Operate > IBM Management Center for WebSphere Commerce > Marketing tool > Work with Web and Dialog activities > Activity building blocks: triggers, targets, and actions > Actions in marketing activities
Action: Recommend Catalog Entry
Use this action in a Web activity to display one or more catalog entries in an e-Marketing Spot. For example, you might want to display a list of featured catalog entries on the category page.
Here is an example of a Web activity that uses the Recommend Catalog Entry action:
When a customer views the e-Marketing Spot on the category page, display four featured catalog entries: Blue Fabric Love Seat, Brushed Steel Lamp, Large Adjustable Desk Lamp, and Modern Occasional table:
When this Web activity is activated, the e-Marketing Spot on the category page displays these four catalog entries:
The JSP file for the e-Marketing Spot defines which pieces of information about the catalog entry to display. For example, the JSP file can display the thumbnail image for the catalog entry, its name, and its offer price, as defined in the Catalogs tool. The JSP file also determines maximum number of catalog entries that can be displayed in the e-Marketing Spot at the same time.
Prerequisites for using this action
- Make sure a site administrator has the site configured to support Management Center marketing features. See Configure marketing for Management Center.
- The catalog entries that to display using the Recommend Catalog Entry action must first be created in the Catalogs tool. See Work with catalog entries.
Guidelines for using this action
When setting up this action, specify one or more catalog entries to display in the e-Marketing Spot.
Preventing the server from displaying catalog entries in certain circumstances
You might not want to display a specific catalog entry to a customer when, for example:
- The store's inventory is low.
- The customer viewing the page already has the catalog entry in their shopping cart or purchase history.
If so, a store developer can configure the store so that the server does not display the catalog entry in these circumstances. For configuration instructions, see Set up filters to control whether to display marketing information in an e-Marketing Spot.
Related concepts
Activity building blocks: triggers, targets, and actions
Actions in marketing activities
Related tasks
Set up filters to control whether to display marketing information in an e-Marketing Spot
Related reference
Sample e-Marketing Spot JSP snippets and the Web activities they support