Almost every DTC brand has a popup. But what separates the best from the rest?

To find out, we built an AI agent that did what no human could at scale.

It visited the top 10,000 Shopify stores, acted like a real shopper, waited for popups, signed up using both email and SMS to unlock discounts, and captured screenshots of all the steps.

Then it collected more than 42,000 emails and 18,000 SMS messages the brands sent over the following 12 weeks.

We ended up with 7,492 real popup experiences, complete with message timelines, offer types, and behavioral flows. From ultra-optimized designs to head-scratchers that somehow convert, we saved them all.

The best part?

We cross-referenced these findings with 700+ popup A/B tests we’ve run across Shopify’s biggest brands like True Classic, Simple Modern, and Four Sigmatic.

And we collected direct, original insights from more than 20 ecommerce experts.

This gave us the rare ability to compare what’s popular with what’s proven - and expose which tactics actually work to grow lists and most imporantly: revenue.

Let’s dig into this!

1. The State of Popups Across Shopify’s Elite

How many popups do brands use?

We detected popups on 6,457 of the top 10,000 Shopify brands. In other words, a very solid majority of ~65% aren’t shy about grabbing attention.

The larger the brand, the more that cohort use popups:

In total, we scraped 7,492 unique popups.

That’s 1.16 popups per brand. Most stick to one (usually welcome) offer, while ~20% show two or more to the same visitor.

Again, larger businesses — those with higher platform rank — aren’t just more like to use popups in general, they also use a higher number of unique popups per store.

Additional popups are usually age gates, newsletters, quizzes, contests + giveaways, or product-specific offers.

Our scraping reveals that testing and iteration are vastly underutilized.

Most brands deploy a popup and then forget it for a very long time, missing opportunities to A/B test incentives, messaging, and design formats over time.

Start with the basics (read: wildly neglected best practices) …

- Full-screen mobile
- Separate desktop display
- Delayed “X” (close) button
- 2-3 lines of text + CTA
- Dead-centered on the offer
- Multi-step: Yes vs no, email, SMS
- 2FA or OneClick opt-in for SMS
- Bold colors, high contrast, no images

After you get a baseline from the best, only then start testing:
- Product vs lifestyle imagery
- Discount vs cash back
- Personalized offers
- Hero-SKU specific

And for the love of all things (popup) holy, always update your popup to one-for-one match seasonal campaigns or major sales.

Aaron Orendorff

DTC Expert

What do these popups look like?

This is where it gets interesting.

82.6% of brands still use lightbox popups, while 17.4% use fullscreen versions.

Lightbox

Fullscreen

Here’s the problem …

If you’re using a lightbox, you’re leaving conversions on the table.

We’ve long seen fullscreen popups outperform lightboxes in email and SMS capture, but without the ability to connect popup conversion to order conversion data, we assumed they came at the cost of onsite revenue.

This study puts that myth to bed.

Fullscreens don’t just drive better list growth, they do it without hurting purchase conversions.

Jacob Sappington

Head of Email - Homestead Agency

At Recart, we’ve A/B tested fullscreen vs. lightbox formats across dozens of client sites, each test running 2-3 weeks with millions of impressions.

The results? Fullscreen wins every single time.

And before you ask …

No, fullscreen doesn’t hurt your other metrics.

We have seen zero negative impact on bounce rate, purchase rate, or SEO performance. Those concerns are leftovers from an older internet that doesn’t match how users behave today.

We’ve learned that popup conversion optimization is not a “set it and forget it” exercise but one that has to constantly be tended to. You have to be testing your creative, your offers, and staying in step with what excites customers every week because market dynamics are always changing.

If you don't have the right team or tools to test frequently it’s going to be hard to keep growing your list as quickly as you want.

Chris Hoyle

CMO - Simple Modern

What information do they collect?

When it comes to form fields:

Email and SMS are collected together for good reason. They’re different, complementary channels. You need both to build a lifecycle that converts across moments and devices.

But the 21% with no input?

These popups might include buttons, countdowns, or announcements, but they’re not capturing emails or phone numbers. Except for legally required age verification, they might drive clicks, but they don’t grow your owned audience.

If you’re investing attention without collecting data, you’re leaving short-term and especially long-term value on the table.

