Recently viewed

Recently viewed shows each customer the products they looked at most recently, so they can go back to a piece they liked without searching for it again. It sits below the product on product pages and on the page not found, and you can add it to any page.

Where the products come from

Every time a customer opens a product page, the product is remembered in their own browser. The section then shows those products, the most recent first. Nothing is stored in your Shopify admin and no cookie is set: each customer sees only their own history, on the device and browser they used.

Because of this:

• A first-time visitor sees nothing: the section stays hidden until they have viewed a product.
• On a product page, the product being viewed is left out of the list.
• Products that are no longer available in your store drop out of the list on their own.
• If the browser has JavaScript turned off, the section isn’t shown.

Decide when the section appears

Minimum products to show the section keeps the section hidden until the customer has viewed enough products. With the default of 1, a single earlier visit is enough. Raise it if a row with one or two cards looks too sparse on your page. The product on the page doesn’t count.

Maximum products to show sets how many of the most recent products appear at most.

What you see in the theme editor

The theme editor can’t read your customers’ browsers, so it shows sample cards and a note that explains what customers will see. Visiting product pages inside the theme editor doesn’t add them to your own list either. To see the real section, browse a few products in your store and then open a page that contains it.

Pick a row or a grid

Layout, Products per row on desktop, Use full page width and the Product card settings work as in the Featured collection section. The rest of the card, such as color swatches, quick add and badges, is set for the whole store in Theme settings > Product cards.

If the Heading is empty, screen readers still hear “Recently viewed” as the name of the section.

Show it only between two dates

Turn on Schedule visibility and set a start, an end, or both. See Scheduling.

Settings

Settings: Recently viewed

Setting	Type	Default	Options
Shows the products each customer viewed most recently, saved in their browser. Leaves out the product on the page, and stays hidden until the customer views a product.
Heading	Text	Recently viewed	—
Maximum products to show	Slider	8	2–16, step 1
Minimum products to show the section The section stays hidden until the customer has viewed this many products, not counting the product on the page.	Slider	1	1–8, step 1
Layout
Layout	Drop-down	Carousel	Carousel Grid
Products per row on desktop	Slider	4	3–5, step 1
Use full page width	Checkbox	On	—
Vertical spacing	Drop-down	Regular	Compact Regular Spacious
Color scheme	Color scheme	scheme-1	—
Product card
Image ratio	Drop-down	Portrait	Portrait Tall Square
Show vendor	Checkbox	Off	—
Schedule
Schedule visibility	Checkbox	Off	—
Start date and time Use the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM, in your store's time zone. Leave empty to show it right away. Shown when Schedule visibility is on	Text	—	—
End date and time Use the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM, in your store's time zone. Leave empty to keep showing it. Shown when Schedule visibility is on	Text	—	—