4 Opt-ins to Accelerate the eCommerce Buyer Process

When you first launch your eCommerce store it’s a lot like a billboard floating in space if nobody is there to see does it really matter if it exists?

So naturally, you try and increase traffic to your site, but what then? The goal is to convert those visitors into customers, right?

Even more crucial is those visitors coming to your eCommerce site for the first time. They don’t know who you are and the chances of them buying from you the first time around are quite low. Many visitors will need to interact with your store multiple times before they convert into a customer, which could take days, weeks or sometimes even months.

However, that does not mean that there aren’t tactics that you can use to convert visitors faster. That is where opt-ins come in handy; meet your new marketing best friend.

Opt-ins are windows that pop up when a visitor comes to your site. There are many different types of opt-ins, each with the intention of offering something to a visitor in return for their email address. That way, if a visitor doesn’t purchase from you right away, you can nurture those email addresses through email marketing with the hope they will soon return to make a purchase.

If you’re currently not using opt-ins or doing email marketing today is your lucky day, why? Because what lies before you is a huge opportunity for growth. Here are 4 different opt-ins you should consider utilizing now.

Incentive Offer

Consumers love discounts, that is no big secret. So, use it as a way to entice first-time buyers. It could come in the form of a dollar amount, percent or even express free shipping. Consumers have grown used to free shipping and in fact, expect it, so offering express free shipping just sweetens the deal which is something you will need.

Converting a visitor takes hard work, especially a first timer. They don’t know you and just like any relationship it will take time for them to trust you. However, don’t underestimate the power of a good first impression.

When you first meet a person it takes about 5 seconds to come to a conclusion about that person. Think about this, would you rather be greeted by a friendly smile or an uninterested frown? Chances are the person with the smile is going to give you a better first impression and you’re more likely be drawn to them.

Likewise, when a visitor comes to your site for the first time you should be warmly greeting them. How can you do this? One of the most common opt-ins is an incentive offer; because they work. Furthermore, whether is the first of the fifth time, you should always be giving visitors a good customer experience.

While offering a generic discount is okay, in order to gain even more information about your customers, you could try giving a discount to targeted products.

This will only help you better understand your customers; allowing you to then serve them better. The more you personalize the right incentives for your customers the more they are going to trust you as they will think you understand their needs and wants.

Exclusive Offers

Take a look at this exclusive offer opt-in brought to us by Nasty Gal. Everything about this offer is done right. First, their language matches their ideal customer, it’s attention grabbing and not the usual boring “sign up” jargon.  There is a big x on the top right visitors can click on to get rid of the pop-up.


Notice, they also mention that visitors that sign up will be receiving “exclusive offers.” Why does this work? Simple: psychology. Humans love exclusivity. People like to feel they’ve been let in on a big secret. Exclusivity makes people want something and if they can’t have it, it makes them want it even more. Exclusivity means access to products or experiences that are limited to a select few, which makes them feel special.

When you use exclusivity as an opt-in you must make sure that what you offer is actually warranted as exclusive. Nasty Gal does this by offering not only deals and contests but VIP access to exclusive events. Something they know their customers would want.

The trick is to know exactly who your ideal customer is. You should be able to answer questions about them like where do they spend their free time, what do they value and what age are they. Really knowing who your customer is will help you determine what unique, exclusive offer they would find appealing the most.

Exit Intent

When a customer hasn’t purchased from you and is about to leave your site you have one last chance to speak to them; with an exit opt-in.

This works when the exit opt-in software recognizes that a visitor’s mouse has moved away from the screen and it instantly opens a pop-up window with your message.

When this happens you now have the chance to offer them discounts, coupons or a special offer to capture their email address and perhaps maybe even entice them enough to stay and make a purchase.

An example of this is seen below. Offering a big discount may just be the nudge your visitors need to make a faster decision. Even if they decide against it, at least you now have their email.

Exit Intent

Abandoned Cart Opt In

This is one Opt in I don’t see enough of. Shopping cart abandonment is still so high, 68% according to Baymard, and there are so many great ways to fight it, including using an Opt-in.

This abandoned cart Opt-in appears when a visitor has placed products into their shopping cart but for whatever reason has decided to “abandon” their cart and leave the website.

This opt-in gives you one last chance of capturing their email address, allowing you to then follow up with abandoned cart emails, thus making it easy for visitors to come back and pick up shopping from where they left off.

Here is an example of an abandoned cart opt-in which displays the cart items and politely asks if the customer would like to save these items and come back to purchase at a later date.


Just as with the exit intent opt-in don’t be shy in offering free shipping or a small discount to go along with the saving of the items for later. Something such as “buy today and receive free shipping” may help guide them to the pay button.

One other tactic you could try is a psychological trigger called FOMO: Fear of missing out. I’ve gotten abandoned cart emails using this tactic and it’s worked. See example below:


Besides using FOMO here, they’ve also offered to ship the item for free to create an even more enticing offer. Although this is not an opt-in, I received this from a remarketing email, you can certainly use the same principles seen here and apply them to an opt-in.


Hopefully, by now you’re excited to get started on implementing Opt-ins. But be careful, don’t get too crazy with doing all of them at once. Test each one separately to see what is right for your business. There is nothing more annoying that going to a website and being bombarded by pop up after pop up.

Your turn! What successes have you had using opt-ins? Were you able to convert visitors into customers? We want to hear from you!

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