Why "Recently Viewed Products" are a Must-Have for Your Customers ?
The "Recently Viewed Products" feature helps customers easily revisit items they've previously browsed on your Shopify store. This convenient tool enhances the shopping experience by simplifying navigation, reducing cart abandonment, and encouraging impulse buys.
Why "Recently Viewed Products" is Essential for Your Shopify Store and How to Make the Most of It?
1. Introduction
Imagine walking into a physical store, picking up an item you like, setting it down, and wandering off, only to forget where you found it. This happens every day in online shopping.
Enter the "Recently Viewed Products" feature—the digital equivalent of a helpful store assistant who points you back to the items you've shown interest in.
It might be small, but it certainly does make an essential difference when one customer is lost to another: loyal.
Read more about it below to discover why Shopify features like that can be valuable and how best you can leverage the "Recently Viewed Products" feature toward your sales goal.
Your shopping BFF – always remembering what you loved.
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2. What is this "Recently Viewed Products" Feature?
"Recently Viewed Products" displays items a customer has browsed during their session. It usually appears as a carousel, sidebar, or section on the site.
It provides easy access to those products without forcing customers to navigate multiple pages or use the search bar.
Your breadcrumb trail to shopping success!
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3. Why "Recently Viewed Products" are a Must-have?
Many Shopify store owners wonder whether they need “Recently Viewed Products” in their accounts. Are you also one of them?
If yes, here are some solid reasons that make this feature a must-have in your Shopify store.
Improve User Convenience
E-commerce is fundamentally about making a shopping experience easier.
This user interface simplifies navigation by putting products customers looked at before and liked directly back in front of them, decreasing frustration.
Help Tackle Cart Abandonment
The main reason users abandon carts these days is distraction. Instead of leaving their site, these customers will remain on your site if accessing items they already liked is the easiest way out.
Encourage Impulse Shopping
When combined with compelling graphics and placement, this functionality encourages impulse buys because it keeps great products top-of-mind.
Building Brand Loyalty
Customers are more likely to return to your site and shop again if they know your site is easy to navigate and remember their preferences.
We’re all about those ‘Oops, I need that!’ moments.
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4. How Does It Affect Your Sales?
The “Recently Viewed Products” feature can drastically boost your online presence, enhance buyer engagement, and multiply returns. Stay tuned as we throw light on how this feature improves your sales:
Increasing Average Order Value (AOV)
Customers returning to the same products are likely to add more items to their cart, thus increasing the overall value of the purchase.
Facilitating Retargeting Campaigns
This feature allows for collecting data to support retargeting, for instance, through abandoned cart emails or dynamic ads featuring the products they have looked at but haven't bought.
Higher Retention of Customers
It keeps them returning with an enjoyable shopping experience as long as they can rely on the store to remember their preferences.
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5. Step-by-Step How-To of Adding the Feature
Are you planning to incorporate “Recently Viewed Products” into your store? Here is a step-by-step guide to adding this innovative feature to your Shopify store:
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Please note that Recently Viewed feature can be disabled by default. So, go to Recently Viewed tab in Customer Dashboard Pro app menu to turn it on.
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Once you are done turning this feature on, click on ‘Recently Viewed’.
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This will help you preview this section along with additional settings.
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Choose your desired settings and click ‘Save’.
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That ’s it! You can now check all your changes in the ‘Menu Builder’ and adjust settings, if needed.
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Moreover, you can also login into your account and check this feature.
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6. Advanced Best Practices for Optimization
Store optimization is the key to enhancing consumer satisfaction, boosting conversions, and increasing returns. Here are some of the best optimization practices for Shopify store owners.
Strategic Placement
Position the feature where it’s most relevant:
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Homepage: To re-engage returning visitors.
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Product Pages: To remind customers of other options they considered.
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Cart Page: To encourage customers to buy more before the checkout.
Personalized Recommendations
Integrate "Recently Viewed Products" with AI-powered suggestions for related or complementary products. This will improve upsell chances.
AI and Machine Learning Integration
Apply Klaviyo or Nosto to study the browsing pattern and display it dynamically.
Visual and UX Improvements
Make it look good using:
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High-resolution images
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Clear typography
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Hover effects for previews
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7. Monitoring and Measuring Effectiveness
Key Performance Indicators
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Click-Through Rate (CTR): Meets the frequency that customers interact with the feature.
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Conversion Rate: It meets how many of those interactions convert into purchases
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Engagement Time: Shows how long customers stay on your site after using the feature
Tools and Techniques for Analysis
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Google Analytics: Track behavioral metrics tied with the feature
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HeatMap: Understand how customers engage with the section visually.
