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Constructor is an alternative product recommendation engine that can power your Automatic Upsells. Aftersell connects to your Constructor account and pulls product recommendations from the recommendation pods you’ve configured there.

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Availability

Constructor appears as an option for every store under Aftersell > Settings > Automatic upsells. It isn’t tied to any other Aftersell feature, so you don’t need Aftersell Strategies or any other add-on to use it. To actually connect it, you’ll need a Constructor account with recommendation pods set up.

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What you’ll need from Constructor

Gather these from your Constructor account before you start:
  • API key (Index key). Identifies your Constructor index. Aftersell uses it to load your pods during setup and to request recommendations for your shoppers. For how to create one, see Constructor’s API key documentation. Required.
  • API token. Lets Aftersell read the list of recommendation pods in your account so it can validate the Pod IDs you enter. It’s used during setup; the recommendations themselves don’t need it.
  • A Pod ID for each surface you want to power (Post-Purchase, Checkout, and Thank You page). Required. See below for what a pod is.
If you’re not sure where to find your keys or how to create pods, reach out to Constructor.

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What is a Pod ID?

A pod is a saved recommendation configuration in your Constructor account. Each pod has its own ID and uses a Constructor Strategy to decide what to show. Aftersell currently supports these Constructor Strategies:
  • Best Sellers
  • Alternative
  • Complementary
  • Bundles
You point each upsell surface at a pod by entering that pod’s ID in Aftersell. So the workflow is: create the pods you want in Constructor, then copy each pod’s ID into the matching field in Aftersell.
These are Constructor Strategies. They are unrelated to the Aftersell Strategies feature — the two just happen to share the word “strategy.”

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Steps to set up the integration

  1. In Constructor, create a recommendation pod for each placement you want to power (Post-Purchase, Checkout, and Thank You page), and note each pod’s ID.
  2. In Aftersell, go to the Settings tab, then open the Automatic upsells section.
  3. Under Product recommendations app, select Constructor.
  4. Enter your Constructor API key (Index key) and Constructor API token.
  5. Enter the Pod ID for each surface:
    • Post-Purchase Upsells Pod ID
    • Checkout Page Pod ID
    • Thank You Page Pod ID
  6. Save your changes. Aftersell validates the Pod IDs against your Constructor account. If a pod ID doesn’t exist or was mistyped, you’ll see an error naming the pod — fix it and save again.
  7. Create your Automatic Upsells in the funnel editor and activate the funnel. Place a test order that meets the funnel’s trigger requirements to confirm recommendations are returned.

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Where the setting applies

  • The recommendation source you pick applies to Post-Purchase, Checkout, and Thank You page upsells. Product Page Upsells always use Shopify Recommendations, regardless of the provider you choose.
  • Smart Funnel reads from this same setting. If you switch providers, Smart Funnel picks up the change automatically.