Segments let you build lists of customers, such as regulars who haven't shopped in 90 days, preroll buyers, or your top spenders. You can then message just those people using Blasts or Automations instead of sending to your whole customer base.

This article covers how to create segments, what each filter does, how to send to a segment, and how to manage segments once they're in use.

In the sidebar, click Segments (under Marketing). You can also open the Segments tab on the Customers page.

The list shows every segment with its customer count, percentage of your customers, type, where it’s being used, and last activity. Use the search bar to find a segment by name.

The Segments list, showing each segment's customer count, percentage of customers, type, where it's used, and last activity

When you click + New Segment, you choose a type:

• Automatic: you set filters based on shared traits like spend, last visit, or categories purchased. Membership updates on its own. When a customer starts or stops matching your filters, they enter or leave the segment automatically.

• Manual: you hand-pick specific customers by searching name or phone number. Membership only changes when you change it.

You can switch between types while building, but the type is locked once the segment is created. If you have an Automatic segment and want a fixed list of its current members, use Snapshot (see Managing segments below).

Choosing between an Automatic and a Manual segment when creating a new segment

1. Go to Segments → + New Segment.

2. Give it a clear, descriptive name, like "Lapsed 90+ days".

3. Leave Automatic selected.

4. Under Include, click Add Condition + and pick a property (see the filter reference below).

5. Add more conditions if you need them, and set the toggle at the top of the Include section:

• Match all: customers must meet every condition.

• Match at least one: customers qualify if they meet any condition.

6. Watch the Summary panel on the right. It describes your filters in plain English and shows a live estimate of how many customers are targeted, along with the percentage of your customer base. The summary sentence shows exactly how Carrot is reading your filters, so check it before you save.

7. Click Create.

A Lifetime Spend condition with the live Summary panel showing Customers Targeted and Percentage of Customers

Below the conditions, the Targeted Customers table lists everyone who currently matches, along with their rewards level and last-shopped info.

• Click a row to see why that customer is in the segment (for example, "Lifetime Spend: $766 is within $100–$20,000").

• Click the ✕ on a row to remove that customer. Carrot notes that an exclusion segment will be created when you save, so the person stays out even as the automatic filters keep updating. Click Undo if you didn’t mean it.

Clicking a customer row reveals why they're in the segment

Under Exclude, click Add Exclusion + and pick another saved segment. Anyone in that segment is kept out of this one, even if they match your Include conditions. Exclusions override everything.

For example, a "Big Spender Promo" segment could exclude your "Staff accounts" segment.

An exclusion keeps out anyone in another saved segment

These are the properties available in Automatic segment conditions. Each property can be used once per segment. Inside a single condition, selecting multiple options always means or.

The condition property dropdown, first half of the filter list

The condition property dropdown, remaining filters

Tip: customers who have never purchased have no last-shopped date, so a Last Shopped range never includes them. Use Never Shopped to reach them. If you want both groups in one segment, add both conditions and set the toggle to Match at least one.

1. Segments → + New Segment → select Manual.

2. Name the segment.

3. Use the Search Name or Phone box and click customers to add them.

4. Click Create.

The segment contains exactly the people you picked and never changes on its own. Good for VIP lists, event invitees, or one-off groups that don't map to a filter.

Building a Manual segment by searching customers by name or phone

1. Go to Blasts → + New Blast and write your content (title, body, optional image and link).

2. Choose your Notification Methods (mobile app push, text blast, etc.).

3. Under Recipients, choose one of the following:

• All customers: everyone.

• Custom filters: build one-off conditions inside the blast (the same builder segments use) without saving anything.

• Saved segment: pick one of your segments from the dropdown. Each segment shows its current member count.

4. After you select a segment, Carrot shows a reach line, such as "2 in this segment · select a notification method to see reach." Once you pick methods, it shows how many members can receive the message on that channel and how many can’t be reached (no app installed, no text opt-in, and so on). If reach looks low, try adding another notification method.

5. Send Now or Schedule For Later.

Because Automatic segments stay current on their own, a scheduled blast to a saved segment goes to whoever matches at send time. You don't need to maintain the list.

Picking a saved segment as blast recipients. The dropdown shows each segment’s member count

Automations (such as Customer Birthday and Win Back) message customers when a trigger fires. Segments act as a filter on top of the trigger:

1. Go to Automations → + New Automation (or edit one).

2. Pick your Trigger.

3. Under Filter, choose All customers, Custom filters, or Saved segment, then pick your segment.

4. Carrot shows the segment size and channel reach, along with this note: "A matching customer is only messaged when they also hit the trigger."

For example, with the trigger set to Customer Birthday and the filter set to a "Lifetime spend $100+" segment, only high-spending customers get the birthday message, each on their own birthday.

An automation using Customer Birthday as the trigger and a saved segment as the filter

Open the ⋮ menu on any segment in the list (or open the segment itself) for:

• Duplicate: copy the segment so you can tweak it without touching the original.

• Create Snapshot: freezes the current members into a new Manual segment. The original Automatic segment keeps updating on its own. Useful before a big filter rewrite, or to lock in everyone who qualified this month.

• Export CSV: download the current member list.

• Delete: Carrot first checks for conflicts. If nothing uses the segment, you can delete it. If blasts, automations, or other segments depend on it, you’ll see a Cannot Delete Segment dialog with links to each dependent item. Repoint those first, then delete.

The segment menu with Duplicate, Create Snapshot, Export CSV, and Delete

Creating a snapshot freezes the current members into a new Manual segment

A segment that's in use can't be deleted until the items that use it are updated

Segments are shared. The Used In column on the list (and the Used In panel when a segment is open) shows every blast, automation, and segment that points at it. Changes to a segment apply to those items immediately after saving; there is no draft state. If a segment feeds a live automation, duplicate it, edit the copy, and repoint, rather than editing in place.

My segment shows 0 customers.

Check the Match all / Match at least one toggle first. Conflicting conditions under Match all (such as Never Shopped plus Brands Purchased) can never both be true. Then check for a range no one falls into, or an exclusion swallowing your matches. Remove conditions one at a time and watch the Summary count to find the culprit.

The count looks wrong.

Read the Summary sentence. It states exactly how your filters are being read. Multiple options inside one condition mean or, and the Match toggle controls how separate conditions combine.

A filter is missing from the dropdown.

Each property can be used only once per segment. If you need two ranges of the same property ("spent $50–100 or $500+"), build two segments.

Reach is much lower than segment size.

That's a channel issue, not a filter issue. Those members can't receive the method you picked (no app installed, no text opt-in). Try adding more notification methods.

I picked the wrong segment type.

Type is locked at creation. To go from Automatic to Manual, use Create Snapshot. To go from Manual to Automatic, create a new segment.

I can't delete a segment.

Something still uses it. The Cannot Delete dialog links each dependent blast, automation, or segment. Change their audiences, then delete.

Still stuck? Reach out to support@getcarrot.io or ask for a human if you're using the support chat.