“5 people are looking at it" and "running out fast" work—but they’ve also been done to death.
Time to get smarter with what the world calls “FOMO.”
First identified by a marketing strategist, Dr. Dan Herman in 1996, FOMO, or ‘fear of missing out’, is the need to be in the loop – to find the better option.
And, this need itself, can be the basis of better sales.
So, we’ve brought you 20 in-depth ways to harness FOMO for better and more eCommerce conversions:
How to create FOMO in eCommerce?
1. Offer irresistible bundles
2. Highlight positive user experiences
3. Show live activity updates
4. Lead users to complete purchases
5. Create urgency via abandoned cart emails
6. Make your FOMO subject lines eye-catching
7. Tease exclusive access rewards
8. Use exit-intent pop-ups to drive FOMO
9. Show missed opportunities - expired deals or VIP pricing
10. Reward early birds with pre-orders
11. Introduce a limited-time sale
12. Offer conditional free shipping
13. Nudge with push notifications or a chatbot
14. Give out freebies alongside a deal/product
15. Make your product pages more persuasive
16. Use influencer-led content
17. Exclusive offers for first-time visitors
18. Live streams
19. Show it can be theirs – in easy installments
20. Target last-minute shoppers
20 Powerful FOMO Marketing Examples and Ideas for eCommerce
1. Offer irresistible bundles
FOMO is a state of mind – which means it doesn’t always have to be extremely explicit. The simplest triggers (like bundling) can bring out the intended FOMO effect.
Bundling itself is a psychological hack. People find more value in things that they may not even use. And, when you quantify the savings – the mind automatically thinks, “Do I wanna miss out on this?.”
Take a look at this example from Casper, offering three different bundles:
👉 How to use bundling for creating FOMO?
- Make the bundles personalized and discounted – based on suggestions out of user history – or, combine bestselling and slow-moving products
- Pitch bundles at the price of your average order (AOV) – or, base it on the customer’s purchase history
- Always quantify what the bundle contains and the pain points it solves – use your product title, description, and images
- Create a separate category for your bundled products – make sure they are colored differently to attract visitors navigating your store
- Ensure users can see the savings visually – use microcopy and slash your prices with price anchoring
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Make your bundles limited-editions – or, offer mystery bundles with a teaser of what the bundle offers. Take a look at how Huda Beauty drives exclusivity and FOMO through their online-exclusive bundle:
FURTHER READING: 10 product bundling examples that convert (& 10 proven ideas)
2. Highlight positive user experiences
“Don’t leave Lego around – they are feet magnets”, came into existence because the word gets around.
So, it’s only natural: our buying decisions get impacted by other people’s experiences. This is why we impulsively check customer reviews – lurk around Reddit for opinions.
According to reports, 72% of customers don’t take any action until they have read reviews and testimonials from existing customers.
But, how do you trigger FOMO here 👇
👉 How to use UGC to create social proof and FOMO?
- Highlight the experiences of varying kinds of customers – it shows a product is in use by real people – which makes people want to try it out:
- Add reviews that show the product in action – make sure you add images and social handles to drive trust as well as FOMO:
- Show popular choices – check how this example subtly pushes the message that a product gets repeat purchases:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Highlight user-generated content on product pages and homepage. These pages are where customers make or break their purchase journey – if there’s no proof, they won’t be coming back.
3. Show live activity updates
Like real user experiences count for the potential buyer, so does the behavior of other shoppers.
In fact, this is really what FOMO is about.
Urgency is driven by shoppers sensing they might not make the most of a deal – or miss out on a trending product. This is why bringing in live user updates is a good idea.
You could employ several ways to do this:
👉 How to use live activity updates for FOMO in your eCommerce marketing strategy?
