Have you ever noticed how easy it is to lose track of the products you’ve browsed while shopping online? One minute you’re looking at a cool pair of shoes, and the next you can’t find them again. That’s where “Recently Viewed” apps come in.
Why does this matter for eCommerce store owners? It’s simple—customers are more likely to purchase items they’ve previously shown interest in. A “Recently Viewed” section makes it easier for them to find and buy those items without the hassle of searching again. These apps improve the shopping experience, boost engagement, and most importantly, increase conversions.
In this guide, we’ll explore the 7 best Shopify recently viewed apps that can enhance your store’s functionality and help you keep customers engaged. Not only will we cover features and pricing, but we’ll also dive into how each app can impact your store’s overall performance.
Shopify’s market cap as of August 2024 is $96.61 billion, a recovery from a drop in 2022. (source)
Why Recently Viewed Apps on Shopify?
Recently viewed apps on Shopify are essential for improving the overall shopping experience on an eCommerce store. Here’s why:
- Boosting Customer Engagement: These apps allow shoppers to easily revisit products they’ve previously explored without needing to search through the store again. By providing customers with a shortcut to items they were interested in, it increases their chances of making a purchase. It also keeps them more engaged on the website for a longer period, which is key to boosting conversions
- Increasing Conversions: Customers who view a product multiple times are more likely to buy it. A recently viewed section can remind them of the product as they browse other items or return to the store later. This feature leads to higher conversion rates because it reduces the friction of having to search for products all over again
- Improving User Experience: These apps improve navigation and user experience by providing an intuitive feature that helps customers track their own shopping behavior. Instead of users bookmarking products or navigating through the browser history, the app neatly displays recently viewed items, making it more convenient for them to make purchasing decisions
- Upselling and Cross-Selling: Many recently viewed apps integrate with product recommendation tools, enabling upselling and cross-selling strategies. By showing customers related products or items that complement their recently viewed items, stores can increase average order value
- Personalized Marketing: Store owners can leverage data from recently viewed items to run personalized email campaigns. For example, they can send reminders or offer discounts on products that users have shown interest in. This personal touch helps in driving sales while building a stronger relationship with the customer
- Reducing Cart Abandonment: By showing recently viewed products across different pages like the cart or checkout, these apps can reduce cart abandonment. If a shopper left the site without purchasing an item, they can easily pick up where they left off the next time they visit
In summary, recently viewed apps on Shopify play a crucial role in enhancing the customer journey, increasing sales, and helping stores offer a seamless and personalized shopping experience.
Top 07 Recently Viewed Shopify Apps
1. Ultimate Recently Viewed
Ultimate Recently Viewed is designed to integrate quickly with any Shopify theme. It requires minimal configuration and provides a simple way to display recently viewed products across your site.
- Key Features:
- Automatically matches your store’s theme and styles.
- Displays recently viewed products on product pages, cart, and soon on the homepage.
- No impact on page load speed.
- Supports multiple currencies and languages.
- Pros:
- Easy installation with automatic theme integration.
- Lightweight and does not slow down your store.
- Great support for different themes and languages.
- Cons:
- Limited customization options compared to other apps.
- Only available in English.
- Pricing: $4.99/month, 5-day free trial
- Rating: 5.0/5.0
2. MLV Recently Viewed Products
This app is focused on making it easy for customers to access products they’ve browsed, while blending seamlessly with your Shopify store’s design.
- Key Features:
- Customizable widget to display recently viewed products on any page, including home, collections, and cart.
- Configure the number of recently viewed products to display (up to 10).
- Customizable title text for the widget.
- Pros:
- Highly customizable widget placement and appearance.
- Mobile-friendly and responsive design.
- Supports up to 10 products in the recently viewed list.
- Cons:
- Fewer advanced marketing features compared to some other apps.
- Limited to basic widget functionality.
- Pricing: $9.95/month, 15-day free trial
- Rating: 3.9/5.0
3. Flits: Recently Viewed Products
Flits offers a multi-functional app that combines recently viewed products with features like customer wishlists, store credits, and personalized marketing strategies.
- Key Features:
- Displays recently viewed products on the customer account page.
- Combines recently viewed products with wishlists and store credits.
- Provides data for creating personalized marketing campaigns.
- Pros:
- Supports personalized marketing efforts.
- Offers upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
- Can be integrated into customer account pages for seamless experience.
- Cons:
- More complex to configure due to multiple features.
- Pricier compared to basic apps focused solely on recently viewed products.
- Pricing: Pricing available upon request (requires a demo).
- Rating: Not publicly available for just the “Recently Viewed” feature alone.
4. JustViewed
JustViewed offers a simple, clean way to display recently viewed products with a minimal design that blends into any Shopify store.
- Key Features:
- Easy to install with a mobile-friendly design.
- Displays recently viewed products on all product pages.
- Minimalist design to ensure it fits seamlessly into any theme.
- Pros:
- Clean and simple UI.
- No unnecessary extras, which keeps the focus on recently viewed products.
- Cons:
- Lack of advanced marketing or upselling features.
- Very basic customization options.
- Pricing: $4.99/month.
- Rating: 4.5/5.0.
5. Crafty – Personalized Recommendations
Crafty isn’t just a recently viewed product app. It also offers personalized product recommendations, helping customers discover new products alongside those they’ve already browsed.
- Key Features:
- AI-driven personalized recommendations along with recently viewed items.
- Fully customizable product recommendation display on all pages.
- Offers best-selling and new arrival product sections in addition to recently viewed.
- Pros:
- Combines recently viewed with personalized recommendations for upselling.
- Very affordable price point.
- Cons:
- Basic design options.
- Some users may find the features overwhelming if they only need recently viewed functionality.