‍Takeaway?

Most brands lead with email capture, but it’s not about picking one channel over the other. The real value is in testing combinations.

Sometimes SMS drives urgency, sometimes email carries the conversion. You won’t know what performs best for your audience until you try both and measure.

When trying to capture multiple pieces of information, start with the least personal information and move to the most personal as a final step. For example, if you are trying to capture phone and email, lead with an email address as customers are more willing to give this type of information first vs. a phone number which is much more personal to most consumers.

AJ Patel

SVP of Global Growth - U Beauty

2. The Discount Deep Dive

Percentage-off vs. dollars-off?

Let’s talk about the offers.

Percentage discount is the most common incentive by a landslide:

61% offer a percentage discount

8.5% offer a fixed dollar-amount off

Pop ups are often an afterthought but it’s sometimes the first thing that your customers see when they come onto your website. It's crucial to design this first handshake with intentions and keeping the value obvious to the customer.

Think about an offer that has a high perceived value to your customer without a high cost to you.

Consider things like giveaways over a cart amount or submit your email to unlock entry to win something substantial from your store.

Jason Wong

Founder of Doe Lashes

How much “off” do brands offer?

The mean of all discounts used:

Most brands are trying to thread the needle between generosity and profitability.

But the wide extremes in the dataset are where things get spicy.

If you're going to run a pop-up, have a point. Pick a reason - why are you running it? What's the goal? And be aware of what your customers are already seeing.

Every shopper online today has seen a dozen pop-ups: “60% off,” “70% off,” even “90% off.” They’ve trained themselves to skip them. Most people close the pop-up before they even read it. So if you're going to interrupt someone’s experience, make it worth their time.

At the very least—have a point.

Sarah Levinger

DTC Expert

Discounts greater than $200 are rarely actual discounts.

Instead, they’re contests or giveaway.

Alexis Russell, for instance, offers a high-value $500 gift card giveaway to attract attention, qualifies intent by asking about engagement ring plans, and confirms entry with a reassuring message.

Atomic Defense offers a giveaway worth over $1,300, including tactical gear. While it’s not a direct discount, it’s a serious top-of-funnel incentive.

ARHAUS advertises a $1,500 gift card giveaway, positioned as a lead capture reward. It’s the highest-value offer in the dataset.

This study confirms what I always say: popups are growth engines, not decoration. Testing formats, messaging, and incentives relentlessly—like fullscreen, email + SMS, and auto-applied discounts—aren't gimmicks.

They're proven conversion multipliers, now backed by data.

Ben Zettler

Founder, Zettler Digital

If there’s one lesson from the data, it’s this: you don’t actually know what will work until you test it. High-value offers can underperform. Tiny ones can overdeliver.

Perception doesn’t always match performance, and extreme incentives can send the wrong message, or the right one, depending on context.

75%

Highest % Discount

1%

Lowest % Discount

$900

Highest $ Discount

$1

Lowest $ Discount

Some marketers swear by the 15–20% sweet spot, claiming it’s the safest zone for signup-to-purchase conversion.

Others succeed by going bold. What matters isn’t picking the perfect number - it’s having a plan to test, measure, and evolve it.

‍Takeaway?

Don’t guess. Don’t chase formulas. Use data. Iterate constantly. What converts today might not convert next quarter. Or even better, use Recart x Monocle to personalize your popup offers based on real session behavior from visitors.

On conversion, we really believe in having a clear hierarchy of the popup elements to direct the customer's attention and seamlessly guide them through popup experience'

Andrew Winter

Director of Lifecyle Marketing & Owned Media - True Classic

3. No Incentive? No Problem?

Or is it a problem?

‍12% of brands offer no incentive at all in their popups.

No discount. No freebie. No “spin to win” wheel.

Sounds like a mistake, right? But before you clutch your Klaviyo flows in horror — maybe, just maybe — they know something you don’t. Or maybe they forgot to finish setting it up.

Hard to say without looking at actual examples.

So we did. Here’s what we found:

ARTEZA offers membership in the community of artists and creators. No discount, but a clear value prop. REVLON invites you to subscribe for updates and product launches — fueled by fandom, not coupons. August promotes the latest news, offers, and exclusive content; soft but intentional.

