Product Recommenders

Product Recommenders are blocks that automatically show relevant products to the customer – for example "Similar products", "Recently viewed" or "Best sellers". The goal is to increase average order value and help customers discover more of your range.

Cesta: Admin > Analytics > Product Recommenders

Each recommender picks products either automatically (based on the chosen type and page context) or manually (you select specific products yourself). The block is then shown at the location you choose in the store.

How to create a recommender

1. Open Admin > Analytics > Product Recommenders.
2. Click Create recommender.
3. Fill in the Name (internal name for orientation in the list).
4. Optionally enter a customer-facing Custom title and Subtitle (can be filled per language).
5. Set the Placement, Type, Layout and Product selection.
6. Enter the Maximum number of products (1 – 20).
7. Set the Sort order and the Active toggle.
8. For the carousel layout, fine-tune behavior in the settings section.
9. Save.

TIP

If you leave the Custom title empty, the internal Name is used in the list and in the page editor. We recommend filling in the title at least in the main language so the customer sees a clear heading above the block.

Form fields

Field	Description
Name	Internal name of the recommender (required). Used to tell recommenders apart in the list and the page editor.
Custom title	Heading shown to the customer above the block. Translatable per language.
Subtitle	Supporting text below the title. Translatable per language.
Placement	Where the block appears (see table below).
Type	Product-selection logic in automatic mode (see table below).
Layout	Grid or Carousel.
Product selection	Automatic (Smart) or Manual.
Max. number of products	How many products are shown at most (1 – 20).
Sort order	Order when several blocks share the same location.
Active	Turns display of the block on or off.

Placement

Placement determines which page the recommender appears on.

Placement	Where it shows
Cart Page	The cart page.
Cart Drawer	The slide-out cart panel.
Product Detail Page	Product detail.
Category Page	Category page.
Home Page	Home page.
Products Listing Page	Product listing.
Add To Cart Modal	The "Added to cart" dialog.

Recommendation types (automatic mode)

The type controls how the system picks products when Automatic selection is used. Some types need a context product (for example the product detail page); on the home page or listing a sensible fallback is used (best-selling / popular).

Type	Selection logic
Recently viewed (last_seen)	Products the customer viewed most recently (last 30 days). If there is no history, popular products fill in.
Alternative (alternative)	Products from the same category as the current product, sorted by sales.
Similar (similar)	Same category with scoring by brand, shared tags, attributes and sales.
Cross-sell (cross_sell)	Complementary products – especially those bought together with the current product.
Upsell (upsell)	Higher-priced products in the same category (move to a higher tier).
Best sellers (most_sold)	Best sellers by sales count; when a category context exists, filtered to that category.

TIP

In manual mode the type is not used for selecting products – exactly the products you pick are shown. Keep the type set, but the manually added product list is what matters.

Layout and carousel settings

For the Carousel type you have additional settings available:

Setting	Description
Slides per view	Separately for mobile (1 – 2), tablet (1 – 4) and desktop (1 – 6).
Slides to scroll	How many products advance at once (1 – 4).
Arrows	Show navigation arrows.
Dots	Show a page indicator.
Autoplay	The carousel advances on its own.
Loop	Endless repetition.

For the Grid type you set the number of columns for mobile (1 – 2), tablet (1 – 4) and desktop (2 – 6).

Product availability

The Exclude unavailable products toggle (on by default) makes sure sold-out products without allowed backorder are not shown in the recommender. If backorder is allowed globally, this filter does not apply.

Where recommenders appear to the customer

The recommender is shown automatically at the location you chose in the Placement field – for example on the product detail, in the cart, or in the add-to-cart dialog.

The same recommender can also be placed into a custom page via the Page editor: add a Product Recommender block and select one of the active recommenders. This gives you full control over where within the page the block belongs.

Related products (product tab)

You can also create recommendations right on a specific product — its edit page has a Related tab. It's the same recommendation system as this page (same types, product detail placement, same analytics), just managed without leaving the product.

• The New recommendation button creates a block on the product; you choose a type (Similar, Alternative, Cross-sell, Upsell, Last seen, Most sold), the selection (manual/automatic) and a max product count (1–20).
• With manual selection you search and pick specific products for this product only (reorder with arrows; a product can't recommend itself). It doesn't affect other, store-wide recommendations.
• Edit the block's settings (name, title, layout, active, hide unavailable) in a small dialog; the Open full settings link takes you to the full recommender management.

If a picked product is out of stock and the block hides unavailable ones, the system warns you it won't show.

Common issues

The block does not appear

Check:

• whether the recommender is Active,
• whether the chosen Placement matches the page where you expect it,
• whether any products remain after filtering out unavailable ones.

Irrelevant products are shown

• In automatic mode, verify that the chosen Type makes sense for the placement (e.g. "Alternative" and "Similar" need a product context).
• For full control, switch to Manual selection and pick the products by hand.