Design Decision Postmortem: Why One Marketplace Dropped Favorites for Saved Collections

Design · 4 min read

The marketplace originally used a single heart button to mark items, which aggregated into a long list that users rarely revisited. Researchers observed that users fell into at least two behaviors: short-term bookmarking during browsing and long-term planning for future purchases or inspiration. The flat favorites list failed both behaviors by lacking context and organization.

Designers proposed 'saved collections' that let users group items by intent — for example 'birthday ideas' or 'home décor' — and add notes and reminders. To avoid friction, the interaction defaults to a quick save that can be reassigned to a collection later, and smart suggestions propose collections based on past saves. The team balanced discoverability with minimal taps to keep the interaction lightweight.

After rollout, metrics showed a 30% increase in return visits to saved content and a 14% lift in messages to sellers from users who engaged with collections, suggesting higher purchase intent. Sellers reported improved conversion from users who moved items into planning collections. The decision highlights how adding a small amount of structure to an engagement mechanic can unlock different user goals without overwhelming the primary path.