan access, and customer data that can satisfy your chosen criteria. Review any automations that react to customers entering or leaving the group before saving it.

This guide uses an unsaved Returning US customers form in Bloom & Co. Its preview contains no matching customers. No segment, saved membership, campaign, or automation was created or changed for the screenshots.

Choose a blank segment or starter

1. Open Customers > Customer segments > Create segment.
2. Choose Dynamic and click Continue.
3. Select Blank Dynamic Segment to build your own conditions, or select a predefined starter to fill the name and rules.

A starter is an editable starting point. Review its operators and values before saving. The template creation route also uses this Dynamic guide. Select an image to enlarge it.

Name the segment and choose a status

Enter Segment name, such as Returning US customers. New forms initially select Active; choose Draft while preparing it.

Status and membership rules serve different purposes. Check how the saved segment will be used in targeting and automations before making it active. Segment membership does not update a customer's account status or marketing opt-in values.

Build the conditions

Each rule has a Field, an Operator, and a value. Use Add rule for additional conditions, and review a row again after changing its field. Some fields accept a predefined value and restrict the operator to Equals.

For this example:

1. Set Field to Orders count.
2. Choose greater than and enter 1.
3. Click Add rule and leave AND selected.
4. Set the second field to Country, use equals, and choose United States.
5. Keep Draft while reviewing the result.

AND requires the conditions to hold together. In this example, a matching customer needs more than one order and a United States default-address country. A customer without the relevant address data may not match the country condition.

Choose values that match the field

Available criteria include order count, total spent, country, customer state, verification, marketing opt-in levels, and activity indicators such as abandoned checkout or email interaction.

For predefined fields, choose the value the control offers instead of typing a different label. Changing a field can reset its value or select a compatible operator automatically.

Last order date and Created at use a relative number of days in the current evaluator. For example, a value of 30 is compared with a date calculated 30 days in the past; check the comparison direction and preview. Do not enter a formatted calendar date in that value field.

Review matching customers

Allow the Customers preview to refresh after changing the rules. Review both the number of matches and the returned customers when available.

An empty result can mean no current customer meets the conditions. Incomplete rows are excluded from the current creation form's preview and save payload, so complete or remove unused rows before saving. A partially configured row should not be relied on to restrict the group.

The preview evaluates the current form. The saved segment's member list is maintained through background processing. Compare them after a successful save and completed rebuild rather than assuming that previewing has already updated membership.

Save and verify rebuilding

1. Review the name, status, complete rules, and intended audience.
2. Click Add to create the segment and resolve any error. Existing segment edits use Save.
3. Reopen the segment and confirm its saved rules.
4. If it is rebuilding, wait for processing to finish before reviewing member count, customer percentage, and the saved member list.
5. Check that representative members meet the intended conditions before using the segment for targeting.

Creation and rule updates request a background membership rebuild. Active Dynamic segments also have a scheduled refresh. Membership should not be treated as an instant query that reruns for every customer action. The screenshots demonstrate a live form preview, not a saved or completed rebuild.

Maintain and use the segment

Edit the saved segment to change its name, status, or rules. Recheck values after changing fields, and compare the saved members after a rule rebuild completes. Keep the current OR limitation in mind when reviewing more complex conditions.

Select the saved group in another workflow's segment selector where supported, such as broadcast audiences or eligible discount conditions. Review that feature's own rules, status, and recorded consent requirements. Existing automations can respond to membership changes, so review their configuration before updating the audience.

Troubleshooting