Exit Intent Popups

Exit-Intent Popups

Overview

Exit-intent popups detect when a visitor is about to leave — by tracking rapid mouse movement toward the browser's address bar on desktop — and display a targeted offer. When implemented with proper targeting and frequency capping, they recover 5–10% of otherwise lost visitors. Dedicated popup apps handle all the detection logic, A/B testing, and ESP integration — no custom code needed.

When to Use This Skill

• When site bounce rate is above 60% and conversion rate is below 2%
• When capturing email addresses for the marketing list during the session
• When offering a first-purchase discount to new visitors who haven't converted
• When reminding checkout abandoners about items in their cart before they leave
• When A/B testing popup offer types (% off vs. free shipping vs. free gift)

Core Instructions

Step 1: Choose the right popup tool

Step 2: Configure exit-intent detection and targeting

Most popup tools have exit-intent built in. The key is configuring it correctly to avoid annoying visitors.

Shopify with Klaviyo Forms

1. In Klaviyo, go to Sign-up Forms → Create Form
2. Choose Popup as the form type
3. Under Targeting, set:
   • Display when: Exit intent (mouse moves to top of browser)
   • Delay: 5 seconds minimum time on page before activating
   • Frequency: Show once per 14 days (Klaviyo manages this via cookie)
4. Under Targeting → Conditions, add:
   • Show only on: Homepage, product pages, collection pages
   • Do NOT show on: /checkout, /cart, /account
   • Do NOT show to: Existing subscribers (Klaviyo checks this automatically for identified profiles)
5. Under Form Content, set your offer:
   • For email capture: "Get 10% off your first order" + email input + GDPR consent checkbox
   • For cart reminder: "You have items in your cart — complete your purchase" + link back to cart
6. Under Success Action, create a discount code:
   • Connect to Shopify → Discounts — Klaviyo can automatically create unique single-use 10% off codes
   • These codes appear in the success message and are automatically synced to the subscriber's profile

Shopify with Privy

1. Install Privy from the Shopify App Store
2. Go to Privy → Displays → New Display → Popup
3. Under When to show, select "Exit intent"
4. Under Who to show it to, configure:
   • New visitors only (suppress for logged-in customers)
   • Minimum 30 seconds on site
   • Not in checkout
   • Frequency cap: 14 days
5. Under Offers, Privy automatically generates unique coupon codes synced to Shopify's discount system
6. Connect Privy to Klaviyo or Mailchimp under Integrations for automatic list sync

WooCommerce with OptinMonster

1. Install OptinMonster plugin from the WordPress directory
2. Create a new campaign: Popup → Exit Intent
3. Under Display Rules, configure:
   • Exit Intent trigger: sensitivity = Medium
   • Time on page: minimum 30 seconds
   • Page targeting: include homepage, shop, product pages; exclude checkout, cart, my-account
   • Frequency: 14-day cookie suppression (OptinMonster default)
4. Under Integrations, connect to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or your email provider
5. For unique coupon codes: use WooCommerce → Coupons to create a coupon, then display the code in the success message (OptinMonster does not auto-generate unique codes on free tiers)

BigCommerce with Justuno

1. Install Justuno from the BigCommerce App Marketplace
2. Go to Justuno → Promotions → New Popup
3. Configure exit intent triggers, targeting rules, and A/B test variants through the visual builder
4. Justuno integrates with Klaviyo and Mailchimp for list sync

Custom / Headless

For custom builds, Klaviyo Forms works on any website:

1. Add the Klaviyo JavaScript snippet to your site
2. Go to Klaviyo → Sign-up Forms → Create Form and configure as above
3. Klaviyo handles exit detection, frequency capping, and list sync

If you need full control over the popup behavior (custom exit detection logic):

function initExitIntent({ threshold = 20, delay = 5000, onExitIntent }) {
  let activated = false;

  setTimeout(() => {
    document.addEventListener('mouseleave', (e) => {
      if (e.clientY <= 0 && !activated) {
        activated = true;
        onExitIntent();
      }
    });
  }, delay);

  // Mobile: use visibilitychange instead of mouseleave
  document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', () => {
    if (document.visibilityState === 'hidden' && !activated) {
      activated = true;
      onExitIntent();
    }
  });
}

// Check frequency cap using localStorage
function shouldShowPopup(popupId, capDays = 14) {
  const lastSeen = localStorage.getItem(`popup_seen_${popupId}`);
  if (!lastSeen) return true;
  return (Date.now() - parseInt(lastSeen)) > capDays * 86400000;
}

Step 3: Configure the offer and A/B test

The most impactful thing to test is the offer type. Run one A/B test at a time:

In Klaviyo/Privy: create two variants of your form with different offers, split traffic 50/50, and measure conversion rate over 2 weeks before picking a winner.

Step 4: Generate unique discount codes (not generic codes)

Generic codes like WELCOME10 get shared on coupon sites and inflate your attribution:

• Shopify + Klaviyo: Klaviyo automatically generates unique single-use Shopify discount codes — enable this in the form's success action settings
• Shopify + Privy: Privy connects to Shopify's discount system and generates unique codes automatically
• WooCommerce: Use the WooCommerce Unique Coupon Generator plugin, or create a general code with per-customer usage limit

Best Practices

• Always include a control/holdout group (20–30%) — without a holdout, you cannot tell if the popup is adding value or just capturing conversions that would have happened anyway (most popup apps support this)
• Delay activation by at least 5 seconds — popups that fire immediately train visitors to close them without reading
• Frequency cap at 14 days minimum — all major popup apps handle this via cookie automatically; verify it is enabled
• Never pre-check the email consent checkbox — GDPR requires explicit opt-in; pre-checked boxes are not valid consent in the EU
• Generate unique one-time codes — generic codes (WELCOME10) get shared on coupon sites
• Exclude already-subscribed visitors — Klaviyo checks this automatically; for other tools, suppress via cookie

Common Pitfalls

Related Skills

• @cart-abandonment-recovery
• @email-marketing-automation
• @conversion-rate-optimization
• @push-notifications
• @first-party-data-collection