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Overview

Soft boost is a sorting technique that lifts products matching specific conditions toward a target score. Unlike priority rules that cluster boosted products at the top, soft boost creates natural interleaving by lifting matched products only as much as needed to reach a target band. Soft boosts appear in the sort order editor with a Modifier badge and are visually grouped beneath the metric or attribute they modify. The tree layout shows which expression each soft boost targets.

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How soft boost works

Soft boost supports two modes: Nudge matches up (multiplicative) and Lift matches into view (additive). New soft boosts you add in the editor start in Lift matches into view mode. Each mode uses a different formula to lift products matching specific conditions.
  • Nudge matches up (multiplicative) — gives matching products a small multiplier that’s strongest on low scores and fades on high ones. Products with no metric data don’t move.
  • Lift matches into view (additive) — places matching products at the chosen spot in the list regardless of their metric value, including ones that would rank higher on their own. Use for new arrivals or restocks with little data.
Both modes also enforce a minimum spacing between boosted matches so a cluster of matches never lands adjacent in the final results. See Min positions between. If you want matches to stay clustered in score order instead, turn off Keep matches spaced out.

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Nudge matches up (multiplicative)

Nudge matches up applies a decaying multiplier to the base score, which produces natural interleaving:
  • Products with low base scores get a larger relative boost (the exponential decay is minimal).
  • Products with high base scores get a smaller relative boost (the exponential decay is significant).
  • Non-matching products receive no boost (multiplier = 1).
The score stays the primary signal. A weakly matched product will not leapfrog a stronger non-match. When two or more matches would otherwise land adjacent at the top, Min positions between spreads them out; a single match keeps its natural position. Limitation: Nudge matches up does not move products whose base value is zero. New arrivals with no sales remain stuck at the bottom regardless of boost settings. Use Lift matches into view for those cases. Automatic switch to additive: When the base metric’s typical values are too large for the decaying multiplier to produce any lift, Layers applies the boost as an additive percentile lift instead. Without this switch, the multiplier would collapse to 1 and the boost would silently do nothing. The sort order preview flags the switch on each matched product with Switched to additive · base value too large for multiplicative decay. If a metric triggers this switch consistently, configure the boost as Lift matches into view directly so the editor shows the controls that actually apply.

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Lift matches into view (additive)

Lift matches into view places matching products at a chosen spot in the results, regardless of their own value on the base metric. With Keep matches spaced out on (the default) and a single lift boost on the metric, placement is by position. Percentile Target sets how far down the results the first match lands: 75 starts matches about a quarter of the way down, 100 starts them at the top. Min positions between then lays out the rest of the matches from that spot. Every match is placed this way, so a match that would rank higher on its own moves down to the landing spot. With Keep matches spaced out off, or when several lift boosts share the same metric, placement is by value. Each match is lifted to the metric value at the chosen percentile across all candidate products. A match already above that value stays where it is, so matches are never demoted in this case. Percentile Target decides where the matched cohort lands; Min positions between decides how far apart consecutive matches sit around that landing point. Key advantages:
  • Works with zero base values: Products with no sales data can still be lifted.
  • Predictable landing: Where the cohort lands depends only on Percentile Target, not on each product’s own base value.
  • Ideal for new arrivals: Sprinkle new products with no performance history into established rankings.
  • Combines cleanly: Multiple Lift matches into view boosts on the same metric add their lifts together for predictable layering.
When to use Lift matches into view:
  • Boosting products with zero or near-zero base values (new arrivals, products with no sales).
  • Targeting a specific spot in the value distribution (for example, lifting matches to roughly the top quartile of sales).
  • Sprinkling new products into a best-selling sort order without clustering them at the top.
Lift matches into view (additive) was updated on 2026-08-20 so that Percentile Target alone decides where matches land. Any Boost Strength stored on an additive boost is ignored, so a strength value the editor could not reach no longer caps the lift below the target. If an existing additive boost was placing matches lower than Percentile Target implies, reopen the sort order and preview it. You may want to lower the percentile to keep the previous placement.
Min positions between became authoritative on 2026-07-01. The slider (previously labeled Decay Rate) now controls the minimum spacing between consecutive boosted matches in both boost modes. Sort orders created before that date may still carry legacy slider values (for example, 100 or 500) that predate the 1–50 range. Reopen each soft-boost expression, preview the result, and reset Min positions between to a value in the current range if the spacing looks off.

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Soft boost vs. priority rules

Example: For a collection sorted by sales with a soft boost on tags = 'featured':
  • Priority Rule: All featured products appear first, regardless of sales
  • Soft Boost: Featured products with low sales get a significant boost, but high-selling non-featured products can still rank higher

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Configuration parameters

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Boost mode

Determines the formula used to boost matching products.
  • Options: Nudge matches up (multiplicative) or Lift matches into view (additive)
  • Default: New boosts added in the editor start in Lift matches into view. A boost saved without a mode (for example, through the API or MCP) runs as Nudge matches up.
Nudge matches up (multiplicative):
  • Multiplies the base value by a boost factor that fades as the base value grows.
  • Matches with low (but non-zero) scores get the largest relative lift. Matches that already score high barely move.
  • Best for products with non-zero base values. Use when matches have real metric data.
  • Uses Boost Strength, Keep matches spaced out, and Min positions between.
Lift matches into view (additive):
  • Places matching products at the chosen spot in the results regardless of their metric value.
  • Uses Percentile Target to decide where matches land. See Lift matches into view for how placement works with and without spacing.
  • Works even when the base value is 0.
  • Uses Percentile Target, Keep matches spaced out, and Min positions between. Boost Strength does not apply in this mode.
  • Ideal for new arrivals or restocks with no performance data.

