Flash sale Journey

This tutorial walks through a complete flash sale Journey using Black Friday as the running example (40% off sitewide, midnight to midnight). The pattern applies to any time-limited promotion.

• Case 1 – Basic: Pure time-based, no tags. Everyone receives the same messages at scheduled times. Good for your first flash sale or teams without tag infrastructure.
• Case 2 – Advanced: Uses tags (vip_customer, wishlist_count, last_purchase_date) for VIP early access, wishlist personalization, and buyer suppression. Start with Case 1 and layer in Case 2 targeting as your data matures.

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At a glance

Setup is the same for both cases. The only difference is how targeting and branching are applied.

1. Define the entry segment.
2. Build the push, email, and in-app message templates.
3. Configure Journey entry, exit, and re-entry rules.
4. Wire up the Journey steps:
   • Case 1: Linear flow with Wait nodes, everyone gets the same messages.
   • Case 2: Add VIP branch, wishlist branch, and buyer suppression.

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Campaign goals

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Prerequisites

• A OneSignal account with push notifications set up for your app or site
• Push permission enabled for your users
• Familiarity with Journeys concepts (entry/exit rules, message and action steps, etc.)
• Email channel set up if you want to send emails (see Email setup)
• In-app messaging enabled if you want to show banners during the sale window (see In-app messages setup)

Case 2 also requires tags maintained by your backend. See Case 2: Advanced tag-based Journey.

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Segments

Entry segment (both cases):

• Name: “Total Subscriptions”
• Built-in, no setup needed. All push-subscribed users enter the Journey.

VIP segment (Case 2 only):

• Name: “VIP Customers”
• Filter: User Tag vip_customer · operator is · value true

Wishlist segment (Case 2 only):

• Name: “Wishlist Users”
• Filter: User Tag wishlist_count · operator greater than · value 0

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Templates

These templates are starting points: clone, edit, and re-use them in your own Journey. They use Liquid syntax for personalization.

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Journey configuration

Both cases share the same Journey settings. Define them once and use them for either case.

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Journey settings

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Case 1: Basic time-based Journey

This Journey runs entirely on time-based Wait nodes. No tags, no targeting. Everyone receives the same messages at scheduled times. Set it live 2 days before the sale opens.

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Journey timing

The campaign progresses through anticipation (2 days before through the day before), launch (sale day), and urgency (afternoon through close):

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Basic Journey steps

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Best practices for Case 1

• Set the Journey live 2 days before the sale. The pre-sale email fires immediately for users who enter.
• Respect quiet hours. Avoid sending pushes between 10 PM and 7 AM in the user’s timezone. Adjust Wait nodes if needed.
• Pause the Journey if the sale ends early. From the dashboard, pause stops remaining Wait nodes and prevents any remaining messages from firing.
• Deep-link every message to the right page. Tapping a push should land users on the sale page, not the app home.

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Case 2: Advanced tag-based Journey

Case 2 builds on Case 1 by adding targeting with tags. The timing is the same, but you add:

• VIP early access: VIPs get a 1-hour head start at sale launch
• Wishlist personalization: Users with wishlist items get a personalized push
• Buyer suppression: Filter out buyers from urgency messages

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Required tags

These tags must be maintained by your backend and synced to OneSignal. See Tags for setup.

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Advanced Journey steps

Case 2 follows the same overall timing as Case 1, but adds a VIP branch at launch, a wishlist branch right after, and a buyer-suppression filter on every urgency message.

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Best practices for Case 2

• Apply buyer suppression to every urgency message. Without it, users who bought early still receive “last chance” pushes, which is the most common cause of unsubscribes after a flash sale.
• Verify tag freshness before launch by simulating a purchase and confirming the last_purchase_date tag updates within minutes.
• All Case 1 best practices still apply. Quiet hours, deep linking, and pausing the Journey if the sale ends early.
• Be aware of message volume. A VIP wishlist user who never buys can receive up to 4 pushes and 3 emails across the full sequence. Make sure that volume feels appropriate for your audience before launch.

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Compare Case 1 and Case 2

Both cases share the same entry segment, Journey settings, and templates. Case 2 adds targeting.

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Where to go from here

Start with Case 1 if you’re running your first flash sale or don’t have tag infrastructure in place. As you add tags to your data layer, upgrade to Case 2 by adding the VIP branch, wishlist branch, and buyer-suppression filters. The VIP early access alone is worth the effort: it rewards your best customers and creates social proof when they share their finds. After this Journey is live, consider adding SMS for the final urgency push (see SMS messaging) or extending the pattern to other time-limited promotions like summer sales, anniversary events, or new product launches.

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