Custom attributes: what they are, how to create one and where to use them

A custom attribute is a field you add yourself to something we already store. We keep a fixed set of fields on a contact, a reward or a business profile, and a custom attribute is one you define on top of those. From the moment you create it, every record of that kind has it.

You manage them all in one place: click the gear icon at the top right of the dashboard to open Settings, then click Attributes under Management. The Manage attributes button takes you to the same page from the contacts overview, and from the custom attributes of a promotion, a reward or a business profile, with that type of record already selected.

The Attributes page

The picker at the top, labelled The type of attribute, sets which kind of record you're working on. It isn't the data type. Everything below it belongs to whatever you selected there, so check it first when an attribute you're sure you created isn't in the list.

Three tabs sit under it:

My attributes are the ones you created. You add, open and delete them here.
System attributes are fields we maintain for you, which you switch on rather than create. Only contacts have them at the moment. For every other type the tab says there are none available.
Groups are the sections your attributes are sorted into. Every attribute belongs to exactly one group.

Which records can have custom attributes

Contact, Business profile, Reward, Offer, Voucher, Giftcard, Promotion, Points transaction, Giftcard transaction, Reward reception and Loyalty transaction. Shift, Booking and Review are in the list as well when your account uses those features.

An attribute belongs to one type of record. A Region attribute you create for business profiles isn't available on contacts, so if you need it on both, create it twice.

Creating one

Select the type of record at the top of the page and open My attributes.
Click Add attribute.
Fill in the Label. That's the name you and your colleagues see wherever the attribute appears.
Choose the Data type and click Create.

We build an internal name from the label while you type: lowercase, with underscores instead of spaces, 64 characters at most. That's the name imports and the API use. Click Show internal value if you'd rather set it yourself. It has to be unique within that type of record, and creating fails if the name is already taken.

Creating the attribute takes you straight to its own page, which holds everything else:

Description, what the attribute is for. Worth filling in, because it's the only place the next person can read what belongs in the field.
Attribute group, the section it appears in.
Selection options for a select or multi-select attribute, each option with its own internal value.
A minimum and a maximum for a number attribute.
Recent versions, the values most recently recorded for it and the record each one was set on.
Activity, the changes made to the attribute itself.

You can change the label, the description and the group at any time. The internal name and the data type are fixed once the attribute exists, so if you pick the wrong data type the only fix is a new attribute.

The data types

Text, a single line.
Long text, several lines.
Number, whole numbers. This is the only type that can have a minimum and a maximum.
Decimal number, numbers with decimals.
(Boolean) True or false, a value that's either true or false. In an import, true and 1 count as true and false and 0 as false. Any other value, such as yes, is left empty. See How to format your CSV file for an import for every data type.
Select, one option from a list you define.
Multi-select, several options from that same kind of list.
Date, a date on its own.
Datetime, a date with a time.
Birthdate, a date of birth.
Email, an email address.
Phone, a phone number.
URL, a web address.
Color, a colour.
Identifier, a code or reference. It behaves as text when you filter on it.
License plate, a vehicle registration.

File upload and media upload exist as data types elsewhere in the product, but they aren't offered when you create an attribute here.

Where the values come from

By hand, on the record itself:
- A contact has a Data page.
- A promotion has a Details page.
- A reward has a Custom attributes page.
- A single voucher has a Custom attributes tab.
- A business profile has a Custom attributes section.
Forms, which can ask a contact for any contact attribute.
Imports, where you map a column of your file to an attribute.
Automations, through the Set contact attribute action.
The API, using the attribute's internal name.

You don't add an attribute to a single record. Once it exists, every record of that kind has it, so it's already listed on those pages, empty until you fill it in. On a promotion or a reward, an attribute in a group named after an integration shows on Discount logic instead.

Where you can use them

Filters and segments, including contact lists and campaign filters.
Columns and exports. Add an attribute as a column on the contacts overview with Edit columns, or pick the attributes to include when you export.
Visibility filters on a reward, so a deal is only shown to contacts whose attribute has a certain value.
Tier entry criteria.
Email personalisation, where attributes are available as tags in the email designer.
Automations, which can start when a contact's attribute value changes.

System attributes

These are fields we calculate and maintain. You activate them instead of creating them: tick the ones you want on the System attributes tab and click Add. Once one is active you can't switch it off again from the dashboard, and its selection options are fixed.

Contacts have four:

Locale, the locale settings for the contact such as language and date format.
Has been referred, whether this contact was referred by another contact.
Number of reward redemptions, the total number of reward redemptions for the contact.
Number of points transactions, the total number of points transactions for the contact.

The label and description of an attribute the system manages are read-only. Click Edit details on its page and a banner says the system manages it.

An attribute's description is free text. A description saying something else manages the field doesn't make it read-only: only attributes the system manages are.

Deleting one

At the bottom of the attribute's page, under Danger zone, there's Delete attribute. It's permanent. The attribute and the values recorded in it are deleted and can't be brought back.

Deleting is refused when the attribute is used by a tier track. Attributes the system manages can't be deleted at all, so they have no Delete attribute button.

There's no way to archive an attribute, so for one you no longer want to use, take it off your columns and stop filling it in.

What you can't do

Change an attribute's data type or internal name after creating it.
Edit or delete an attribute the system manages, or switch a system attribute back off.
Create a file upload or media upload attribute from this page.