Runway Scout is a Brisbane-based online fashion retailer. Starting out in 2012 from founder Susan’s two bedroom apartment, Runway Scout has since flourished, shipping to over 80 countries worldwide. Runway Scout’s collection is wearable and affordable – carefully selected so that customers can add staple pieces to their wardrobes.

Pop-ups are often given a bad rap as gimmicky or annoying (and sometimes both). However, when done well, pop-ups are a great way to capture those browsing your eCommerce site, add them to your email list, and nurture them into making their first purchase. 

When we began working with Runway Scout, we saw an opportunity to improve on their existing data capture strategy, as well as the way they nurtured new customers. We implemented a series of data capture forms including:

• New Visitor Pop-Up (no incentive)
• Returning Visitor Pop-Up (10% off incentive)
• Exit Intent Pop-Up (10% off incentive)

As well as collecting the visitor’s name and email address, each data capture form included a separate screen encouraging visitors to opt-in to Messenger marketing. 

By building these pop-ups with Justuno, we were able to design separate desktop and mobile-specific forms. While the messaging between these pop-ups stayed the same, the desktop version included an image. We chose to do this so as not to overwhelm mobile users with a crowded pop-up. 

Justuno’s extensive rule library means that we were able to set up specific targeting rules to differentiate new visitors from returning visitors, and to those who displayed exit intent. While it’s easy to identify desktop users who show an intent to exit the website, capturing these visitors proved harder than anticipated.

While the exit intent pop-ups that we implemented for Runway Scout were running as intended, the results suggested that we had room for improvement. Specifically, the desktop version of this form was not capturing as many exiting visitors as we anticipated. 

Using Justuno, it’s generally easier to identify when a visitor using a desktop device is going to exit a website. For example, when the visitor moves their mouse towards the exit button, they will be shown the exit intent pop-up. For mobile users, this is slightly harder to judge. This is why we thought it was interesting that engagement for desktop users was low, while visitors were steadily signing up via the mobile version. 

The messaging for these pop-ups were identical (sign up to receive 10% off), so what was causing the difference in performance? *lightbulb moment* the placement. 

Using Justuno, you have the option to decide where on the screen your pop-up is placed. For mobile users, we initially chose to have the exit intent form pop-up from the bottom of the page, taking up most of the screen (about 80%). For desktop users, we chose for the pop-up to appear in the centre of the page, taking up about 50% of the screen and dimming the website in the background. 

In an effort to improve engagement rates, we set up A/B testing to trial the placement and appearance of the pop-ups. For mobile, we chose to increase the size of the pop-up to a full page. For desktop, we decided to black out the website in the background, rather than just dimming it.

By making these small changes to the exit intent pop-ups, we saw an overall increase in sign-up rates. Notably, for the desktop pop-up we saw a 240% increase in the number of people who engaged with the form. The changes in size (paired with the blacked out website for desktop) meant that the pop-ups were more noticeable to exiting visitors. 

Looping back to the concept that pop-ups can be deemed ‘annoying’, we would normally avoid using a full screen pop-up as this interrupts the visitor’s session. However, as those who intend to exit aren’t engaging with content on the website, the fullscreen pop-up isn’t disrupting the user, and rather is gaining their attention.

Furthermore, as the exit intent pop-up offers a 10% off incentive, by engulfing the screen with the pop-up, visitors are more likely to notice the offer. Many visitors are conditioned to hit the exit button on pop-ups as soon as they see them – it’s practically a reflex. So by making the pop-up take up the entire screen, the messaging stands out more, and the visitor is invited to pause for a second to weigh up their options. 

Pop-ups are a great way to begin nurturing customers to make their first purchase, and open the door to future email marketing opportunities. This is why using a platform like Justuno to build professional-looking, targeted pop-ups (whileA/B testing content) can pay off big time.