- State how many people are currently viewing a product – do this only if you have enough traffic, or else, it may seem a bit thin
- Show how many people have bought it over the past week – pair it up with reviews – to make it seem more legit
- Display trending searches with iconography – this will make users want to check out what the product is (and why it's trending)
- Show the number of carts the product is added to – make sure the numbers aren’t static – and turn this off for pages that don’t get traffic:
- Use a ‘customers also buy’ section on your product pages – this helps with product discovery – and do upsell and cross-sell products
- Show updates on purchases as they happen – check how MaskClub does this:
FURTHER READING: 20 Persuasion Techniques for eCommerce (with real examples)
4. Lead users to complete purchases
Users need an impetus, right from the moment they land on your website. FOMO is the guiding principle in this case.
👉 How to use FOMO to complete purchases?
- Give users a reason to click through – show discounted prices right from the start – check this category page from Miss Lola:
- Showcase their impact on a cause – which incentivizes them to contribute to a greater cause by buying your product:
- Incentivize users to add to cart with interesting and memorable copy – combine add-on offers and your refund/return policy:
5. Create urgency via abandoned cart emails
According to data gathered by Baymard Institute, it is estimated that the average cart abandonment rate across industries is a whopping 69.82%.
We understand it’s not the best scenario, but we also say, it’s an opportunity.
One way to drive FOMO is to write abandoned cart emails that speak directly and succinctly to your target audience.
It’s helpful to remember that people abandon their carts for various reasons.
But, good FOMO copywriting can help increase your add-to-cart rate – and reduce cart abandonment.
👉 How to use FOMO in your cart abandonment flow?
- Offer adequate personalization along with a good reason to jump to action – add in a progress bar – and remind of the reward waiting at hand:
- Showcase the savings a user is making to reduce abandonment – reaffirm the savings that they would miss out on:
- Show an expiring discount – but, with a gentle reaffirmation that they should grab the discount before it expires:
- Remind on SMS – follow up quickly with FOMO messaging that reminds customers not to miss out:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Always provide a clear summary of products the shopper left hanging in the cart. This acts as a recall and offers a trigger to act.
FURTHER READING: 27 powerful ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment (w/ examples)
6. Make your FOMO subject lines eye-catching
The first step to using FOMO in your emails: make sure people click on the subject line.
You can start by capturing subscribers' attention by bringing out the scarcity. Here are some more ideas you can try as well 👇
👉 How to use FOMO in your email subject lines?
- Make it visual – use emojis, numbers, and special characters to draw attention – here’s how Wayfair does it:
- Quantify the FOMO in your copy – use FOMO phrases like “Limited-time only”, “Last 12 hours”, “Deal ends tomorrow” etc:
- Use personalization in your copy – this makes it harder to resist or miss out – all it can take is using their name in the subject line
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Ensure to make the communication as specific as possible. You cannot send every email saying it’s a limited-time offer and expect the same conversions. You’ll need to make it genuine and show that they’re missing out on grabbing a deal that might not come again soon.
7. Tease exclusive access rewards
Ask most people you meet and they are likely to say, “It’s such a pain to create an account with an eCommerce store.”
And we don’t blame them, because without enough incentive why would people want to sign up and buy?
Here are some ideas on using FOMO to lead shoppers to loyalty rewards 👇
👉 How to use FOMO in your loyalty program?
- Use a delayed welcome discount for loyalty members – the goal is to invoke the reciprocity principle: the more they shop – the more benefits they will receive
- Quantify what they would miss out on if they didn’t sign up – here’s a look at how Sephora says their exclusive club members will have access to certain products that others won’t:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Use a multi-channel strategy to drive loyalty rewards (because often people forget if they have accumulated points or could purchase more by accumulating points).
FURTHER READING: 14 eCommerce Loyalty Programs Backed By Science (Examples)
8. Use exit-intent pop-ups to drive FOMO
Exit intent pop-ups are the perfect way to recover visitors on the verge of leaving – and make them feel as if they are leaving something behind.
Here are some ideas on creating FOMO for your store using pop-ups 👇
👉 How to use popups for your FOMO marketing?
