The simplest strategy has one distribution — a single collection with one discount range. That covers most use cases. But you can add multiple distributions to a single strategy, and each distribution can use a different type. There are three: chance, limited quantity, and product.

Chance distributions

A chance distribution pulls products from a collection with a weighted probability. You assign a percentage weight to each distribution, and Randio uses those weights when selecting products for each customer's catalog.

For example, a strategy with three chance distributions:

  • Summer Accessories — 20-30% off, 50% weight
  • Core Apparel — 15-25% off, 35% weight
  • Premium Shoes — 10-18% off, 15% weight

A customer with a 6-product catalog would typically get around 3 accessories, 2 apparel items, and 1 shoe — but the exact mix varies per customer because the weights are probabilities, not guarantees. One customer might get 4 accessories and 2 apparel items. Another might get 2 accessories, 2 apparel, and 2 shoes. The randomness is the point.

Chance distributions are best when you want a general mix with some natural variation between catalogs. The weights steer the overall balance without locking it down.

Limited quantity distributions

A limited quantity distribution has a finite supply across the entire campaign. Instead of every customer getting products from this distribution, only a limited number of customers receive it. Once the quantity is used up, remaining customers get their catalog filled by the other distributions in the strategy.

This is how you create genuine scarcity within a campaign. For example:

  • Premium Shoes collection — 80-90% off, limited to 5 customers

Out of 500 customers in the campaign, only 5 get a premium shoe at a massive discount in their catalog. The other 495 never see it. Those 5 customers got genuinely lucky — and if you mention in your campaign email that a handful of catalogs contain a surprise deep discount, every customer has a reason to open and check.

Limited quantity distributions turn your campaign into a lottery. A few customers get something extraordinary. Everyone else has a reason to look because they might be one of the lucky ones.

When to use limited quantity distributions:

  • You want to offer a deep discount on a premium item without giving it to everyone
  • You want to create buzz — "some catalogs contain a surprise 80% off deal"
  • You are clearing a small amount of overstock and only need to move a handful of units
  • You want to reward a random subset of customers with something special

Scarcity that is real

Unlike fake countdown timers or "only 2 left" badges, limited quantity distributions create actual scarcity. The limited supply is real — once those slots are claimed, they are gone. Customers who hear about the deep discounts from friends or social media have genuine motivation to engage with the next campaign.

Targeted groups only

Limited quantity distributions only work with Outreach campaigns, which target a specific customer group with a known size at activation. They are not available for Storefront campaigns, where catalogs are generated reactively and the audience size is unknown.

Product distributions

A product distribution selects a specific individual product instead of pulling from a collection. You pick the exact product, set a discount range, and it appears in every catalog generated by that strategy.

This is useful when you want to guarantee a particular item shows up:

  • New launch — include a just-released product in every catalog at a modest 10-15% introductory discount
  • Overstock item — slot a product you need to move into every catalog at a deeper 25-35% discount
  • Hero product — always feature your best-seller as an anchor, with other items randomized around it

Product distributions take up one slot in the catalog. If you add two product distributions and your max products is 6, the remaining 4 slots are filled by your other distributions (chance or quantity).

Product distributions are the most controlled option. Use them sparingly — if you pin too many products, you lose the randomization that makes each catalog feel personal.

Mixing distribution types

You can mix all three types in a single strategy. A realistic setup might look like:

  • 1 product distribution — your new launch item, 12% off (guaranteed in every catalog)
  • 2 limited quantity distributions — 2 from Accessories at 20-30%, 1 from Premium at 10-18%
  • 1 chance distribution — Core Apparel at 15-25%, filling the remaining 2 slots

This gives you a 6-product catalog where one item is always the new launch, three items have a controlled category mix, and two items are randomly weighted from the core collection. Every customer sees the new product, gets a predictable spread of categories, but still gets a unique catalog.

You don't need any of this to start

If this feels like a lot, it is — and that is exactly why a single distribution is the default. One collection, one range, done. Most merchants run successful campaigns without ever adding a second distribution or changing its type.

The extra distribution types become valuable when you have specific merchandising goals: controlled category mixes, guaranteed product placement, or precise ratio management across collections. Start with one distribution, and reach for these only when a campaign genuinely needs that level of control.