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Boost strength

Amplitude of the multiplier applied to the base score in Nudge matches up mode. The editor shows it as the largest multiplier a match can get: 0.25 reads up to 1.25x. Only matches with low base values get close to that maximum. The multiplier fades toward 1x as the base value grows.
  • Range: 0 to 10. The editor slider (How strong should the boost be?) covers 0 to 2, which fits almost every use case. Negative values aren’t allowed.
  • Default: 0.25
  • Recommended: 0.25 to 1.0 for subtle promotion, 1.0 to 2.0 for stronger effects.
  • Only used in Nudge matches up mode. In Lift matches into view mode, Percentile Target alone controls where matches land, so Boost Strength is ignored even if it was stored on the boost.

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Percentile target (Lift matches into view only)

Where matched products land in Lift matches into view mode. A higher percentile places matched products further up the ranking.
  • Range: 0 to 100
  • Default: 85 for new boosts added in the editor. A boost saved without a value uses 50.
  • Recommended: 50–75 for moderate visibility, 75–90 for high visibility.
  • Only used in Lift matches into view mode.
Example impact when sorting by sales (descending) with Keep matches spaced out on:
  • Percentile Target 50: Matches start halfway down the results.
  • Percentile Target 75: Matches start about a quarter of the way down.
  • Percentile Target 90: Matches start in the top tenth of results.
  • Percentile Target 100: Matches start at the top.
In this layout every match is placed from the landing spot, including matches that would rank higher on their own. With Keep matches spaced out off, or with several lift boosts on the same metric, matches are instead lifted to the sales value at that percentile, and a match already above it keeps its position.

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Keep matches spaced out

Controls whether Layers enforces spacing between boosted matches. When on (the default), matches are spread apart using Min positions between. When off, matches are allowed to sit next to each other in pure score order.
  • Options: On (default) or Off
  • Default: On
Turn this off when you want boosted matches to clump together, for example when a promotion should present as a solid block at the top of results rather than being interleaved with non-matches. How it applies in each mode:
  • Nudge matches up: Matches are ordered by their boosted score, highest first, with no forced gaps between them.
  • Lift matches into view: Matches below the target are lifted to the metric value at that percentile and sit together there instead of being spread out with a stride. Matches already above it keep their position.
When Keep matches spaced out is off, the Min positions between control is hidden because it no longer applies.

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Min positions between

Controls the number of non-matched products that sit between two consecutive boosted matches in the final results. Min positions between prevents clustered matches from landing adjacent to one another, even when their scores would otherwise push them together at the top.
  • Range: 1 to 50
  • Default: 6 for new boosts added in the editor.
  • Recommended: 5–15 for a light rhythm, 20+ for aggressive spacing.
How it applies in each mode:
  • Nudge matches up: A single match stays at its natural score position. When two or more matches would cluster, they are spread apart with non-matches between them, starting from the top-ranked match. Score order among matches is preserved.
  • Lift matches into view: Percentile Target determines where the matched cohort is anchored. Min positions between then lays matches out from that anchor, interleaving non-matched products in the gaps.
Spacing fits the result set: Layers treats Min positions between as a maximum request. If the full gap would push matches past the end of the eligible results, Layers shrinks the gap so the whole matched cohort fits. The gap can shrink down to a single position between matches. A high spacing value on a small collection tightens automatically instead of dropping matches. Overflow: When there are more matches than even the tightest spacing can fit, the extra matches keep their incoming rank instead of being pushed to the bottom of results. They stay boosted and are labeled Boosted · over spacing capacity in the sort order preview, so you can see which matches exceeded the spacing budget. Spacing can move a match down: To honor the configured gap, spacing sometimes seats a match lower than the base metric alone would place it. The sort order preview labels this Moved down by spacing and shows the signed movement (for example, #11 → #36 (−25) · 25 positions apart), so a lower-than-expected placement is explained rather than silent. Spacing capacity warning: While you edit, the sort order editor warns when the configured spacing caps how many of the loaded matching products can be boosted. For example, at 25 positions apart only a handful of matches fit in the loaded preview window. The warning shows the approximate cap so you can lower the spacing or accept that the remaining matches keep their natural position. Spacing respects hard demotions: Spacing lays matches out only within products of the same standing. Layers never seats a boosted match inside or below a block of products demoted by a priority rule or an out-of-stock demotion. Demoted products are never pulled up above a boost. This holds when spacing combines with diversity and product sequences.

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Configuration requirements

Soft boost requires a metric or product attribute to modify. If no sortable expression exists in the sort order, an error dialog appears explaining that you need to add at least one metric or attribute first.
When you add a soft boost, it is automatically inserted above the last metric or attribute in the list so that it modifies that expression. You can reorder expressions after insertion if needed.

