To use a dataset for date and time-based operations in segmentation and calculated insights, the data stream category type should be assigned as Engagement . Here’s why:
Understanding the Requirement
The goal is to perform date and time-based operations (e.g., filtering customers based on specific dates or times) in segmentation and calculated insights.
This requires a data stream category that captures customer interactions or activities over time.
Why Engagement?
Engagement Data Streams :
Engagement data streams are designed to capture customer interactions, such as website visits, email opens, purchases, or other time-based activities.
These streams inherently include timestamps, making them ideal for date and time-based operations.
Use in Segmentation and Calculated Insights :
Segmentation often involves filtering customers based on their engagement behavior (e.g., "customers who visited the website in the last 7 days").
Calculated insights leverage engagement data to derive metrics like recency, frequency, and trends over time.
Other Categories Are Less Suitable :
Individual : Focuses on demographic or static attributes (e.g., name, age) rather than time-based interactions.
Sales Order : Captures transactional data but is not optimized for general engagement-based operations.
Profile : Represents unified customer profiles and does not directly support date and time-based operations.
Steps to Implement This Solution
Step 1: Assign the Correct Category
When setting up the data stream, assign the Engagement category to ensure it is optimized for time-based operations.
Step 2: Map Date-Time Fields
Ensure that relevant fields (e.g., interaction timestamps) are mapped correctly during ingestion.
Step 3: Use in Segmentation and Insights
Leverage the ingested engagement data for segmentation (e.g., "customers who engaged in the last 24 hours") and calculated insights (e.g., "average time between interactions").
Conclusion
The Engagement category is specifically designed for capturing time-based interactions, making it the best choice for datasets used in date and time-based operations in segmentation and calculated insights.