- Gamify the pop-up to offer – use a spin the wheel or unlock a mystery item offer:
- Create a time-limited welcome offer pop-up – use warm language like “don’t go without … off” to ease users into giving out their info:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
If you want to gain the most out of this strategy, ensure that the popup triggers on important pages like the product, checkout, etc. Also, ensure that this discount code is not available anywhere else on the website or third-party sites.
FURTHER READING: Exit-Intent Pop-Ups: overcoming common mistakes + 20 brilliant examples
9. Show missed opportunities - expired deals or VIP pricing
When shoppers end up on a product page to find that the product is currently out of stock, their urgency is naturally triggered.
This is especially true for those who already know what they want to buy and are ready to check out the product of their choice.
A “notify me” sign can also help you bring in more organic leads.
Here’s an example from Wayfair showing how to use FOMO messaging in your emails, to communicate about sold-out products:
👉 How to use FOMO while creating missed opportunities?
- Create a ‘missed deals’ section like Amazon – this ensures that users take faster action on the current and upcoming deals:
- Show sold-out custom/limited-edition landing pages – to create a perfect lead magnet in the process:
- Show VIP pricing as well as regular pricing – this creates FOMO pricing – which directly shows the result of not being a VIP:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Offer similar products as suggestions while using this technique (because you really don’t have any control over whether the shopper will return at a later date or not).
FURTHER READING: 23 Proven Ways To Increase Product Page Conversions
10. Reward early birds with pre-orders
At any point in time, pre-orders do two things:
- They suggest exclusivity
- They imply scarcity
And the good news is that you can make the most of both and create FOMO.
👉 How to create FOMO with pre-orders?
- Show the exclusivity of the order – use a first-come-first-served format to help limit the number of orders and create hype
- Gamify limited-edition pre-orders with a lucky draw – this helps you to generate signups – segment your email list – and generate publicity:
- Show the amount of stock left that will be manufactured – this shows it’s scarce – and encourages people to get it while they can:
- Use expiring content like stories to create exclusive social media collections – this helps gauge the interest and, generate some sales right away:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Just remember showing the exact stock number is more effective than simply mentioning “in high demand” or “while stocks last”. This is because it makes it look genuine and the messaging credible.
11. Introduce a limited-time sale
Any limited offer forces the user to jump on the deal as they’re fearful that the offer might not come again ever or anytime soon.
This creates a FOMO effect (and impulse purchases).
Casper uses the same strategy to drive sales. In this example, they’re highlighting a 10% discount on all their products until a particular date in their microcopy:
👉 How to use FOMO marketing in your limited sales?
- Target repeat purchasers – add a section like this example for repeat purchasers in your promo emails:
- Run a daily sale – but make it a surprise – like what products will be on sale – or the amount of markdown:
- Announce back-in-stock sales over ads – offer discounts to help sell faster:
- Use countdown timers for seasonal sales – this helps close buyers on the fence:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Announcing a site-wide limited-time sale can offer more people from your audience the opportunity to add to the cart.
To improve efficacy, introduce an offer that lasts just a few hours or a day at max.
FURTHER READING: Flash Sales Guide: 10 Proven Ideas & Amazing Examples
12. Offer conditional free shipping
You don’t always need a huge discount to convert visitors. Offering something as small as free shipping for a limited time can be equally attractive.
It plays a decisive role in making a purchase online.
93% of consumers are likely to spend more if an online store offers free shipping. Here are some ideas:
👉 How to create FOMO in your eCommerce store using free shipping?
- Show how close a user is – use an add-to-cart bar to complete the purchase with visual cues:
- Reaffirm with a progress bar – show how much they need to add to complete the checkout process:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
A good rule here is to leave an estimated shipping fee to extend the FOMO effect – and, complete the order before the offer ends.
FURTHER READING: Free Shipping: Still a Conversion Driver in 2024? (+ Brands Nailing It)
13. Nudge with push notifications or a chatbot
Using an in-website like this one can help create a better customer experience – and drive FOMO:
👉 How to create FOMO using push notifications?