4moms leads with exclusivity. Ballerina Farm uses a branded message to build an emotional connection. Nail Company uses emotional appeal, light peer pressure, and friendly copy to nudge users toward conversion.

These aren’t mistakes.

‍They’re deliberate plays rooted in community, loyalty, and long-game storytelling.

No cash offers, but definitely value.

Design pop-ups to align with your active promotional events for a more cohesive and compelling customer experience. For example, if a Summer Sale is live on your site, reinforce that momentum with a pop-up that echoes the same messaging and energy. Use bold, strategic copy to amplify excitement and urgency.

Matt Fey

Dir. of Marketing - Portland Leather Goods

Gamified offers? Practically extinct. Just 0.2% of brands use them.

Free shipping? Only 3% bother.

BOGO deals? A mere 0.31%.

So what’s holding brands back? Many are still playing it safe, sticking with what’s familiar instead of testing, iterating, or experimenting with ways to stand out.

The silver lining? Massive opportunity. If everyone’s running the same playbook, you can crush simply by doing something slightly better.

‍Takeaway?

Reduce friction if you want them to convert. If you want to stand out, literally any creativity helps. The bar is underground.

Pop-Ups Are Powerful - Treat Them That Way.

Use intent-based triggers (not instant loads) and consider full-screen overlays to capture attention. Keep headlines clear, CTAs benefit-driven, and offers unexpected to stand out. Two-step forms can boost quality by collecting zero-party data. Design should be clean and focused on conversion. And above all—test everything, always.

Elliot Roazen

Director of Growth - Platter

4. The SMS Follow-Up Reality Check

Okay, so you grabbed an email or phone number. Now what?

Out of 6,457 brands running popups, only 1,143 actually sent an SMS.

Treat your popup like a front door—it sets the tone for the entire brand experience. Test everything: timing, tone, incentive, and design to find what truly resonates with your audience. The right popup doesn’t just collect emails or phone numbers—it starts a conversation that converts.

Tammy Rant

CEO & Founder - Tushbaby

Among those that do:

This means most brands either:

Only a small fraction commit to sustained messaging. Most flows are front-loaded and taper off quickly.

We also saw brands sending 10+ messages in a single week - that’s a message every 16 hours. Unless you’re dropping once-in-a-lifetime news, that pace can be tough to sustain.

If your popup says “10% off,” congrats - you’re just like everyone else. Your offer shouldn't be a default setting. Test something better. Free gift? Mystery discount? Early access? Even no discount? Your audience might surprise you. Great offers don’t just convert, they make people want to be on your list. So quit playing it safe and start experimenting.

Mihail Stoychev

Founder & CEO - Uxify

Want loyalty? Spread the love. Build a 30-day welcome flow. Use split testing. Segment early. The first text is just the beginning.

‍Takeaway?

The first 7 days are make-or-break. Nail your onboarding flow, or lose the list.

Great popups do one of two things: drive short-term sales or protect your margin and spark long-term relationships. The best brands pick one lane at a time, because trying to do both usually means doing neither well.
Don’t be afraid to change your popup multiple times a quarter to reflect what your brand is focused on. That could be driving revenue, launching a product, or building community. Popups aren’t set-it-and-forget-it. They should evolve with your business goals.

Noah Pine

Sr. Retention Manager - HexClad

5. Email Follow-Up Patterns

We analyzed 33,000 inbound emails sent by brands to popup subscribers, and the rhythm is... unexpected.

Popups should feel like part of the brand experience, not a generic sales pitch. Instead of just tossing a discount code, we use that moment to reinforce what we stand for—clean ingredients, tattoo care that actually works, and a community-first mindset. Your popup is your first impression—make it feel like your brand, not a plug-in.

Erin Murray

Fractional Chief Brand Officer - Mad Rabbit

Unlike SMS (which hits hard in the first 7 days), email builds slowly:

The pattern? Most brands don’t bombard inboxes immediately. Instead, they build momentum over time, gradually increasing volume week after week. It’s like the opposite of love-bombing. Let’s call it the slow drip strategy.

