Segmenting with dates reference

You will learn

Learn how date-based segment conditions work in Klaviyo. Date-based segments are powerful tools to develop a better understanding of your subscribers. You can create segments of recent purchasers or site visitors, subscribers who have a birthday this month, and more.

How to select dates in segments

When building a segment in Klaviyo, you can use the calendar feature to select specific dates. 

To select a specific set of dates to include in your segment, set the timeframe to before, after or between dates. When you set the start date and end date fields, a calendar will appear that makes it easy to choose your desired date. You can use the left and right arrows to cycle between months and years. 

General guidelines for building date-based segments

Date properties that do not have a timestamp set will assume the default timestamp of 00:00:00. This means that segment options that look backward from today (e.g., “is in the last,” “day is in the last”) will include profiles with today’s date, as long as no timestamp is specified. Segment options that look forward from today (e.g., “is in the next,” “day is in the next”) will exclude profiles with today’s date if no timestamp is specified, because they look forward from the date and time the segment is evaluated.

If the date property includes a timestamp, profiles will be evaluated for the segment based on whether the date and time fall within the segment definition.

Review the criteria below carefully to determine whether a date will be included in your segment. 

• If an example says a condition includes dates that are “on or after” a timestamp, dates with the specified date and time will be included. 
• If an example says a condition includes dates that are “before” a timestamp, dates with the specified date and time will be excluded. 

Segments with relative time conditions

While other segments update in real-time, there is one exception: segments that rely on relative time conditions. 

If a profile takes an action that causes them to qualify for, or no longer qualify for, a segment with relative time conditions, they will be added or removed immediately. Profiles that qualify for a segment by taking an action at a specific time in the past, or those who no longer qualify for a segment based on relative time conditions, will be added or removed once every 24 hours. 

For example, if you have a segment containing profiles that have made at least one purchase in the last 30 days, anyone who makes a purchase will be added right away. If a profile doesn’t purchase again within 30 days, they will be removed from the segment on day 31. Because there's no event triggered by not purchasing, profiles that no longer qualify for the segment will be removed once per day. 

In addition, a segment of people who purchased at least one time between 30 and 60 days ago can't always be computed from a purchase event. This segment will add new profiles and remove old ones once every 24 hours.

Segmentation options for profile properties

Date-based profile properties, like a profile’s creation date or birthday, can be accessed and used in the segment builder by selecting the rule Properties about someone and choosing a date property. Then, select a date or date range for your definition.

Conditions based on a specific date

These conditions look for a specific date or time, or a specific range of dates or times. With these definitions, the year of the date is taken into consideration (along with the month, day, and timestamp).

The list below includes examples and specifies what dates will be included in your segment. In these examples, “today” is June 17, 2023. 

• is in the last
  Includes all profiles with date in the last X hours, days, or weeks. Includes today and the date that is the selected number of days in the past. If you use the condition “is in the last 3 days”, your segment will include anyone with the date on or after 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC.
• is at least
  Includes all profiles whose date is at least X hours, days, or weeks in the past. If you use the condition “is at least 3 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date earlier than 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC. Properties with a timestamp of exactly 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included. 
• is between
  Includes profiles that took the designated action between X and Y hours, days, or weeks ago. For the purpose of this segment, days start and end at midnight UTC, and the segment will include profiles that took the action on the start date, end date, or any days between.
  If you use the condition “is between 3 and 5 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date on or after 6/12/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/15/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• is in the next
  Includes profiles with a date in the next X hours, days, or weeks. If a profile contains today’s date without a timestamp, that profile will not be included in the segment, because the assumed timestamp (0:00:00, or midnight) will be in the past at the time the segment is run.
  If you use the condition “is in the next 3 days”, your segment will include anyone with a date on or after 6/17/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/21/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• is before
  Includes profiles with a date prior to a selected date. If you use the condition “is before 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates before 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC. Properties with a timestamp of exactly 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included. 
• is after
  Includes profiles with a date after a selected date, excluding the date itself. If you use the condition “is after 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/11/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• is between dates
  Includes profiles with a date between a set of dates, inclusive of the start date and end date. If you use the condition “is between dates 6/10/2023 and 6/15/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/16/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 

Conditions that ignore a date’s year

These conditions consider a date’s month, day, and time, but not the date’s year. Use these conditions for segments based on birthdays, anniversaries, or other milestones that recur annually.

The list below includes examples and specifies what dates will be included in your segment. In these examples, “today” is June 17, 2023 15:00:00 UTC. 