- Give them an in-store experience – recommend products by pain point – make them feel exclusivity with personalization
- Offer killer value in return – instead of simply asking for emails, tell them you’ll be sending a special discount on recommendations
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Remember: the goal is to nurture visitors into customers at a later stage. Also, you can increase the urgency – by setting an expiration date on your coupon code.
FURTHER READING: 24 Scientific Strategies to Increase your eCommerce Conversion Rate
14. Give out freebies alongside a deal/product
When buying products, nothing gives a user more joy than getting complimentary products or freebies.
👉 How to use free gifts to generate FOMO?
- Offer free stuff on upgrades – like buying a subscription or purchasing products above a certain value:
- Offer free loyalty points for sign-ups – to let them pick their own gift with free starter points – this also helps you maximize revenue per customer:
- Send a wishlist product as a free gift – include some rebuy items (if applicable), their viewed products, and new launches in your communication:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
You can even take this strategy a step further, by not telling them what the freebie is. This can automatically increase excitement levels.
15. Make your product pages more persuasive
This will help visitors feel that they will miss out if they don't buy your product.
Here are some brilliant ideas on how to get it done 👇
👉 How to create FOMO copy in your eCommerce store?
- Make information easily scannable using the decoy effect – to subtly nudge users toward better options – making them feel they will miss out on a good deal if they choose the wrong option:
- Appeal to the target audience with your product photos – show your product in a real-world situation as Soylent does for its target audience:
- Solve the pain points with your product descriptions – to make users feel that they will be missing out on a solution if they don't choose your product:
16. Use influencer-led content
→ Reviewing an acne skincare routine?
→ Can black tape hold a car door?
→ Can a metal door withstand dynamite?
What do these ideas have in common? Probably, a YouTuber producing this content. But, why does it matter?
Research indicates expert or customer-led content is one of the most trustworthy; especially for purchase decisions. This means they can help you build the ‘bandwagon’ or the ‘I gotta have it too” effect.
The FOMO here comes from the exclusivity, and the buzz generated.
👉 How to use influencers for FOMO?
- Create a custom collection – this will help create unquestionable social proof for an unaware audience that may already be aware of the influencer:
- Add quotes from influencers or a wild adventure story – this will make customers feel the urge to try your product out:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Create review videos by influencers – research indicates influencers create stickiness for a particular product. But, it only works when there’s cross-channel coverage.
For example, if you partner with some influencers on Instagram/TikTok – make sure you get reviewed by YouTubers as well.
FURTHER READING: 10 eCommerce brands winning at Social Commerce (+ Lessons we can learn from them)
17. Exclusive offers for first-time visitors
First-time visitors need an incentive. Your welcome offer or exit-intent pop-up does that – but how do you keep up the FOMO?
Here are some ideas on using welcome emails with FOMO to turn visitors into buyers 👇
👉 How to use FOMO for first-time visitors?
- Ask them to activate their offer – this will slowly help customers feel they are sitting on a discount that can be theirs – if they activate it:
- Set coupon codes to expire – put a monetary value to the discount – which helps customers jump on the purchase:
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Introduce words like “exclusive” if you want to drive home the point, that the offer is too good to be missed. Also, send these coupons/vouchers to newsletter subscribers.
18. Live streams
Converting new visitors into customers is the hardest. It becomes even harder when you’re a relatively new brand.
So how can brands motivate new shoppers to do that?
You can drive FOMO by creating exclusive live streams.
This is especially useful in converting those who aren’t ready to take a call – or, are new to the brand (but are following you).
👉 How to use live streams to create FOMO?