This staggered cadence might reflect automated flows: welcome series, product tips, and onboarding sequences. Or it might reflect a slower, more intentional cadence. Either way, email gives you room to build trust gradually, if you make the most of it.

You have the space to test different cadences, tones, and content types, then double down on what drives lasting engagement.

Takeaway?

‍Email isn’t just for reminders or promotions. It’s your long-game relationship builder.

The brands that stay top of mind are the ones that show up consistently, add value over time, and turn inbox space into trust. A great email doesn’t interrupt, it becomes something your audience looks forward to.

Popups work best when you treat them like a negotiation, not a demand. I use a 3-step approach: start with a question, then ask for email, then SMS.

It taps into the psychology of micro-commitments and gives the customer a sense of control. That first “yes” creates momentum, and by separating the email and SMS asks, you reduce friction and increase completion.

I’ve found this not only improves opt-in rates, but also leads to higher engagement and stronger long-term value because people are signing up with more intent.

Karly Craig

CMO - No Days Wasted

6. UX Details That Actually Matter

Most popups look fine. They have decent contrast, readable text, and buttons big enough to tap. But looking fine isn't the same as converting well.

Let’s break down a few key elements:

Test the timing of your popup. Don't just look at submit rates, but study actual immediate sales impact too. I've seen some longer delayed popups help with overall performance.

Barry Hott

Growth & Performance Marketing Consultant

What’s missing in the majority of popups?

Another glaring gap? Typeless, OneClick popup forms.

Think single-tap email & SMS opt-ins. These are frictionless, fast, and feel natural on mobile, yet despite their power, it’s usually only the biggest, most sophisticated brands using them.

The opportunity here is enormous and wildly underexploited.

Takeaway?

Most popups follow a template. But templates don’t convert — they just decorate your site. You can’t expect standout results with copy-paste design.

‍The goal of the popup is to convert.

Invest in real UX thinking and test what drives action.

“X% off your first order” is for the customer who has already decided to buy from you. Want real sales lift? Engage the customer who hasn’t decided to purchase yet. Build personalization and engagement into your popup and use it to guide the shopping experience.

Cherene Aubert

SVP of Digital & Ecommerce - ILIA

7. Standout Examples Worth Studying

Sometimes the most interesting insights come from the outliers …

Brands doing something completely different from the pack.

The Micro-Incentive Club

Attraco, Jeni’s, and Thinx are among the brands offering $5 off.

In total, 72 brands in this dataset offered a discount under $5. It’s not a jaw-dropping deal, but it’s a signal.

It says: “We value your attention. Here’s something small to start.”

It’s low-commitment and often low-friction.

Non-Monetary, Still Motivating

Brands like Feastables, Nathan James, and Barbara O’Neill lean into exclusivity.

They ask users to join for early access, community updates, or brand stories, without dangling cash.

These are long-game plays that prioritize loyalty over instant conversion.

Giant Discount Energy

Meanwhile, Tote&Carry, 32 Degrees, and Magnum push hard with 60–80% off.

These are bold, often time-sensitive offers designed to drive urgency and high-volume acquisition.

Great for clearance events, seasonal surges, or aggressive testing.

A Mixed Bag Worth Testing

Some brands offer $1 off. Some offer 80%. Others offer nothing.

It’s not about what’s right or wrong. It’s about what works for your brand. These outliers show how far strategies can stretch across the spectrum.

Takeaway?

Whether you’re running a massive discount, a minimalist message, or a subtle $5 nudge, the only thing that matters is what resonates with your audience.

Test boldly, measure carefully, and let the data surprise you.

I believe in solving, not just selling. That mindset shapes everything - from personalized pop-ups to inviting customers to share product photos, which we turned into a site collage. It’s a simple but powerful way to make our “Beauty Besties” feel seen, valued, and part of the journey. Personalization is our superpower.

Summer D’on Bell

Founder of D’on Cosmetics

8. Top Strategies From Smart Brands

Let’s move past averages and focus on what top-performing brands are really doing, with data to back it.

Across the dataset, the most commonly used incentive range was 15–20% off and $20–$30 fixed. These values appeared frequently among the more successful implementations, but we’re not claiming they’re inherently better.

What matters is that these brands appear to be testing, measuring, and optimizing their offers over time.