• day is today
  Includes profiles with a date that matches today, regardless of year. If you use this condition, your segment will include dates on or after 6/17 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/18 0:00:00 UTC. 
• day is in the next
  Includes profiles with a date in the next X hours, days, or weeks, excluding today, regardless of year. If you use the condition “day is in the next 3 days”, your segment will include dates between 6/17 15:00:00 UTC and 6/21 0:00:00 UTC.
• day is in the last
  Includes profiles with a date in the last X hours, days, or weeks, including today, regardless of year. If you use the condition “Day is in the last 3 days”, your segment will include dates between 6/14 0:00:00 UTC and 6/17 15:00:00 UTC. 
• day is in this month
  Includes profiles with a date in the current month, regardless of year. If you use this condition, your segment will include dates on or after 6/1 0:00:00 UTC and before 7/1 0:00:00 UTC. 
• day is in month of
  Includes profiles with a date in the selected month, regardless of year. If you use the condition “day is in the month of August”, your segment will include dates on or after 8/1 0:00:00 UTC and before 9/1 0:00:00 UTC. 

Segmentation options for metrics (events)

All metrics on a profile include a timestamp indicating when the event occurred. You can build segments based on metrics that occurred during a specific period by using the segment rule What someone has done (or not done), then selecting your metric. By default, the condition over all time will be used, and you can change the date range using that dropdown.

The list below includes examples and specifies what dates will be included in your segment. In these examples, “today” is June 17, 2023. 

• over all time
  Includes all profiles containing metrics that meet your segment criteria, regardless of when the event occurred.
• in the last
  Includes all profiles containing metrics timestamped in the last X hours, days, or weeks. Includes today and the date that is the selected number of days in the past. If you use the condition “in the last 3 days”, your segment will include anyone with the date on or after 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC.
• between
  Includes profiles that took the designated action between X and Y hours, days, or weeks ago. For the purpose of this segment, days start and end at midnight UTC.
  If you use the condition “is between 3 and 5 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date on or after 6/12/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/15/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
  

  If you want to segment for an event occurring “between 0 and x days ago,” use “is in the last” instead. For example, "between 0 and 30 days" ago should be “is in the last 30 days.”

• before
  Includes profiles who took an action prior to a specific date, not including the date itself. If you use the condition “before 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates before 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC. Events with a timestamp of exactly 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included. 
• after
  Includes profiles who took an action after a specific date, not including the date itself. If you use the condition “after 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/11/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• between dates
  Includes profiles that took an action between a set of dates, including both selected dates. If you use the condition “is between dates 6/10/2023 and 6/15/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/16/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 

Segmentation options for list subscriptions

To create a segment of profiles who subscribed to a list on a specific date (or within a date range), use this rule:

If someone is in or not in list > is in list [your list]

Then, add a By Date Added filter.

The list below includes examples and specifies what dates will be included in your segment. In these examples, “today” is June 17, 2023. 

The date options available in this segment are:

• In the last
  Includes profiles who joined the list in the last X hours, days, or weeks, including the selected date. If you use the condition “in the last 3 days”, your segment will include anyone with the date on or after 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC.
• More than
  Includes profiles who were added to your list more than X hours, days, or weeks ago, not including the selected date. If you use the condition “at least 3 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date earlier than 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC. List members with a timestamp of exactly 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included.
• At least
  Includes profiles who were added to your list more than X hours, days, or weeks ago, not including the selected date. If you use the condition “at least 3 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date earlier than 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC. List members with a timestamp of exactly 6/14/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included. 
• Between
  Includes profiles who were added between X and Y hours, days, or weeks ago, including the start date, but not including the end date. If you use the condition “is between 3 and 5 days ago”, your segment will include anyone with a date on or after 6/12/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/15/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• Before
  Includes profiles who were added before a specific date, not including the date itself. If you use the condition “is before 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates before 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC. List members with a timestamp of exactly 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC will not be included. 
• After
  Includes profiles who were added after a specific date, not including the date itself. If you use the condition “is after 6/10/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/11/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 
• Between dates
  Anyone who joined the list between the dates you select (inclusive of the start date and end date). If you use the condition “is between dates 6/10/2023 and 6/15/2023”, your segment will include any dates on or after 6/10/2023 0:00:00 UTC and before 6/16/2023 0:00:00 UTC. 

Rare dates

If a profile contains a leap day as the value of a date property, the profile will only be included in segments where it exactly matches the criteria. For example, if your segment contains the condition Properties about someone > [Date Property] > is in the last 10 days, profiles with a leap day date will only qualify in leap years.

If the condition does not specify a specific date or number of days (e.g., Properties about someone > [Date property] > Day is in month of > February), leap days will be included.

Additional resources

• Acceptable date and timestamp formats for profile and event properties
• Advanced segmentation reference