How It Works

How Wave works

Wave turns customer activity into data, derives insight from it, builds audiences, and acts on them — automatically. Four steps, working together.

Data

Events · Event Catalog

The customer activities WAVE receives. Every action a customer takes — a login, a purchase, a cart addition — arrives as an event.

Insight

Metrics · Classifications

What WAVE derives from events. Metrics measure customer behavior over time. Classifications label customers based on those measurements.

Audience

Customers · Segments

Who your customers are and how they group. Segments define audiences based on customer profiles and classifications.

Automation

Journeys · Campaigns · Scheduled Events

How you reach customers. Each tool serves a different purpose — the three paths below show when to use which.

How the four categories connect

Campaigns

Analyse behavior, build an audience, then send.

Data Events
↓
Insight Metrics · Classifications
↓
Audience Segments
↓
Automation Campaigns

Journeys

A customer acts. Wave responds immediately.

Data Events
↓
Automation Journeys

Scheduled Events

Wave checks a condition on a schedule. When someone qualifies, a Journey starts.

Insight Classifications
↓
Automation Scheduled Events
↓
Automation Journeys

Classification Change

A customer crosses a threshold. Wave detects the label change and starts a Journey.

Insight Metrics
↓
Insight Classifications
↓
System Event classification.changed
↓
Automation Journeys

Campaigns reach a group at once. Journeys respond to individual behavior. Classification Change lets you react the moment a customer's label shifts — no polling needed.

Each building block explained

Events
"What did this customer just do?"
Raw customer behavior, captured the moment it happens

What it is

Every customer action is captured as an Event — a named record with a payload of details. Events are the raw material; everything else in WAVE is built on top of them.

Real example

Customer adds 3 items to cart, then leaves.

WAVE records:
cart_abandoned
items: 3, value: 450000

Feeds into

Metrics Journeys (real-time trigger)
Metrics
"How much / how many / how long?"
Numeric aggregations computed from event history

What it is

A Metric takes a stream of Events and aggregates them into a single number per customer — counts, sums, averages, or days-since. WAVE recomputes these on a schedule.

Real examples

purchase_count_30d = 7
total_spend_90d = 1,250,000
days_since_last_purchase = 5

These are always numbers — what they mean is what Classifications are for.

Feeds into

Classifications
Classifications
"What type of customer is this?"
Human-readable labels assigned based on metric thresholds

What it is

A Classification takes one or more Metrics and maps the numbers into a label. Rules are evaluated top-to-bottom — first match wins. The output is always a string label, never a number.

Real example: Shopping Tier

purchase_count_30d ≥ 5 → VIP
purchase_count_30d ≥ 2 → Regular
purchase_count_30d ≥ 1 → Occasional
default → New

Feeds into

Segments Journeys (via classification.changed)
When a Classification label changes — e.g. Regular → VIP — Wave emits a classification.changed system event. Use it as a Journey trigger to respond the moment the shift happens.
Segments
"Which customers are [X]?"
Dynamic groups that update automatically as customers change

What it is

A Segment is a saved filter — a named group of customers who match certain conditions. Because Metrics and Classifications update automatically, Segment membership is always current. No manual list management.

Real examples

VIP Shoppers
Shopping Tier = VIP

At-Risk Customers
Dormancy Risk = At Risk

Cart Abandoners (7d)
Has cart_abandoned in last 7 days

Feeds into

Journeys (enrollment) Campaigns (audience)
Journeys
"What happens automatically when X occurs?"
Always-on flows triggered by events, running 24/7 without manual work

What it is

A Journey is an automated flow triggered by an Event. You define the trigger, optional entry conditions (who should enter — based on Metrics, Classifications, or attributes), a wait, a message, and an optional goal. Once published, WAVE handles every qualifying customer automatically.

Real example: Cart Recovery

Trigger: cart_abandoned
Who should enter: any customer
Wait: 1 hour
Message: Smart Delivery — "You left something behind 👜"
Goal: purchase_completed within 24 hours
Campaigns
"What do I want to say to this group today?"
One-time broadcasts to a segment — scheduled or immediate

What it is

A Campaign is a one-time message send to a Segment. Unlike Journeys (which run forever), Campaigns are for specific moments: a sale, a launch, a seasonal promotion. Pick the audience, write the message, send.

Real examples

Flash Sale
Audience: All customers · Channel: Push
"40% off — today only"

VIP Early Access
Audience: VIP Shoppers · Channel: Smart Delivery
"You get first pick before it goes public"
Scheduled Events
"Which customers crossed a threshold today?"
Daily checks that generate events for customers who haven't acted naturally

What it is

Some situations don't create a natural event — a customer who hasn't returned for 30 days never triggers anything. Scheduled Events run daily, check a condition, and emit a synthetic event for any customer who qualifies. That event flows into Journeys like any other.

Real example: Dormancy Detection

Rule: days_since_last_purchase ≥ 30
Runs: Daily at 09:00
Emits: customer_dormant

→ Journey "Re-engagement" fires:
Smart Delivery: "We miss you — here's 15% back"

Feeds into

Events (synthetic) Journeys

See it in action

One customer's path through all four categories — NovaMart (e-commerce)

1
Event
Rina adds 3 items to her cart, then closes the tab
cart_abandoned → items: 3, value: 450,000
2
Metric
WAVE updates Rina's metrics from her event history
purchase_count_30d = 4 · total_spend_90d = 820,000 · days_since_last_purchase = 0
3
Classification
Shopping Tier evaluates: 4 purchases → "Regular"
shopping_tier = Regular (not VIP, not New)
4
Segment
Rina enters "Cart Abandoners" segment automatically
Membership updated instantly on event ingestion
5
Journey
Cart Recovery Journey triggers on cart_abandoned — waits 1 hour, sends Smart Delivery
Rina has a device token → Push: "Your cart misses you 👜 Complete your order"
6
Scheduled Event
30 days pass with no purchase. WAVE's daily check emits customer_dormant
Re-engagement Journey: Smart Delivery "We miss you — 15% off your next order"
7
Campaign
Weekend Flash Sale goes out to all Regular & VIP customers — Rina gets it
Audience: "Regular Shoppers" segment · Push: "40% off — this weekend only"
↻
The cycle never stops. Every message creates an opportunity for new events — opens, clicks, purchases. Those events update Metrics → Classifications → Segments → next Journey. WAVE is always listening.