By testing dark background colors, we believed we could enhance popup visibility and visual harmony, leading to higher opt-in rates for both email and SMS marketing lists.

An A/B test was conducted across several brands’ website popups to evaluate the impact of background color on conversion rates. Two versions were tested:

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Site visitors were randomly assigned to either:

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• The standard popup with the brand's default background, or
• A variant using a dark color palette to potentially improve attention and alignment with brand identity.

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We tracked:

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• Email Conversion Rate – % of visitors who submitted their email
• SMS Conversion Rate – % of visitors who submitted their phone number

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Conversion rates were calculated as the number of opt-ins divided by popup impressions.

The control consistently outperformed the background color variants across all brands:

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Across all combinations tested, the brand's original color scheme continued to outperform its experimental counterparts.

Changing the popup’s background color to a dark tone did not lead to performance gains. And in most cases, hurt conversion rates. The control was the clear winner. The results suggest that background color plays a subtle yet powerful role in perceived trust, clarity, and readability. In this case, the familiar palette provided a more effective path to conversion.