Countdown timers are more than just a simple marketing tool. The concept is deeply rooted in human psychology. By adding a timer to your storefront, you can create a sense of urgency, encourage visitors to act fast, and shop from your brand on impulse.
The main point of conducting any business is to make people buy from you. For an online business, when a random visitor lands on your storefront and buys something, that person is converted into a customer.
In eCommerce, “Conversion” is a fancy term that refers to this whole process. To most people out there, conversion might seem like child’s play. However, people playing this game know what it takes to channel customers through the sales funnel.
People won’t buy a product just because you are selling it. Sometimes, even presenting incentives like discounts and BOGOs are not enough for people to act. So, what’s the solution? Remind them the clock is ticking, and now is the only time to take action! As Chadwick Boseman said,
“You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking, you are under pressure.”
And that’s the concept behind the use of countdown timers – to put pressure, to show time is running out.
What is a Countdown Timer?
A countdown timer is an active sales clock that indicates the beginning or end of an offer. It helps to drive a sense of urgency in the mind of shoppers to make those purchases they have been planning for a long time.
Not to mention this animated clock also comes in handy to trim down the rate of abandoned carts in your store. A study by WhichTestWon shows adding a countdown timer below the order button can yield in 9% increase in overall conversions for eCommerce businesses.
Where to Place a Countdown Timer?
You can place countdown timers at different sections of your store based on your needs and what you’re trying to achieve.
- On the Product Page During the Sales
Products on sale should have countdowns next to them to remind customers they have limited time to save money. You can find a lot of countdown timer apps on Shopify designed explicitly for product pages. Bevy Sales Rules and Pricing Rules is one of the finest among them!
Bevy Sales and Pricing Rules is a sales management app that allows you to run storewide sales instantly. The paid version of the app comes with a sales clock feature, allowing you to place a timer on the product page and create urgency for specific products on sale.
Most visitors go to the product page if they are interested in buying it. However, it’s also possible that they won’t buy right away. In such cases, adding a timer can make a difference and press the trigger for purchase.
The best part is the app lets you customize the sales clock to match your brand color, font, and style. You can also decide where to place the clock on the product page. Additionally, you can choose the FOMO-inducing text (the app offers a few options) that you want to display to your visitors.
- Above the Fold of the Storefront
The portion of your storefront that can be seen without scrolling is referred to above the fold. It’s the first thing visitors see when they land on your storefront, making it an ideal location for placing countdown timers.
Here, you can deploy your campaigns offering discounts and giveaways along with timers to rush your visitors. Not sure how to run campaigns with timers? Bevy Design is your go-to app.
Bevy Design is a powerful pop-up builder that features a bunch of pre-built countdown templates for your marketing campaigns. All these templates are fully customizable, so you can edit your heart’s content to get the best results. With a few clicks, you can create a sense of urgency and watch your visitors get engaged.
When to Place a Countdown Timer?
- During the Holiday Season
For holiday season sales, it is indispensable to place a timer to spur action from your visitors. According to Sale Cycle, including countdown timers during Black Friday sales result in a 30% more click-through rate and a 200% increase in overall conversions.
Bevy Design offers holiday-themed countdown templates for your campaigns which are easy to deploy on storefronts. Starting from Cyber Monday to Thanksgiving, you can find templates covering every vital date from the holiday sales calendar.
- While Launching Exclusive Products
It’s normal for every business to come up with products they don’t sell regularly. These are available once in a blue moon and can’t be found anywhere else.
You won’t have trouble selling those exclusive items to your loyal customers. However, you can’t expect the same from first-time visitors or someone who has never purchased anything from you. That’s why you need to combine your exclusivity with urgency to drive the FOMO in visitors.
Consider using countdown timers when launching exclusive products for a limited time. It will provide a clear visual cue for how much time is left to grab those before they are gone forever.
Bonus Tip: Sale Ending Reminders
Imagine you’re done launching a perfect sale. You’ve slashed all the prices and placed timers at prime locations. Now, the only thing you are waiting for is visitors who will be converted to customers when they find out the sale is ending soon.
However, you keep waiting only to realize that you are not getting your desired result; you are not converting. So, what’s the reason behind this? Allow us to tell you.
Your storefront welcomes different types of visitors who behave in different ways. Some of them are unique and never come back. These visitors see the timers, experience the urgency, and still don’t make a move.
So, what’s making them act this way? A possible explanation is that they forgot about your sale after opting out. However, there’s a way to remind them and bring them back.
Bevy Notifications can do this magical act. This app lets you schedule push notifications for your visitors. Once they are allowed, you’ll be able to send them reminders about your sale ending in “X” hours so they can come back and grab the offer.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind…
Creating urgency with timers is an effective strategy to drive conversions. However, you have to use it sincerely, or you might end up annoying your visitors.
- Strike a Balance: Decide where and how often you want to place countdown timers. Overused timers can make your visitors lose interest, no matter how attractive your offers are.
- Provide Correct Information: Your visitors will be highly interested in knowing when your sale starts or ends. Make sure your timer always displays the correct date and time. Otherwise, what’s the point of placing one?
Before We Say Goodbye
The true effectiveness of countdown timers lies in their proper implementation – knowing how and where to use them. Follow the tips we’ve mentioned today and place a sales clock or timer on your storefront to boost your conversions.
Don’t forget to let us know how things are coming along. We always love to hear from you!
