Offer Design
Part of Subscription product personalisation
Handling conflicting product preferences
Apply firm requirements and exclusions, use flexible preferences among eligible products, and resolve conflicts before packing.
When answers conflict, apply the stated firm requirements and exclusions together. If no available product meets the firm rules and box promise, a close match is not consent to break an exclusion.
Identify which answers are binding
A requirement states a condition a product must meet. An exclusion rules out a stated product or category. A preference guides selection when suitable stock is available.
Use these distinctions only if the customer-facing offer explains them. An offered size might be binding, while a preferred colour might be flexible.
Do not let a matching score override a firm rule. A product that matches several likes but breaches one exclusion is still ineligible. Where an answer has safety or compatibility implications, obtain product-specific evidence before promising that the form makes a product suitable.
Resolve the affected order
For each planned box:
- Check the answers effective for that order.
- Remove products that breach any firm requirement or exclusion.
- Check whether the remaining products still fulfil the advertised box promise.
- Use flexible preferences to choose among eligible products.
- If nothing suitable remains, hold the affected order and seek a decision or provide the resolution required by the offer and applicable rights.
Suppose a subscriber excludes scented products but prefers a particular colour. A scented item in that colour fails the exclusion. An unscented item in another colour may fit only if colour was described as flexible and the item still meets the box's core promise.
The form itself can create a conflict. ‘Only product A’ alongside ‘exclude product A’ calls for clarification before release. Show both answers and ask which the customer wants to change. If no answer arrives before the cutoff, follow a fallback disclosed in the offer; do not invent one after payment.
Record and communicate the decision
Record which rule determined the selection and which order received it. If suitable stock runs out, record a shortage, not a changed customer preference. Explain any effect on the charge or dispatch when offering a resolution.
The ACCC can require businesses to back up claims about their products or services.
If the same pair of answers frequently conflicts, revise the question or available options before adding another exception rule.