- Drive sign-ups from your site with regular live events – especially on holiday events like Memorial Day – note the subtle callout in this notification bar:
- Create a no recordings policy – this will send a message that something insanely valuable will be dropped – write copy to induce FOMO like “a value bomb so dope – that we can’t risk recording it”
- Promote using socials – show a sneak peek of what will be shown in the live stream – along with a subtle hint of a massive discount:
- Launch limited edition collections – partner up with an influencer – and see the engagement roll in
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
After the live stream, publish an email and a social media post. Thank participants – show progress made – but keep the content different. This is to show subscribers/followers who missed out that they missed out on something great.
Consider adding a custom form – to help customers RSVP for upcoming lives.
19. Show it can be theirs – in easy installments
FOMO is the reason why more than half of all millennials overspend to get products they can't afford.
Which is why it's always a great idea to:
👉 How to use payment options to create FOMO?
- Show they can pay later – show them they are missing out on paying a nominal amount for a great product – or simply remind them:
- Offer a custom method of store payment – check how LL Bean creates a custom line of credit to induce purchases:
20. Target last-minute shoppers
Seasonal exclusivity is what most brands try to drive through seasonal sales. But, true FOMO, begins at the last minute.
All you need to do is ensure you're there with the right content and offer:
👉 How to create FOMO for last-minute shoppers?
- Reserve a last-minute gift – show them that they can't miss out on the perfect gift – one, that they can deliver to their loved ones in time:
- Get them to complete purchases by delivery date – this helps you get the purchases done, as quickly as possible – consider using a progress bar, or, a countdown timer:
- Offer express shipping – this ensures that true last-minute shoppers go through with the purchase
Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀
Use special event days like birthdays to make the most of this FOMO technique. This introduces a time boundary – and creates more personal impetus for them to take action.
People Also Ask
What is FOMO marketing? How does it work?
FOMO marketing is a technique to make people feel that they have to be a part of the brand – purchase its products – or participate in some way. FOMO in some cases is the same as social cred.
Examples of FOMO marketing can probably be found in your fridge, wardrobe, and your pocket.
Think Coca-Cola. Apple. Gucci. Or any luxury brand out there. But, how do these brands create FOMO?
They simply provide a stimulus. Or, a reason to emulate. That alone creates more than enough triggers to tap into the FOMO mindset.
#Scenario 1:
Have you ever seen a Coke ad explain the science? How refreshing is the taste? Or how it’s just right to quench your thirst?
Well, they want you to think of harmless fun. A connection to a greater community. A sense of belonging.
Why: it’s easier to trigger your ‘need to belong’ – than explain ‘why the product is great’.
Almost every Coca-Cola ad shows people in sync – a connection – a community.
#Scenario 2:
The concept here is that Apple makes great phones.
But, take note of how Apple markets its products. It creates experiences that only Apple users can enjoy. The contributing factor here is community.
But, what keeps people coming in?
Answer: Buyers will pay more to belong – if the product is advertised (and proven) as a premium product by an entire community.
Remember: FOMO is just like college frat parties. Most haven’t been to one – but want to be there. 😉
What is the most common mistake eCommerce brands make in their FOMO Marketing?
Thinking that FOMO has to be quick.
It can play on the scarcity, and give users enough time to make a decision. Most brands tend to go off-brand when they try to implement these strategies.
Take note of how The Ordinary, a beauty brand, slows down its discount period – but, manages to retain the FOMO:
The strategy is perfect for subscription businesses as well. This is because the lifetime value (LTV) of the customer is more than just the first purchase. If they find the products valuable, they can end up sticking with the brand for a long period.
FURTHER READING: eCommerce Scarcity Marketing: 10 Common Mistakes + How to Fix Them
Still want to explore more ways of foolproofing your conversions?
The thing is, all these ideas work perfectly – you can take the time to work these out yourself.
Or, you can learn how to 2X your conversions.
After all, 98% of all visitors who visit an eCommerce website leave without buying anything.
Why: user experience issues cause friction.
And this is the problem Convertcart solves.
We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.
How we can help you:
Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions, recover abandoned carts, and increase revenue.
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