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8. Real-World Examples of Success
1. Amazon
Amazon's "Recently Viewed" is an exemplary example of user-centric design. Its strategic placement and recommendations greatly affect its conversion rate.
2. ASOS
ASOS includes "Recently Viewed Products" with outfit suggestions to keep the customers interested and boost AOV.
3. Etsy
Etsy puts up recently viewed items on the home page for return visitors so they can pick up from where they left off.
Your browsing history, but make it stylish!
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The future of e-commerce will undoubtedly be more customized marketing. One feature of it is "Recently Viewed Products."
Use these insights from a customer's browsing history to deliver more targeted and highly effective campaigns resonating with each user's unique preference.
Here is how to seize the opportunity of that:
Use Browsing Data for Insight
The "Recently Viewed Products" section is a treasure trove for customers and your marketing team.
Tracking the products customers view can reflect their interests, price sensitivity, and even what products they prefer.
The data can, therefore, be used to tailor messages to meet that specific need.
Design Dynamic Retargeting Campaigns
Dynamic retargeting ads are one of the best ways to take advantage of "Recently Viewed Products fully."
On platforms like Facebook and Google, you can easily place ads on the products your customers have looked at but did not buy.
Gentle reminders that this does help boost conversion rates, sometimes dramatically so.
Email Hyper-Personalization
Email marketing is the most potent weapon in your arsenal.
Use the "Recently Viewed Products" feature to create emails personally targeted for everyone.
Just send out the email containing recently viewed products and some complementary offers or deals.
A subject line like "Still thinking about these?" can prompt interest, while adding the recently viewed items makes it easy for customers to return to their favorites.
Use It for Cross-Selling and Upselling
Integrate the browsing data with related products to create cross-selling opportunities.
For example, if a customer viewed a pair of running shoes, you could recommend socks, water bottles, or fitness trackers.
Upsell strategies may include showing premium versions of the viewed product or highlighting limited-time offers on bundles.
Make It Automated and Seamless
Automation tools like Klaviyo or HubSpot can integrate with your Shopify store to streamline this process.
These platforms can automatically send emails or trigger retargeting ads based on a customer's interactions with your site.
By strategically integrating the "Recently Viewed Products" feature with your personalized marketing efforts, you can create a shopping experience uniquely tailored to each customer, increasing engagement and sales.
Keeping your faves just a click away!
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While there are various advantages offered by "Recently Viewed Products," its lack of proper execution may degrade the experience. Some of the most common mistakes that people should avoid:
Presenting customers with too much Stuff
One of the biggest mistakes is showing too many recently viewed products.
Although variety is essential, showing too many can clutter the page and confuse customers.
Stick to a manageable number; five to seven products are usually ideal.
When showing items, prioritize the ones with the highest engagement or most relevant to the customer's browsing journey.
This way, the section remains helpful rather than overwhelming.
Wrong Placement of the Section
Placement is key to the success of "Recently Viewed Products."
Tucked at the bottom of a page or hidden in an obscure tab, it will never see the light of day.
Placement is strategic for maximum visibility and interaction on the product page, homepage, or cart page.
Not Optimizing for Mobile
With more shoppers browsing on mobile devices than ever, not optimizing this feature for smaller screens is a critical mistake.
This section should be fully responsive and clean in design, with easy navigation.
The designs should adapt nicely to different screen sizes, like on a desktop.
Failure to Update or Refresh Content
Static and old "Recently Viewed Products" banners become irrelevant over time.
Refresh the feature often to reflect the customer's most recent interactions accurately.
Real-time data integration would be a good idea to ensure the countenance remains engaging and dynamic in the display.
Not Enough Personalization
A generic "Recently Viewed Products" section misses an opportunity to make a more significant impact.
Personalization can boost this feature by adding related products, best sellers in the same category, or products often purchased together.
This would improve shopping experiences and enhance upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
Failure to Analyze Performance
Many stores implement the "Recently Viewed Products" feature without tracking its performance.
Without data, it's impossible to know whether the feature drives conversions or occupies space.
Use analytics tools to monitor click-through rates, engagement time, and conversions.
By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can ensure that the "Recently Viewed Products" feature remains valuable for improving customer experience and driving sales.
Because great products deserve a spotlight encore!
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In other words, adding the "Recently Viewed Products" to your Shopify store is about making shopping smooth and personalized, leading to increased conversions and loyalty.
With the well-placed implementation and optimization of the feature, you will achieve excellent customer satisfaction and promote sales simultaneously.
Shop smarter, not harder – we’ve got your back!
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