Faster Navigation Between Inventory Pages

Purpose

Explain how Speed Layer can make navigation between inventory pages feel faster by prefetching likely next pages.

Inventory browsing often follows a repeating loop:

Shopper views an SRP
Opens a VDP
Returns to the SRP
Opens another VDP

Even when each page eventually loads, slow transitions create friction and reduce engagement.

How Speed Layer can help

Prefetches pages before the click

Speed Layer can load the next page in the background using browser prefetch and similar mechanisms. When the shopper navigates, the browser may already have the page response, so the transition can feel faster.

Background:

MDN: Speculative loading and related APIs https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Performance

Uses intent signals

Depending on the configuration, Speed Layer can use signals such as:

Hover intent on desktop
Links entering the viewport as the user scrolls

This helps focus prefetching on pages the user is more likely to visit next.

Limits and expectations

Prefetching depends on browser support and network conditions.
Prefetching should respect user settings such as reduced data usage.
Prefetching is typically most helpful on inventory flows with many similar internal links.

How to tell it is working

Clicking from SRP to VDP feels more immediate, especially on repeat interactions.
Back and forward navigation feels smoother when moving through inventory.

How Speed Layer Improves Page Load Speed
Why Website Speed Is More Than Just File Size