A detailed look into the latest release of Next Generation Ascent.

Hello! I’m Nicholas, product manager of Next Generation. My team and I are constantly working to make your experience using FACT-Finder both enjoyable and profitable, and lately we’ve been quite busy developing new updates for Next Generation which I’m excited to share with you today. Introducing our latest release: Ascent.

What’s so great about this release is that it’s been created with you at the core. Through talks with users, we’ve been able to pick your brain and learn how you interact with the technology, any needs you may have or problems you may be coming across. After all, our goal is to release updates that make your life easier. 

First, a few housekeeping notes:

  • Ascent is now available for deployment to all Next Generation customers
  • Ranking rules are a product improvement and therefore are included at no additional cost
  • Geo Module is an entirely new product release. To unlock it, simply contact your account manager
  • Our FACT-Finder team will be reaching out to you personally to perform the Ascent update on your system

Now, let me introduce you to Next Generation’s newest capabilities in Ascent.

Meet Geo, your local market hero

Recent customer feedback has pointed to a need for geolocation features. The geographical location of online visitors is valuable data for improving conversion as it allows you to display more personalized, location-based content. During the pandemic, with many consumers under lockdown restrictions, the demand for local market information has continually grown from finding the nearest store, items in stock and availability, shipping options and times, to pickup methods such as curbside pickup or click and collect. 

Industry reports indicate that accessibility to local shopping information will remain a key role in customer satisfaction and expectations. Turnover for click and collect in the UK, for example, is forecast to continue soaring, reaching 11.9 billion euros by 2023 ((https://www.statista.com/statistics/986344/click-and-collect-turnover-united-kingdom-uk/)). 

Customers expressed interest in these functions: 

  • Use a geo location and a radius to show all products that are relevant within this radius 
  • The radius for the geo location search should be adjustable during request time 
  • Select a specific store and get only returned the products that are connected to this store 
  • Rank products based on their store dependent data and push or downgrade them 
  • Use a filter to select only products that are in stock 
  • Show customer specific prices for a given customer ID and know where a product is available 

You spoke and we listened. Our new release, Geo Module, allows you to do all of the above and more. 


The easy-to-use backend lets you set your distance rating adjustments and preview the markets.
Targeting customers at the local level, simplified.

How it works is quite simple:

  1. Your shop identifies where the online visitor is located and transfers this XY coordinate to FACT-Finder.
  2. FACT-Finder identifies the locations of your store branches.
  3. FACT-Finder returns the market-specific values.

Use cases for the Geo module

Location, location, location. It’s key for retailers who want to digitally map products from different warehouses or branches, a means to segment and market your customer base more effectively and a tool to improve your bottom line. 

Here are a few, but not limited, ways you can make the geo module work for your online shop: 

Area search – limit search results based on proximity. For example, if a user is close to four of your stores, you can choose to display product results from these four shops only and exclude those from shops that are further away.

Distance-based ranking – increase or decrease the score of products based on the distance to the customer. Using set parameters, products within the specified radius will rank higher in the results.

Filter by local availability– allow visitors to filter search results by products which are available in store.

Shipping – provide transparency for delivery fees and shipping times.

Local prices – display store-specific prices to highlight local discounts or special offers.

Target merchandising – display location-specific marketing content such as sales events or seasonal activities

Get started using Geo

I am eager for you to use and benefit from the new Geo module. To ensure a smooth onboarding, our FACT-Finder team has curated a list of resources to ensure your success.

Training video:

Documentation for customers:

📍 Take me to FACT-Finder’s Geo documentation

New ranking design accelerates time to market

Remember how I said our goal is to release updates that make your life easier? The new ranking rules in Next Generation Ascent are a perfect example of that goal achieved. 

The previous ranking process, although powerful, could be cumbersome. You would have to go into the backend, set up a rule, perform a ranking import, go to the search diagnostics, check the effects of the rule, repeating this process for each new rule. 

We wanted to offer you a more convenient and faster (much faster) way to customize your product positioning, which required a lot of changes to the backend.  

Developing these nifty improvements into the existing user interface didn’t make sense, so instead we rebuilt the tool from the ground up – unifying, simplifying, and applying user logic along the way. 

The result is a new user interface with more functionality that’s easier to use. Redesigned to save you time, the new format consists of only two steps: 1) Setting triggers and adjustments 2) Setting name and time period. The effects can then be viewed in the search diagnostics without the need for re-importing, allowing for quicker review and reducing the risk of misconfiguration on a production channel.

Here’s an example of combined ranking rules which rank unisex running shoes from Adidas and Asics 2% higher. 

What is now possible in ranking?

This sophisticated update of brains and beauty provides a clearer and more powerful structure on how to build ranking rules, making the layout and process user intuitive.

Your new features: 

  • Mix text compare, top seller and time rank rules 
  • Better logical structure (no more weird ‘not-switches’) 
  • Individual ranking scores for specific values 
  • Easily apply negative or positive ranking adjustments via the exponential slider (perfect for small increments)
  • Preview adjustments in visual graph 
  • Change hierarchy of rules via drag and drop 
  • New adjustment: constant, time and value
  • Combine (aka nest) adjustments with one another

Get started using the new ranking rules

I am excited for you to try out the new ranking design with Next Generation Ascent. Here are a few valuable resources to get you started: 

Training video:

Documentation for customers:

↕️ Take me to FACT-Finder’s Ranking Rules documentation

Learn more about FACT-Finder Next Generation

Are you currently not a Next Generation customer or are using a different solution and want to learn more about FACT-Finder’s latest technology? Then simply request a demo and one of our e-commerce experts will show you how Next Generation improves your online sales performance.