Merchandising Rules is a rule-based configuration feature within Smart Search that gives you granular control over how products are ranked and displayed in search results. Using Merchandising Rules, you can automatically boost, demote, or hide products based on specific product attributes — helping you surface the right products when shoppers search your store.
Merchandising Rules are configured from the Search > Global Settings page and apply globally across all search terms.
Note: Merchandising Rules replaces the legacy Search Influence rules. If you had existing global Search Influence rules or out-of-stock (OOS) settings configured, those have been automatically migrated.
What You Can Do with Merchandising Rules
Merchandising Rules gives you the ability to influence product ranking across all search results using flexible, condition-based logic. Here is what you can accomplish:
Highlight key products — Surface best-sellers, new arrivals, or promotional items at the top of search results.
Improve search relevance — Ensure the most contextually appropriate products appear first for shoppers.
Control product visibility — Reduce exposure of out-of-stock, less relevant, or undesirable products.
Apply nuanced merchandising strategies — Build logic based on product tags, metafields, vendor, inventory status, price, and more.
How to Access Merchandising Rules
To access Merchandising Rules in Smart Search, follow these steps:
From your Rebuy dashboard, navigate to Search > Global Settings.
Scroll to the Merchandising Rules section.
Click Edit to open the Merchandising Rules slideout panel.
How to Create a Merchandising Rule
You can create a new rule directly from the Merchandising Rules slideout. Each rule is built using a three-part condition builder.
Click Add New Rule.
Select a rule type from the dropdown: Boost, Demote, or Hide.
In the rule configuration slideout, complete all three parts of the rule builder:
Type — Select the product attribute to evaluate (for example, Product Tag, Vendor, or Inventory Status).
Operator — Choose how the condition is evaluated (for example, Equals, Contains, or Greater Than).
Value — Enter or select the specific value to match (for example, a tag name, vendor, or metafield value).
The rule toggle enables automatically once a Type is selected. You can manually toggle the rule on or off at any time.
Click Save to apply your rule. The Save button activates once all three parts of the rule builder are completed.
Note: If you click Back to Merchandising Rules before saving, any incomplete rule configuration will be discarded. If you navigate away from the Global Settings page entirely with unsaved changes, you will be prompted with an Unsaved Changes modal before leaving.
How to Manage Existing Rules
You can edit, delete, or toggle any existing rule from the Merchandising Rules table.
To edit or delete a rule, click the options menu (⋯) to the far right of the rule row.
To enable or disable a rule without deleting it, use the toggle in the rules table.
Deleting a rule will trigger a confirmation modal before the rule is permanently removed.
How Rule Priority Works
When multiple rules apply to the same product, Merchandising Rules follows a specific priority order to determine which rule wins. Understanding this priority order helps you build rules that behave as expected.
The priority order is:
Hide — Always takes precedence over Boost and Demote rules. If a Hide rule applies, the product is excluded from search results entirely, regardless of any other rules.
Boost — Takes priority over Demote when both apply to the same product.
Demote — Applied last when no conflicting Hide or Boost rules exist.
Important: Featured Products configured through Keyword Groups always appear above any Boosted products in search results.
Important: Boost and Demote rules only affect product ranking on the Results page when Relevance is set as the Default Sort. They will not affect results under any other sort order.
Rule Type | Priority | Behavior |
Hide | Highest | Removes product from search results entirely. Overrides all other rules. |
Boost | Second | Promotes product above standard results, but below Featured Products. |
Demote | Lowest | Pushes product lower in results. Applied only when no conflicting rules exist. |
Rule Types, Condition Types, and Operators
Rule Types
When you create a new rule, you select one of three rule types. Each rule type controls how matching products are treated in your search results.
