5 Shopify Popup Examples You Can’t Help But Click

For all of the contempt popups have historically received, there’s plenty of research that proves they can be an immense asset. 

“They may be derided by a few customers, but test after test has shown that, with the right offer made to the right audience, popups can dramatically increase your email sign-ups, notes Mark MacDonald, senior content marketing lead at Shopify. “There are also tests you can run to heighten and personalize your offers while minimizing the perceived annoyance of a popup.”

Now I should point out that the average conversion rate across the board for popups is only around three percent. However, the best of the best have been known to reach conversions of up to 40 percent.

This shows the disparity there can be when using popups and how crucial it is to run a smart, efficient campaign where you continually experiment to see which techniques work best. 

For this post, I’m going to take an up-close look at some Shopify popup examples to see which tactics top brands are using to maximize their number of opt-ins and reel in high-quality leads. 

I’ll also point out the key strengths of each example so you can take the same concept and apply it to your own campaign.

Shopify Popup Examples

1. Pipcorn

2. Tigerlily

3. HELM Boots

4. SoYoung

5. Beardbrand

1. Pipcorn

This is a brand that sells top quality “heirloom snacks,” where “seeds are passed down generation to generation, saving the best seeds.” 

Some of their top sellers are sea salt popcorn, cheddar cheese balls, and lime zest corn dippers.

The moment a shopper lands on Pipcorn’s website, they’re shown this popup.

Although this style would technically be classified as an interstitial because it takes up the entire screen —something I generally suggest avoiding because it can be disruptive—I think Pipcorn does a great job with it. 

Here’s why.

First, shoppers can still see the website in the background because the popup is translucent, meaning that it doesn’t upset the flow, and shoppers don’t become disoriented by it. 

Next, this popup is simple and clearly written and includes some enticing offers. 

At a glance, shoppers can see that Pipcorn will give them 15 percent off for signing up, and they’ll also receive product and news updates. 

If it’s a brand they have a genuine interest in, this combination of a discount and exclusive information can serve as a strong incentive to sign up. 

Finally, shoppers can quickly and painlessly exit the popup with no hassle.

They can click the “X” on the top right-hand corner, or they can simply click anywhere outside of the optin box to return back to Pipcorn’s website and resume browsing. 

And this is something I think is incredibly important when using popups.

After all, you don’t want to create friction and potentially lose shoppers because they have difficulty navigating out of your optin. 

Instead, exiting should be easy and intuitive, which Pipcorn has done a great job with. 

2. Tigerlily

Tigerlily specializes in women’s clothing, apparel, and swimsuits. 

Their products are simple yet sophisticated and upscale.

Here’s the popup shoppers see after arriving on Tigerlily’s homepage.

There are a few different things that I like about it. 

For starters, they have a professional-looking image that instantly lets new shoppers know about the types of products they sell.

I’m sure you know how vital the visual component is to e-commerce sales and marketing.

So including a strong image in a popup can be powerful. 

Just like the rest of their brand, Tigerlily’s popup has a straightforward, minimalist feel to it, with sharp, tight copy.

And notice how the dark fonts and space between the copy and white background naturally draw shoppers’ eyes to the offer. 

Having plenty of “negative space” like this is an effective technique for instantly bringing attention to the offer and letting shoppers know what’s in it for them by signing up. 

Just as Pipcorn, Tigerlily doesn’t waste any time in letting it be known the benefits of optin in either. 

But rather than offering 15 percent off as Pipcorn did, Tigerlily gives shoppers $20 on their first order for subscribing. 

This shows there are different ways to go about offering incentives, and it doesn’t always have to be giving shoppers a certain percentage off. 

Instead, you can deduct a set amount of money, like $20 in this case. 

I also like that Tigerlily only has one field in their optin form that simply asks for a person’s email address.

As you probably know, there’s a correlation between having a lower number of form fields and higher conversion rates. 

And it doesn’t get much lower than only having one field. 

Also, like Pipcorn, Tigerlily makes it super easy to exit out of the popup.

Shoppers can either click the “X” on the top right-hand corner or simply click anywhere else on the screen. 

Just like that, they’re back to browsing with zero frustration. 

3. HELM Boots

Austin Texas-based brand HELM Boots sells handcrafted premium leather footwear. 

Explore their site, and you’ll quickly notice that they put a lot of time and energy into creating an enjoyable online shopping experience and have a definite attention to detail.

A few seconds after arriving, this popup appears.

The key words here are “a few seconds.”

Using a timed popup is a strategy that more and more brands are using these days, with many having great success with it. 

Rather than hitting a shopper with a popup instantly, businesses like HELM Boots wait a few seconds or longer to give the shopper a second to get their bearings. 

Another option is to wait until a shopper scrolls down to a certain point before displaying a popup.

For instance, they may scroll halfway down the page or reach a particular product before it appears. 

I think both can be good options and are definitely worth experimenting with. 

