Fallback recommendations explained
What happens when signals are missing or limited
Overview
Not every shopper arrives with a rich behavioral history. That’s where fallback recommendations come in. In Liva 7, fallbacks ensure that your widgets still display relevant content even when signals are sparse - like for new visitors, low-traffic products, or just after install.
This article explains how fallback logic works and how to configure it effectively
What Is a Fallback?
A fallback is a backup recommendation strategy used when:
• There are not enough behavior-based signals
• A product has limited or no interaction history
• A shopper is anonymous or visiting for the first time
• A widget is placed on a low-traffic page
Fallbacks prevent empty states and keep your storefront dynamic and engaging.
Fallbacks ensure your widgets always show something useful - even if no signals are available yet.
Where fallbacks are used
Fallbacks can be applied at two levels:
• Page Strategy Level: Each page type (Product, Cart, Homepage, Collection) has a default fallback
• Widget Level: You can override the fallback for any individual widget
Fallbacks are triggered automatically when the primary strategy cannot return results.
Common fallback strategies
Liva 7 supports several fallback options:
• Trending Products: Based on storewide popularity
• Top Sellers in Collection: Based on collection-level performance
• Recently Viewed: Personalized if available, otherwise empty
• Manual Curation: A fixed list of products you select
• Default Collection: A specific collection you choose to show
Trending is the most common fallback - it works well across all page types and visitor types.
How to configure fallbacks
To configure fallback behavior:
• Go to the Targeting Rules tab in the Personalization Engine
• Scroll to the Fallback Behaviour section
• Toggle fallback recommendations on or off
• Choose your preferred fallback strategy from the dropdown
• Optionally, pin specific products to always appear first
• Click Save to apply your changes
Best practices for fallbacks
• Use Trending or Best-Selling for broad appeal
• Use Manual Curation for seasonal or promotional content
• Avoid showing Recently Viewed to first-time visitors
• Always test fallbacks on mobile and desktop
• Review fallback performance in the Widget Placements dashboard
Keeping the Experience Seamless
Fallbacks are invisible to the shopper - they just see relevant content. But behind the scenes, Liva 7 is constantly checking for signal strength and switching strategies as needed. This ensures your storefront always feels personalized, even when data is limited.