Rule Type | Description |
Boost | Promotes matching products higher in search results. Boosted products appear after Featured Products but above standard results. |
Demote | Pushes matching products lower in search results, reducing their visibility. |
Hide | Completely excludes matching products from search results. Hide rules take priority over all other rule types. |
Condition Types
The Type field in the rule builder defines which product attribute is evaluated. The following condition types are available:
Type | Description |
Product Tag | Target products by their Shopify product tags (for example, |
Metafield | Target products by a specific product or variant metafield value. Metafields display their full namespace and name to distinguish between product and variant metafields. |
Handle | Target products by their unique Shopify product handle. |
Name | Target products by their product title. |
Vendor | Target products by their vendor or brand name. |
Product Option | Target products by a specific option name and value combination (for example, Size |
Description | Target products by content in their product description. |
Product Type | Target products by their Shopify product type. |
Price | Target products based on their price. |
Inventory Status | Target products based on their current inventory status (for example, out of stock). |
Operators
The Operator field defines how the condition is evaluated. Available operators may vary depending on which condition Type you select.
Operator | Description |
Equals | The product attribute must exactly match the specified value. |
Does Not Equal | The product attribute must not match the specified value. |
Contains | The product attribute must include the specified value anywhere within it. |
Does Not Contain | The product attribute must not include the specified value anywhere within it. |
Greater Than | The product attribute must have a value greater than the specified amount. Typically used with Price. |
Less Than | The product attribute must have a value less than the specified amount. Typically used with Price. |
Limits and Restrictions
Merchandising Rules has the following limits. These limits apply globally across all search terms.
Rule Type | Maximum Active Rules | Maximum Total Rules (All Types) |
Boost | 10 enabled at one time | Up to 30 rules total across all types |
Hide | 5 enabled at one time | Up to 30 rules total across all types |
Demote | 5 enabled at one time | Up to 30 rules total across all types |
Additional restrictions to be aware of:
Boost and Demote rules only apply when Relevance is selected as the Default Sort on the Results page. They have no effect under other sort orders.
Merchandising Rules are global — they apply across all search terms. Query-specific rules are not currently supported.
Featured Products configured through Keyword Groups always appear above Boosted products.
For text-based condition types (Name, Description, Handle), the Value field has a maximum of 255 characters.
Migrating from Search Influence Rules
If your store previously had global Search Influence rules or Out-of-Stock (OOS) settings configured, those settings are automatically migrated into Merchandising Rules when the feature is enabled.
When migration occurs, a blue banner will appear inside the Merchandising Rules slideout to confirm the migration and invite you to review your converted rules. No action is required — your search experience remains unchanged during migration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Merchandising Rules apply to all search terms or just specific ones?
Merchandising Rules apply globally across all search terms. Query-specific rules are not currently supported. If you need different merchandising logic for specific search queries, consider using Keyword Groups to configure Featured Products for those terms.
Why aren't my Boost or Demote rules working?
Boost and Demote rules only take effect on the Results page when Relevance is selected as the Default Sort. If your results page is sorted by a different method (for example, price or alphabetically), Boost and Demote rules will not affect the product order. Navigate to your Search > Global Settings and confirm that Relevance is set as the default sort order.
What happens if a product matches both a Boost rule and a Hide rule?
The Hide rule always wins. If a product matches a Hide rule, it will be excluded from search results entirely, regardless of any Boost rules that also apply to it.
How many Merchandising Rules can I have active at one time?
You can have up to 10 Boost rules, 5 Demote rules, and 5 Hide rules enabled at the same time. You can create up to 30 total rules across all types, but only the active limits above apply at any given time.
Where do Boosted products appear relative to Featured Products?
Featured Products configured through Keyword Groups always appear before Boosted products. Boosted products appear above standard (non-boosted, non-featured) results.
I saw a blue banner when I opened Merchandising Rules. What does it mean?
The blue banner means your previous Search Influence rules or Out-of-Stock (OOS) settings have been automatically migrated into Merchandising Rules. Your search experience has not changed. You can review your converted rules in the Merchandising Rules table and make any adjustments from there.
Learn More About Smart Search
Merchandising Rules are one part of a broader set of tools available in Smart Search. The articles below cover everything from installation to advanced configuration and customization.