Featuring a lifestyle-focused product image, one that shows the product in use or in context, would create a more aspirational and relatable experience. Encouraging more users to opt-in to email and SMS lists.

An A/B test was conducted across multiple brands’ to evaluate the impact of incorporating lifestyle imagery. Two versions were tested:

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Visitors were randomly assigned to either:

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• A popup with the original design, or
• A version with a lifestyle-driven image embedded to bring the product to life.

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Metrics 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 based on opt-ins divided by popup impressions.

Across multiple brand tests, the variant with lifestyle imagery underperformed in most cases:

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While a few brands saw small lifts, the majority experienced a drop in performance across both email and SMS.

The use of lifestyle product imagery did not produce consistent conversion gains. And in most cases, hurt performance. While the intention was to create a more emotionally engaging visual, the added complexity may have distracted from the message or slowed the path to action.The takeaway: lifestyle images may look good, but they need to be carefully selected and purposefully placed. In high-performing popups, clarity often trumps creativity. When in doubt, keep it simple and focused on conversion — whether that's with an image or not.