Marketing Cloud Personalization | Recipe "from user attribute" Filtering Issue with Related Catalog Objects

When comparing a User Attribute against a Related Catalog Object using "from user attribute," Personalization performs the matching based on the Related Catalog Object's ID, not its Name. Therefore, the User Attribute used for comparison must store a value that matches the ID of the Related Catalog Object.

Configuration Example

Scenario: You want to recommend products based on a user's preferred color using the User Attribute favoriteColor and the Related Catalog Object Color.

Product's Color Settings (Catalog Object):

• ID: light_blue
• Name: Light Blue

Required User Attribute Value: The User Attribute favoriteColor must store light_blue (the ID).

• Incorrect: Light Blue (Name)
• Correct: light_blue (ID)

Verification Steps

1. Check User Attribute Values

Ensure that the User Attribute used for filtering matches the ID of the target Related Catalog Object.

• You can verify the correct ID by navigating to [Catalog] > [Target Catalog Object] (e.g., Color) in Personalization. Select an item and check the "ID" field in the details view.

2. Check Recipe Configuration

1. Open the Einstein Recipes configuration screen and navigate to the [Exclusions] tab.
2. Add a rule for the target Related Catalog Object (e.g., Color).
3. Select the desired action ([INCLUDE] or [EXCLUDE]).
4. From the dropdown menu, select [from user attribute].
5. Confirm that the correct User Attribute (e.g., favoriteColor) is selected.

3. Validate via Recipe Simulation

1. Click [Simulate] on the Recipe editing screen.
2. In the [Add Users to Test Group] section, search for and add a test user who has the ID value (e.g., light_blue) in their attribute. Verify that the filter works as expected.
3. Troubleshooting Tip: For comparison, test with a user who has the Name value (e.g., Light Blue) in their attribute. Confirming that the filter fails for this user helps isolate the ID vs. Name mismatch as the cause.