Popups are interactive elements that appear on your website, attracting visitor attention instantly. If used right, they can dramatically boost the revenue of your ecommerce store by encouraging customer engagement, improving conversion rates, and generating leads.
Popups work by interrupting your activity, aiming to grab attention through the concept of interruption marketing. This sudden disruption triggers a psychological response, urging users to pay attention and react.
Popups create an emotional connection, and influences user decisions, particularly in the realm of making purchases. By strategically applying these triggers, popups can become a dynamic tool for ecommerce businesses, aiming to guide user behavior.
Popups come in various forms, each serving a distinct purpose. Here are some:
It is a small window that pops up on a webpage, darkening the background to highlight a message or offer while the user is scrolling through and exploring your online store.
Yes/no popups present users with two choices—either proceed or skip. These typically nudge potential customers to complete a purchase or explore more about products.
Yes/yes popups offer customers with two choices on the same page. In the case of ecommerce businesses it often presents the product with an added value option and a direct link to the product or service page. But it can be used to showcase multiple other offers as well.
Floating bar is a slim strip appearing at the top of a page, triggered by visitor actions, used to boost sales, announce discounts, or share news without interrupting the user's view.
Full-screen popup takes over the entire screen to display a message or offer, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement with users.
Let's go through the different types of popups that you can use, along with examples for each type.
Exit intent popups appear just before a potential customer is about to leave the website. They provide timely and visible incentives to prevent them from leaving your store without making a purchase. These can decrease cart abandonment rates and improve the overall engagement with your e-commerce site, as they serve as a last-moment interaction with your potential customers.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of exit intent popups:
Brand: Uniqlo
What they did: Implemented a discount offer pop-up upon exit, encouraging users to stay and make a purchase by providing a time-sensitive discount code.
Brand: H&M
What they did: Presented a survey pop-up with a quick questionnaire to gather feedback from users contemplating an exit, turning potential exits into valuable insights for improvement.
Welcome mat popups greet visitors upon arriving at a website, capturing attention instantly with compelling visuals and narratives. These are designed to greet your visitors with attractive offers or important information as soon as they land on your website.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of welcome mat pop-up:
Brand: Deconstruct
What they did: They added a popup that appears seconds after visitors landed on the website, featuring a popup with a 20% holiday discount to instantly delight new customers. This strategic approach aimed to capture attention and encourage immediate exploration of the site's offerings.
Email sign-up popups are prompts that encourage visitors to share their email addresses in exchange for value. This is a time tested strategy to increase your mailing list, build your community, and, ultimately, encourage customer loyalty.
A customer's email address is a gateway to a personal connection. If a visitor shares their email address with you, it means they are interested in your brand and they trust you.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of email sign up pop-ups:
Brand: Best Buy
What they did: Utilized an exit-intent pop-up providing a discount code for email sign-ups, encouraging users to share their email addresses before leaving the website.
Brand: MVMT (Movement)
What they did: Implemented a popup strategy encouraging visitors to stay connected by offering a limited time discount in exchange of subscribing. This tactic not only captures potential customers' interest but also enables MVMT to nurture a direct line of communication for future promotions and product launches.
💡Related guide: A Guide to Email Popups: Best Practices & How to Create
Nothing quite grabs attention like a ticking clock. It's almost instinctive - we see a countdown, and we feel the pressure mounting immediately. A countdown popup appears on the screen and displays a timer counting down to a specific event or action. It's commonly used to create a sense of urgency, to promote limited-time offers, promotions, or impending actions.
Let's take a look at some countdown pop-up examples:
Brand: Amazon
What they did: Implemented a flash sale countdown pop-up, informing users of a limited-time offer with a ticking timer to create urgency and drive immediate purchases.
Brand: Nike
What they did: Featured a product launch countdown pop-up, building anticipation and encouraging users to be among the first to purchase a new item when the countdown reaches zero.
Upsell popups are extremely powerful in ecommerce, pushing your Average Order Value (AOV) to higher levels. It appears when a customer adds an item to their cart, suggesting a similar or complementary product they might also like. These nudge customers to invest more and get something extra.
By suggesting relevant products which might be useful you will enhance your customer’s experience while increasing your revenue.
Let's take a look at some fantastic upsell pop-up examples:
Brand: Fitbit
What they did: Utilized an in-app upsell pop-up, suggesting advanced fitness tracking features and personalized coaching services for users considering an upgrade to a premium subscription.
Brand: Amazon
What they did: Utilized upsell popups during the checkout process, suggesting related or upgraded products based on the user's current selections. Amazon's smart recommendation system dynamically presents customers with options like bundle deals, or complementary items, which potentially increases their overall spend.
Social proof popups showcase customer reviews and testimonials strategically, influencing potential customers with authentic and relevant feedback to build trust. When designing these, keep two key elements in mind: authenticity and relevance.
Consider incorporating user-generated photos into your social proof pop-ups. Customers often trust user-generated content more than brand-generated content. If a customer has shared a photo of your product in use, don't hesitate to show it off. It adds to the authenticity and allows prospects to visualize themselves using your product.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of social proof pop-up:
Brand: Woodmart
What they did: Employed a product-focused popup showcasing the number of homeowners expressing interest in a specific product. This collective approval reassures customers that the product is a popular choice and creates a sense of desirability.
Feedback popups serve as a valuable tool in the ecommerce landscape, offering businesses a direct line of communication with their customers. These directly collect insights from customers, aiding in understanding needs, preferences, and pain points for improving user experience.
Let's take a look at some of the most successful examples of feedback pop-ups:
Brand: Amazon
What they did: Utilized a quick survey format for user feedback, allowing customers to share insights on their shopping experience.
Brand: Etsy
What they did: Implemented a rating system within the popup, encouraging users to provide feedback through a simple star rating and optional comments.
8. Cart abandonment popups
Card abandonment popups are instrumental in addressing the common challenge of users leaving items in their online shopping carts without completing the purchase. These pop-ups aim to re-engage users, reminding them of their selected items and encouraging them to finalize the transaction.
Let's take a look at some of the best examples of abandoned card popups:
Brand: ASOS
What they did: Implemented a timed popup with a personalized message, displaying abandoned items and offering a limited-time discount to encourage immediate purchase.
Brand: Target
What they did: Deployed a dynamic popup that showcases the abandoned items along with complementary product recommendations, aiming to capture the user's interest and encourage a comprehensive purchase.
Conclusion
Understanding all the ecommerce popups can be daunting, but it all boils down to a few key principles. Empathize with your visitors, entice them with value, and engage them where they are in their buyer's journey. The perfect balance between value proposition and usability is what makes an ecommerce pop-up a success.
Ecommerce popups, when used correctly, can be a significant revenue driver for your online business. Adopt these strategies, personalize them to your brand, and watch as your ecommerce performance takes a leap forward.
