How to Increase Conversions With E-commerce Discount Pop-ups

People are shopping online more than ever, leaving the retail sector searching for answers to get people back into shops.

If you run an e-commerce store, don't miss this opportunity to make the most of a further uptick in online shopping.

Now is a good time to gain new customers, more engagement and increased sales. With ever-growing numbers of shoppers online, it is important to keep up with technology retail trends like cloud ERP vs traditional ERP, to keep your business efficient and optimized for increased sales.

But don’t forget the customers.

Online shoppers expect more than ever from the buying experience.

Create the user experience people expect with better item data. If you can create a better customer experience you expect more engagement and a better e-commerce conversion rate. Using behavioral data can help you in a variety of ways. 

Let’s talk about a specific part of the customer experience that is not always seen as a positive.

Pop-ups

Pop-up ads?  Really?

It's obvious what you're thinking.

Those annoying pests bombard us when trying to read a simple article or explore a website. They are so ubiquitous that many of us have installed all manner of pop-up blockers on our devices. We simply wish to tune the assault out.

But today, we’re not talking about those awful and distracting ads.

No, we are talking about popup ads that convert.

Why do they convert?

Because they have what it takes to make a sale. These ads give the consumer motivation to move further down the sales funnel. What kind of ad are we talking about?

Ads that have at least some of the following characteristics: 

• Great copy and design

• Offers of high-value discounts

• An emotional appeal

• A sense of urgency

• A clear CTA button

• Personalized offers

Chances are that you are already using pop-ups in at least one of your retail sales channels. If you aren’t, you are probably considering whether to use them.

And you should.

Pop-ups aren’t just for collecting email addresses. There are diverse methods for improving conversion and engagement such as pop-up polls. But none are as effective as those pop-ups that offer a discount.

What kind of e-commerce discounts can you provide? 

• Percentage off

• Dollar-off amount

• 2-for-1

• Free shipping

• Free Trials

• Special gifts

While you are most likely going to be offering a percentage or dollar amount off, don’t underestimate the importance of free shipping. Free trials and special gifts can also be great lead generators.

Today, we go over six ways to use conversion rate optimization to increase customer engagement with discount pop-ups.  

1. Homepage pop-ups

New Customers

Now, this is an easy one. We all love the opportunity to engage and convert new customers.

Displaying a pop-up offer on the homepage can cast a wide net enticing any new website visitors to your site to splash the cash.

This would also be a great opportunity to offer a promotion popup code for specific discounts if you sign up for a newsletter or create an account for future purchases. Even if the customers don’t convert this time, you can now nurture your relationship with targeted email campaigns.

Returning Customers

Remember we mentioned behavioral data earlier? Use browsing history. Make sure you recognize repeat visitors. But more importantly, be sure to remember repeat website visitors who have so far failed to convert.

The good news is that they are returning to the site so they must find your e-commerce store engaging.

You can use a pop-up offer designed specifically for these forever-browsing customers. Set conditions like three visits in two weeks. That way, you can gently lead the customer down the funnel and reach a conversion.

Homepage pop-ups can also be used to call attention to any ongoing sales.

2. Product-specific pop-ups

Online shoppers these days are becoming ever so savvy to the ins and outs of e-commerce business. Without being nudged towards the sale, many customers would rather wait and compare prices on several sites before making a purchase.

Don’t let that happen. Give them a reason to feel they have all the value they need right where they are.

When a customer is browsing a certain product category, you can sweeten the deal to help them along the conversion funnel.

By segmenting which users see the discount code, you are focusing on driving mid-funnel conversions. 

3. Exit-intent pop-ups with an offer that is too good to refuse

You use recordings and dynamic heatmaps to see what customers are up to before they leave. Once a customer leaves your web page, your chance for future engagement drops dramatically.

So why not try and stop them?

Newsletter Signup

Using exit-intent pop-ups can be as much as four times more effective than welcome offers.

Offering a signup discount can encourage potential customers to convert. At the same time, you are growing your email subscriber list.

By offering a few forms you can also segment that list. This will be useful for all future targeted email campaigns. By doing this you should expect better open rates and higher engagement.

But don’t forget, this is another great time to expand your customer base.

Cart Abandonment

Exit pop-ups become even more important when combating the dreaded website optimization problem—cart-abandonment. While the reasons for cart abandonment can vary from high shipping costs to needing more information, it is important to use this effective tactic to turn a leaver into a believer.

Make sure your offer is so good that it stops the potential leaver dead in their tracks, and makes them rethink.

4. Geolocation

Location-based offers can be very effective when it comes to shipping. Make sure you are using an order management system that records vital customer data, including their addresses. Or a  service like PBX for small business to easily reach out to customers around you.

As stated earlier, free shipping is an important factor that can increase customer conversion.

If you can only offer free shipping on domestic addresses, you want the customers that qualify to receive an offer. There is nothing worse than a potential buyer abandoning a cart due to the display of an invalid promo code.

You can utilize geofences to make more specific regions for your pop-up offers. This will let you have targeted e-commerce discounts for regions with different weather or target behavioral demographics of varying sized regions.

5. Time-limited Offers

 Make use of time-limited offers when offering massive discounts. In some industries, discounts and promos can be seen as cheapening or lessening a product. A limited-time offer will be viewed as exceptional and not affect your product’s perceived value.

Use time-limited offers to generate more leads and increase conversion. Deadlines can be a great way to prompt a fence-sitter with a call-to-action. 

You have the option to display offers with a deadline such as a sale that ends at midnight.

You can drive a sense of urgency by displaying a countdown timer in your pop-up. If it's a high-value offer, this will more than nudge the customer to click the buy button.

 A slight twist on time-limited offers is to limit the number of promos available. This is just a different way to encourage the customer towards conversion.

6. Capitalize on traffic from specific sources

Nothing is greater than gaining a wider audience from a pro blog or social media post. Customers love seeing what other people think before making a purchase, which is how they select the best online retailers. These visitors can be great leads, so you will want to put your best foot forward. 

Make sure you engage these unique visitors with targeted pop-ups. You can make them feel welcome with a custom greeting and special offer.

This targeted pop-up ad can move the customer down the conversion funnel. Additionally, the customer will be more likely to return in the future 

That’s all for today!

As analytics continues to evolve, there will be more tools to optimize your ad targeting for your e-commerce store. But right now, start implementing these six steps and improve your customer engagement. Use these one-time discounts to increase conversion, gain loyalty, and raise customer lifetime value.

What are you waiting for?

Go out and get those discount pop-ups up and running.