Using popups to drive incremental sales

[dowzer]

I know that popups per se are frowned upon in the online world today but Im looking for a way of trying to entice customers leaving my site who havent purchased anything ro reconsider and, hopefully, get a few more sales.

A few times when I have been on ecommerce sites and have clicked away or closed the window I have had a pop up with a special offer in it and I was considering doing the same, something like 10% off with this coupon code. I have quite a lot of paid traffic from Adwords, for example, and I want to maximise the cost per click any way I can!

Is it worth doing for customers who are leaving without buying anyway or should it be avoided at all costs?

[akmac]

I've never used this technique on our site because as a consumer I find it annoying.

Also, some people might navigate away with the intention of returning, and you've just given them an unnecessary discount.

[bwnbwn]

should it be avoided at all costs is my vote as I find it annoying to the 10th degree. akmac is correct I usually just don't jump on the first site and will come back if I feel you fit the bill.

With the popup it is over.

[MWpro]

It is worth a shot I say. Maybe set a cookie on a special entrance page from Adwords and only show the popup to people who enter your site from a paid ad.

When it comes to webmasters, we absolutely hate popups. However, I believe that the average internet user will not have a "with the popup it is over" attitude and may be more embracing of it, especially if it contains a sale. Don't over do it, however, and use only one pop-up; maybe set a cookie once it has "popped up" so that the visitor will only ever see it once.

Basically, you will never know until you try. Test it out for one or two weeks and see what happens. If you notice a significant increase in sales, then it may be working.

[jecasc]

Most people are browsing with active popup blockers anyway. So the chances someone sees your popup or pop under are probably somewhere about 5 in a 100.