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Supported base attributes

Soft boost works over any sortable metric or numeric product attribute, including:
  • Numeric metafields stored as text (for example, a custom.rating metafield whose value is "4.7"). Non-numeric or empty values are treated as 0 for boost math instead of failing the query.
  • Date attributes such as created_at, updated_at, or published_at. When you configure a multiplicative boost over a date attribute, Layers automatically applies it as an additive percentile lift instead. The multiplicative formula is not meaningful over raw date values, and the additive shape produces the intended lift over any monotonic numeric base. If the date attribute has a Bucket set (Hour, Day, Week, Month, Quarter, or Year), the soft boost uses the same bucketed value as its base, so matches on products from the same period get the same lift instead of splitting on raw timestamp.

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Example use cases

Boost products tagged as “featured” while maintaining sales-based ranking:
Result: Featured products with moderate sales rank higher, but top-selling non-featured products can still win.

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Boost multiple tags (Nudge matches up)

When using in or notIn operators, you can boost products matching any of multiple values. The UI enables multi-select when these operators are selected.
Result: Products with any of the specified tags receive a boost, creating natural interleaving based on their sales performance.

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De-emphasize a price range (Nudge matches up)

Soft boosts only lift products; Boost Strength can’t be negative. To de-emphasize a price range, use the not between operator to boost every product outside it:
Result: Products priced outside $100-$200 receive a boost, so products inside that range sit relatively lower in results while ranking stays natural. To push matching products all the way down instead, use a demoting priority rule.

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Boost products with specific attributes set

Use is not null to boost products that have specific attributes configured:
Result: Products with a featured end date configured receive a boost, useful for time-sensitive promotions.

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Sprinkle new arrivals into best sellers (Lift matches into view)

Interleave new arrivals with zero sales into a best-selling sort order:
Why Lift matches into view? New arrivals have zero sales, so Nudge matches up would not move them. Lift matches into view places matching products starting about a quarter of the way down, so products with no sales history land in the upper portion of results. Result: New arrivals with zero sales start about a quarter of the way down the results, spaced out by Min positions between. Products stay in this layout while they match the boost, even after they build up sales. Remove the tag or narrow the condition once they should compete on sales alone. Use case: Fashion retailers launching seasonal collections, where new items need visibility before they have sales history. A Percentile Target of 75 places new arrivals prominently without completely dominating the sort order.

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Layer multiple lift boosts (Lift matches into view)

Stack two or more Lift matches into view boosts on the same metric to combine effects predictably. When a product matches more than one boost, the lifts add together, so it lands higher than a product matching just one:
Result: Products tagged with campaign-spring land on the 80th-percentile value, new arrivals land on the 60th-percentile value, and products tagged with both receive the combined lift and land above either single-match cohort. Non-matching best sellers remain competitive based on their organic sales.

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Highlight recently published products (Nudge matches up)

Give recently published products a boost without completely overriding popularity:
Result: New products get visibility while established bestsellers remain competitive.

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Regional preference (Nudge matches up)

Boost products from specific vendors for certain markets:
Result: Local brand products rank higher while maintaining relevance-based ordering.

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Soft boost with other features

Soft boost works with other sort order features:
  • Segmented Metrics: Apply soft boost to segmented metric scores for personalized boosting
  • Sequences: Soft boost respects product sequences when enabled
  • Multiple attributes: Chain multiple soft boosts or combine with weighted sorting

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Best practices

  • Choose the right mode: Use Nudge matches up for a small lift on matches with low but non-zero base values, and Lift matches into view for products with zero or near-zero values (like new arrivals).
  • Start with sensible defaults: Begin with Boost Strength 0.25 in Nudge matches up, or Percentile Target 75 in Lift matches into view. Adjust based on what you see in preview.
  • Preview before publishing: Use the sort order preview to verify that the right products are being boosted and that the lift looks reasonable. Each matched product shows a Boosted badge. Hover it to see how many positions the product moved or the lift it received, and open View ranking details for the full scoring breakdown.
  • Avoid over-boosting: In Nudge matches up, keep Boost Strength below 1.0 for most use cases to maintain natural ranking. In Lift matches into view, lower Percentile Target if matches are landing too high.
  • Layer lift boosts intentionally: When stacking multiple Lift matches into view boosts on the same metric, lifts add together, so a product matching several boosts lands above one matching just one. Use lower per-boost Percentile Target values when several boosts can match the same product.
  • Order mixed-mode boosts deliberately: Soft boosts apply in the order they appear in the sort order. When you combine Nudge matches up and Lift matches into view boosts on the same metric, the first-listed boost controls the primary ordering. Put the boost you want to dominate placement first.
  • Use Lift matches into view for zero values: When boosting products with no performance data, always use Lift matches into view. Nudge matches up cannot move products with a base score of zero.
  • Retune existing additive boosts: Sort orders using Lift matches into view created before 2026-08-20 may carry a stored Boost Strength that is now ignored. If matches are landing higher than before, lower Percentile Target to restore the previous placement.

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See also