The Browse Abandonment Flow Most Brands Are Missing (And the Revenue It Recovers)

Your Shopify store gets 10,000 visitors this month. Maybe 3% add something to their cart. Of those, some start checkout. The rest leave.

But what about the thousands who browsed a product page and left without adding to cart? They looked. They were interested enough to click through. Then they vanished.

Without a Browse Abandonment flow, those visitors are gone. You paid to get them to your site through ads, SEO, or social media, and you got nothing in return.

With a Browse Abandonment flow, you get a second chance. And the revenue it recovers — while smaller per email than cart or checkout recovery — adds up significantly because the volume of browsers is so much larger than the volume of cart adders.

What Browse Abandonment Actually Is

A Browse Abandonment flow triggers when a known subscriber views a product page on your Shopify store but doesn't add the product to their cart.

The key word is "known." Klaviyo can only trigger this flow for visitors whose email address it already has — either because they've subscribed, purchased before, or clicked through from a previous email. Anonymous first-time visitors who haven't been identified won't trigger the flow.

This is why list building matters even for Browse Abandonment. The larger your identified audience, the more browse events Klaviyo can capture and act on.

Where It Fits in the Flow Hierarchy

Browse Abandonment sits between your higher-intent recovery flows and your campaign sends:

Abandoned Checkout (highest intent) → Abandoned Cart → Browse Abandonment (lowest intent) → Campaigns (broadcast)

The conversion rate reflects this intent hierarchy. Checkout recovery converts at 2-4%. Cart recovery converts at 1.5-3%. Browse Abandonment typically converts at 1-2%. Lower per email, but applied to a much larger audience.

Critically, Browse Abandonment should only fire when the subscriber hasn't taken a higher-intent action. If someone viewed a product AND added to cart, they should enter the Cart Abandonment flow, not Browse Abandonment. The exclusion logic is essential.

The Trigger Setup in Klaviyo

Trigger: "Viewed Product" event from the Shopify-Klaviyo integration.

Filters (all required):

• Has NOT "Added to Cart" since the trigger event
• Has NOT "Started Checkout" since the trigger event
• Has NOT "Placed Order" since the trigger event
• Has NOT received a Browse Abandonment email in the last 72 hours (frequency cap)

Delay: 1-2 hours after the product view. This gives the subscriber time to continue browsing, add to cart, or check out on their own. If they do any of those things within the delay window, the filters catch it and they exit the flow.

The frequency cap is important. Without it, an active browser who views 10 products in a week could receive 10 Browse Abandonment emails. That's a fast track to an unsubscribe. Cap it at one Browse Abandonment email per 72 hours maximum.

The Email Sequence (2-3 Emails)

Email 1 (1-2 Hours After Browse): The Product Reminder

Show the product they viewed. Large image, product name, price, and a direct link back to the product page. Keep the copy light: "Still thinking about this?" or "Worth another look?"

Include 2-3 related products below the main product. Someone browsing one product might be more interested in a variation or a similar item. Klaviyo's dynamic product recommendations work well here — showing "You might also like" items based on their browsing and purchase history.

No discount. The first email is a reminder, not a negotiation.

Email 2 (24 Hours After Email 1): Social Proof

If they didn't convert from the reminder, add reasons to buy. Customer reviews for the product they viewed. Star ratings. "Rated 4.8/5 by X customers." If you have UGC (customer photos), include them.

The shift is from "you looked at this" to "here's why other people bought it." Social proof resolves the hesitation that caused them to leave without adding to cart.

Include the same product with the same direct link. Don't make them search for it again.

Email 3 (48-72 Hours After Email 2): Optional Gentle Nudge

This third email is optional and depends on your strategy. Options:

• If you're running a sale that applies to the browsed product, mention it here
• If the product is low in stock, add a genuine scarcity element
• If your margins support it, offer free shipping as a soft incentive

Avoid discounting on Browse Abandonment. The intent level is too low to justify training customers to expect a discount for simply looking at a product page. Save your discount ammunition for Checkout Abandonment where the intent is proven.

The Discount Debate

Should you offer a discount in Browse Abandonment emails? For most brands, the answer is no.

Here's why: Browse Abandonment catches people at the earliest stage of interest. They haven't committed to anything. If you offer 10% off for simply looking at a product, you're conditioning customers to browse, leave, and wait for the discount email. It cheapens the buying experience and erodes margin.

The exception: if you sell a high-consideration product where the path from browse to purchase is long and competitive (expensive electronics, luxury items, custom products), a small incentive in Email 3 can tip the balance. But test it against a no-discount version before making it permanent.

Dynamic Product Recommendations

Browse Abandonment is one of the best use cases for Klaviyo's dynamic product recommendations. Since the trigger is a specific product view, Klaviyo has clear context about what the subscriber is interested in.

Use the "Viewed Product" data to show:

• The exact product they browsed (hero position)
• 2-3 products from the same category or collection
• Bestsellers that other browsers also purchased

This turns a simple reminder email into a curated shopping experience. If the exact product wasn't right, the alternatives might be.

Measuring Browse Abandonment Performance

Conversion rate: 1-2% is the benchmark. This is lower than cart or checkout recovery because the intent is lower. Don't compare it to those flows — compare it to campaigns.

Revenue per recipient: Track this monthly. Browse Abandonment should generate measurable revenue relative to the number of people who enter the flow. If revenue per recipient is declining, test new subject lines, product images, or the inclusion of social proof.

Unsubscribe rate: Watch this closely. Because Browse Abandonment can feel intrusive ("they know what I looked at"), some subscribers will unsubscribe. If unsubscribe rates are above 0.5% per flow email, reduce the frequency cap or soften the messaging.

Revenue contribution: In most Klaviyo accounts, Browse Abandonment contributes 3-8% of total flow revenue. It's not a headline number, but it's revenue that would be zero without the flow.

The Technical Prerequisite Most Brands Miss

Browse Abandonment depends on the "Viewed Product" event being tracked in Klaviyo. This requires the Shopify-Klaviyo integration to be properly configured with on-site tracking active.

Verify this in Klaviyo under Analytics > Metrics. Look for the "Viewed Product" metric. If it shows zero events, the tracking isn't working and your Browse Abandonment flow has no trigger data.

Common causes: the Klaviyo JavaScript snippet isn't installed on the Shopify theme, a cookie consent tool is blocking the tracking script, or the integration was set up without enabling active on-site tracking.

Fix the tracking first. Then build the flow.

The Bottom Line

Browse Abandonment catches the biggest audience that your other recovery flows miss. The intent is lower, but the volume is significantly higher. A well-built Browse Abandonment flow converts window shoppers into buyers and recovers revenue that would otherwise disappear.

Set up the trigger with proper exclusion logic. Send 2-3 emails focused on the product, social proof, and alternatives. Cap the frequency. Skip the discount.

The revenue adds up quietly in the background, one recovered browser at a time.