To learn the basics of timed popups, I suggest reading this post from Finalsite. 

It covers the fundamentals and walks you through the general process and logic step-by-step. 

Another thing I love about this popup is the ridiculous amount of incentive it gives shoppers for signing up.

By doing so, they get:

• $50 off their first pair of boots
• Free shipping
• Free returns and exchanges

This blows the offers of many other brands out of the water, and I’m sure HELM Boots has maximized its subscriber base as a result. 

I mean, who wouldn’t be at least a little interested in getting $50 off, along with free shipping and free returns and exchanges?

It’s a no brainer. 

While not all brands have the financial wiggle room to offer $50 off and still make a reasonable profit, this shows the impact that targeted offers like these can have. 

That’s why it’s smart to crunch the numbers and see how big of a discount you can afford to give to get shoppers to sign up.

When you consider the potential long-term value, deep discounts like the one HELM Boots offers may be worthwhile. 

Besides that, it’s dead simple for a shopper to enter their information because all HELM Boots requires is their email address.

This is the same approach Tigerlily takes and one that should result in a higher percentage of shoppers going through with the optin process.

So always keep it as basic as possible, asking only for essential information.  

4. SoYoung

Here’s a brand that sells “elevated lunch boxes, cooler bags, backpacks, and accessories constructed of raw linen and washable paper.”

All of the products are expertly designed and definitely have the “cool factor.”

SoYoung is one of the more interesting Shopify popup examples because they take a slightly different approach.

Rather than offering a discount, exclusive access, etc., they have a giveaway where shoppers can enter to win free loot. 

SoYoung also uses a timed popup that doesn’t appear until after shoppers have scrolled down and checked out some of their products. 

Here’s what shoppers see.

I’m a big fan of the bold, beautiful images that highlight SoYoung’s top products that can be won through the giveaway.

All a shopper has to do is click, “Yes, I want to enter!” at the bottom. 

Or, if they’re not interested, they can simply click on, “No, I don’t want a chance to win.”

If it’s the latter, they’ll instantly exit the popup and can resume browsing as normal. 

But if they are interested, they simply enter their email address, and they’re signed up for the SoYoung USA “Win All This” giveaway. 

From there, subscribers can click on the link for contest rules to learn the details and get filled in on the specifics. 

I really like this idea from SoYoung because it takes a different angle than what most e-commerce brands are using.

I think it’s a fun way to raise the interest level in their brand, while at the same time providing shoppers with a strong incentive for signing up for their email list. 

And it doesn’t require a massive amount of money to run this type of giveaway.

You could do something similar by gifting the winner with a handful of your top products, which could potentially be done for under $500.

I also like the aesthetic appeal of their popup.

It’s very crisp and clean and uses beautiful product photos to showcase what’s up for grabs. 

So if you’re looking to do something a little out of the box, this is certainly an avenue to consider. 

5. Beardbrand

If you’ve been reading the Sleeknote blog for a while, you probably know that we’re big fans of Beardbrand, a company that specializes in men’s grooming products.

There are just so many things they do well with their sales and marketing, which is a big reason why they’ve been so successful.

Beardbrand has also proven that they’re not afraid to be different and try out new strategies. 

A good example is their optin popup.

Beardbrand understands the importance of creating a stellar digital shopping experience and didn’t want to do anything that could be remotely disruptive to it.

So rather than using a traditional popup, they took a unique approach that I’ve never seen before.

When shoppers land on their site, there’s a mail icon that’s lit up red, indicating there’s a message for them to read.

For those who are interested, all they have to do is click on the icon, and the optin popup appears, inviting them to join the Beardbrand newsletter.

This revolves around a concept known as a two-step optin form, which is gradually catching on with more and more e-commerce brands. 

There’s a lot of interesting psychology behind it, which you can learn about in a previous post we wrote. 

But at the end of the day, a two-step optin form resonates with a lot of shoppers because it’s non-intrusive. 

Although it’s not for everyone, it’s an option worth exploring for many online businesses, and Beardbrand shows how to execute it well. 

They also do a great job at sweetening the deal by letting shoppers know they’ll receive access to Beardbrand’s 5-day grooming boot camp to master their style, as well as be the first to hear about new products and receive exclusive content. 

So there are several good takeaways you can learn from Beardbrand. 

Conclusion

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to designing popups. 

These Shopify popup examples have certainly proven that.

However, there is a basic formula you can follow to pique the interest of shoppers and increase the likelihood of them taking action. 

Some specific techniques include using clear, concise copy, creating a valuable incentive, incorporating visuals, and asking for only essential information.

Besides that, popups should never disrupt the shopping experience and should always be easy to exit. 

If you do that, you should be in good shape. 

Hopefully, the examples I’ve given here have provided some inspiration and got your creative juices flowing.

Now I suggest picking out the techniques you found most interesting and looking for ways to implement them into your own Shopify store to take it to the next level.