Biasing Logic for Store and Product Locators

Dealer biasing can be set up with Dealer List Categories to control which dealers show up at the top of Store Locator and Product Locator results. This article provides more detail on how dealer results are sorted - both with and without biasing - on the Store Locator and Product Locator tools.

Default Dealer Order

Some dealers may not assigned to a biased category, or your dealer list doesn't utilize biased categories at all. Unbiased dealers will be sorted as follows:

• Store Locator - by stock-sharing status first (dealers sharing inventory before dealers not sharing inventory) and by proximity second (nearer dealers before further dealers)
• Product Locator - by Buy It Locally enrollment first (dealers within 30 miles/50 kilometers offering store pickup options before dealers not offering these options), in-stock status second (dealers with the product in stock before dealers without the product in stock), and by proximity third (nearer dealers before further dealers)

Establishing Biasing Order

When biasing is active for more than one category (here's how to set it up!), the order of these categories can be designated on the Store Categories page in your dashboard. Simply drag & drop the biased categories into the intended order. The examples in this article reference example Bias Groups A, B, and C.

Store Locator

Biasing on the Store Locator will adhere to the order established in your category list. Dealers within the map view will be sorted by: 

1. Bias level first (A before B before C before unbiased dealers)
2. Stock-sharing status second (dealers sharing inventory before dealers not sharing inventory)
3. Proximity third (nearer dealers before further dealers)

Please note that between dealers in the same bias level, a further dealer sharing inventory will appear before a nearer dealer not sharing inventory.

Unbiased dealers will display after all biased dealers, according to the default dealer order logic.

Product Locator

Biasing on the Product Locator will prioritize nearby dealers with the product in stock and those who are enrolled in Buy it Locally, which may override the biasing order established in your category list. Since the main goal of the Product Locator is to connect customers with an in-stock source, lower-biased dealers (and even unbiased dealers) with the product in stock will be displayed before higher-biased dealers without the product in stock. Dealers will be sorted by:

1. Buy it Locally participation first (dealers within 30 miles/50 kilometers offering reservation and purchase options before dealers that aren’t)
2. In-Stock status second (dealers with the product in stock before dealers without the product in stock)
3. Bias level third (A before B before C before unbiased dealers)
4. Proximity fourth (nearer dealers before further dealers)

This will also apply to the Product Locator widget in Open and Button/Dropdown layouts; the dealer tiles that show directly on the page will follow the same logic.