When should looking at a product earn an email?
One gentle note after a known visitor lingers on a product, and never more than once a week.
What does this flow do?
Browse abandonment is the most delicate flow we run. Looking is not asking, so this flow sends a single, helpful note and then backs right off.
Most of the work happens before anything is sent: nine quiet checks make sure nobody hears from browse while something more important is going on.
When does it start?
When a visitor Bento already knows views a product and does not add it to a cart.
How does it run, step by step?
- A known visitor looks at a product page.
- Before doing anything, the flow checks nine reasons to stay quiet: a cart in progress, a recent order, a parcel on its way, and so on.
- It waits a couple of hours, then checks again in case they bought or started a cart.
- One note goes out: you were looking at this, and here is help choosing.
- A week-long cap starts, so nobody gets more than one of these a week.
What happens before every send?
Every email in every flow passes the same quiet check first. Is the customer still in this flow? Have they bought since it started? Have we emailed them in the last couple of days? If any answer says wait, the flow waits a day and asks again, rather than piling another email on top.
After the send, the flow marks a short cooldown, so the next flow that wants this person knows to give them a breather.
How do you build this on your platform?
These are the events the flow needs, and where each one comes from on your store.
Product viewed Needs a small recipe
Bento.js in the theme, or a custom pixel’s product_viewed.
Product viewed Works out of the box
Site tracking records page views and links them on identify.
Product viewed Works out of the box
Our plugin’s tracking sends $view with the product and category.
How does it connect to the other flows?
- A cart, a checkout or an order always outranks browse, so this flow steps aside.
- It saves the visitor’s medium, which welcome and other flows read.
What does one of the emails say?
You were looking at a few things in watercolour the other day. If you want a second opinion before you choose, reply and tell us what you are painting.
Kshitij, Art Lounge
An excerpt. The full emails change with each customer’s order and medium.
Questions people ask about this flow?
Is browse abandonment email creepy?
It can be when it is pushy. Ours sends one helpful note, only to people who have given us their email, and never more than once a week. It offers help choosing, not a countdown.
How long should you wait before a browse abandonment email?
We wait a couple of hours. That is long enough for someone to finish their session and come back on their own, and short enough that the product is still on their mind.
Can Bento track product views for anonymous visitors?
Yes. Bento’s script records views before someone is known and joins them to the right person once they sign up or click an email link.