Beyond analyzing what brands are doing, we’ve run over 600 A/B tests with our own clients. Each test runs 2-3 weeks with millions of impressions.

Here’s what consistently moves the needle …

Fullscreen beats lightbox

A/B test data shows fullscreen popups lift conversion rates by 23.6% for email and 21.6% for SMS over lightbox designs.

The widely-feared idea that it drags down SEO and reduces conversion rate is completely misleading: none of our A/B tests indicated any purchase conversion decline. Quite the contrary …

Full-screen popups increased purchase CR by 1-7%.

Short, outcome-based CTAs dominate

Language like “Get 15% Off” appears more often than vague prompts like “Sign up for emails.” It’s not just about tone - it’s about specificity.

Email and then SMS for new subscribers

41.9% of popups capture both email and SMS. These brands aren’t making visitors choose, and they benefit from more post-signup engagement as a result.

Make visitors pause to evaluate

Delaying the close button works. In a test where the close (X) button was delayed by 4 seconds, conversions improved by 8.36% for email and 7.49% for SMS.

Giving users a moment before they can exit helps hold attention and boost opt-ins.

Require them to say “no”

Removing the close button on teaser steps significantly boosts performance.

When brands eliminated the X from the initial teaser popup, forcing users to choose Yes or No, conversions jumped by 16.9% for email and 8.91% for SMS.

By reducing distractions at the moment of highest impact, brands hold attention longer and drive more opt-ins.

The best strategy for SMS pop-ups is to keep the opt-in experience entirely on-site. Requiring users to navigate to their messaging app to confirm subscription introduces unnecessary friction and increases the risk of drop-off due to distractions.

Choose a platform that supports seamless, on-site SMS capture to maximize conversions. A smooth, in-context sign-up flow preserves user intent and significantly improves.

Mandi Moshay

Head of Ecommerce - Honeylove

Opt-in effortlessly with OneClick

Typeless forms are a secret weapon for conversion, especially on mobile. These reduce friction, speed up the signup process, and feel natural to use.

In our tests, they consistently doubled regular popup conversion rates.

While they’re still rare, the smartest brands use them because people can’t spell, and no one has time to type. Everyone else? Still forcing users through multi-field forms like it’s a job application.

Apply the offer automatically

As if OneClick opt-in wasn’t enough to reduce friction, embedding discount codes in the final screen’s CTA to apply at checkout boosted conversion rates and revenue per session by 10–15%.

None of these brands stumbled into these tactics.

They tested them. The most successful operators in this dataset treat their popup stack like a performance channel, not a cosmetic widget.

‍Takeaway?

Don’t guess what works. Watch what high performers are doing - and start testing it yourself. Let the data do the deciding.

9. What You Should Do Next

All right, so what should you do with all this data?

Start testing these immediately:

Most brands underutilize their SMS list and neglect pop ups, thus hindering growth across lifecycle channels. Testing pop ups is a must, however, many marketer's hands are tied due to the technology available in their current tech stack. Consistently test everything you can in the platform you are using and optimize based on those data points. Then, nurture SMS, don't just dump it in with email. It's your ticket to growth.

Stacey Bishop

Lifecycle & Retention Manager - Made By Mary

Build better follow-ups

When you test new variations of your popup, make sure to evaluate the test based on lead quality–the percent of subscribers who convert within seven to 30 days. That's why we're building our lists–to drive revenue. A big list that never converts has less value than a smaller, engaged list that drives consistent sales. Most "out of the box" email popup testing software declares the winner based on email opt-ins. Take the extra time to analyze how many of those opt-ins actually engage with your content and convert.

Alexandra Greifeld

eCom Growth Advisor

Think strategically

Lead capture popups aren’t just for growing your list — they help you actually get to know your shoppers. A good form tells you who’s browsing, what they’re into, and how to make their experience feel more personal from the jump. It’s the secret to sending emails and texts that actually convert.

Kristen Tumasonis

Marketing Director - SuitShop

None of this is about mimicking the top 10,000 stores — the biggest of the big.

It’s about outpacing the middle.

The upside? There’s still plenty of headroom.

Set a higher standard.

Then build a popup that doesn’t just look sharp … it pulls its weight.