- Pricing: $3.99/month, 7-day free trial
- Rating: 5.0/5.0 (based on 2 reviews).
6. Recenty – Recently Viewed Products
Recenty is known for its simplicity, offering fast installation and basic but effective features to show customers their browsing history.
- Key Features:
- Quick and easy to install with one-click setup.
- Displays recently viewed products across multiple pages (home, product, and cart pages).
- Fully customizable widget placement.
- Pros:
- Simple and fast installation.
- Doesn’t impact page speed.
- Customizable to match your store’s theme.
- Cons:
- Lacks advanced marketing tools.
- Limited design flexibility.
- Pricing: $2.99/month.
- Rating: 4.7/5.0.
7. Sales Pop – Recently Viewed Feature
Sales Pop adds urgency to the shopping experience by displaying recently viewed products alongside live notifications of recent store activities, like other customers’ purchases.
- Key Features:
- Combines recently viewed products with social proof pop-ups.
- Customizable pop-up design and frequency.
- Can integrate with various marketing tools for enhanced features.
- Pros:
- Increases urgency through social proof.
- Combines recently viewed and social marketing tools.
- Cons:
- Can overwhelm visitors if not configured properly.
- May require careful customization to match store design.
- Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $9.99/month
- Rating: 4.8/5.0.
key features to look for shopify recently viewed apps
1. Easy Installation and Setup
- Why it’s important: A good app should be easy to install and set up without requiring any coding knowledge. Many apps, like Ultimate Recently Viewed and MLV Recently Viewed Products, offer one-click installations
- Look for: Seamless integration into your store’s existing theme and layout without needing developer assistance
2. Customization Options
- Why it’s important: Every store has a unique design, and the recently viewed widget should blend into your store’s style. You may want to customize fonts, colors, titles, and widget placement to match your brand’s look and feel.
- Look for: The ability to modify the display of recently viewed products, such as adjusting the number of items shown, changing widget colors, or repositioning the widget on different pages
3. Mobile Responsiveness
- Why it’s important: With more customers shopping via mobile devices, it’s essential that the recently viewed feature works flawlessly on smartphones and tablets.
- Look for: Mobile-friendly design that adapts to all screen sizes without any glitches.
4. Page Load Speed
- Why it’s important: Slow-loading apps can negatively affect your store’s performance and frustrate customers. Lightweight apps that don’t impact your store’s loading times are crucial for maintaining user experience.
- Look for: Apps that are optimized for fast loading and have little to no impact on site speed, such as Ultimate Recently Viewed
5. Multi-Page Display
- Why it’s important: Customers may want to see their recently viewed products on various pages throughout the shopping journey, from the homepage to the cart page. Ensuring the recently viewed widget appears consistently across your store can increase the chances of customers revisiting these products.
- Look for: The ability to display recently viewed products on multiple pages like home, product, collection, and cart pages
6. Upselling and Cross-Selling Features
- Why it’s important: Many apps offer more than just recently viewed functionality. By combining this feature with upselling and cross-selling tactics, you can increase your average order value and encourage customers to buy related or higher-value items.
- Look for: Apps that allow you to display recommendations alongside recently viewed products, such as Boost Commerce
7. Integration with Other Apps
- Why it’s important: Some stores may want to use their recently viewed apps alongside other tools like product reviews, wishlists, or currency converters. Seamless integration ensures that all of these features work well together.
- Look for: Compatibility with other Shopify apps, including review apps, currency converters, and wishlists
FAQs
Do recently viewed apps slow down my Shopify store?
Most recently viewed apps are designed to have a minimal impact on your store’s performance. Many of the apps mentioned, such as Ultimate Recently Viewed and MLV Recently Viewed Products, are built to be lightweight and optimized for fast loading, so they don’t affect page speed
Can I customize the design of the recently viewed section?
Yes, most apps allow for some level of customization. Apps like Crafty and MLV Recently Viewed Products offer customizable widgets that can match your store’s theme and style. You can adjust fonts, colors, and even the position of the recently viewed section on various pages
Can I combine recently viewed products with other marketing strategies like upselling?
Absolutely! Many apps, such as Flits and Boost Commerce, integrate recently viewed products with upselling and cross-selling features. This allows you to offer complementary or higher-value products based on what customers have already viewed
Do these apps support multiple currencies and languages?
Yes, apps like Ultimate Recently Viewed support multiple currencies and languages, making them suitable for stores catering to international customers
How can recently viewed apps reduce cart abandonment?
By showing recently viewed products on the cart or checkout page, these apps remind customers of items they may want to purchase but haven’t added to their cart yet. This reduces the likelihood of customers abandoning their carts and increases the chances of completing a sale
Are these apps easy to install for non-developers?
Yes, most recently viewed apps require minimal setup. Apps like Ultimate Recently Viewed and JustViewed offer one-click installation, making it simple for any store owner to implement without coding knowledge
Conclusion
“Recently Viewed” apps are a must-have for any eCommerce store looking to enhance customer experience and drive more sales. These apps allow customers to easily revisit and purchase products they’ve already shown interest in, reducing friction in their buying journey. From boosting engagement to offering upselling and cross-selling opportunities, the right app can transform how users interact with your store.
By integrating one of the top 10 Shopify recently viewed apps, you’ll be providing your customers with a seamless shopping experience, which can lead to higher retention rates, increased conversions, and overall better customer satisfaction. Whether you’re looking for simple, out-of-the-box solutions like JustViewed or more advanced features like those offered by Crafty and Boost Commerce, there’s a solution to fit every store’s needs.
Remember to choose an app that aligns with your store’s design, functionality, and customer base to maximize the value it can bring to your Shopify site.
