The typical online shopper thinks they have all the time in the world to make their purchase. Thus, cases of cart abandonment are quite prevalent. According to Baymard Institute, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 70.19%. For e-commerce stores, abandoned carts are no good sign.
By leveraging urgency, you can compel customers to make quicker decisions, reducing the likelihood of cart abandonment and boosting overall sales. This is where Shopify urgency apps, like those developed by Amai, come into play, offering a suite of tools to create compelling, time-sensitive offers.
Why is Creating Urgency Important for Shopify Stores?
Encourages Immediate Action
Urgency tactics, like countdown timers or limited stock notifications, encourage customers to make purchases immediately rather than delay or abandon their carts. The fact your Shopify store is always open means many visitors are merely window shopping and are not really ready to buy at that point.
Nevertheless, an urgency tactic like limited stock notification can serve as a trigger to make them go ahead and make that purchase. A limited stock notification is a subtle way of telling a shopper they don’t have all the time in the world to dawdle over an item. Thus, if they really need it, they will splurge the cash.
Enhances Perception of Value
Limited-time offers can enhance the perceived value of products, making customers more inclined to purchase before the deal expires. Limited-time offers are ways of communicating the value of buying within a specific time frame. For example, a 25% discounted offer that lasts only 24 hours for a $100 item tells the shopper they are saving $25 by buying within the next 24 hours. After that, the same item costs $100. Therefore, buying early saves them cash and enhances the value of that item. Everyone wants to walk away from a deal believing they got a good deal, and limited-time offers do this.
Drives Sales During Promotions
Urgency is especially effective during sales and promotions, helping to increase traffic and conversion rates significantly. If you’re running promotions that are not time-bound or induce a sense of urgency in shoppers, you’re doing something fundamentally wrong. Customers are happy to hear about a sweet deal. But if they know that sweet deal won’t be there forever, they will be more than happy to get it done as quickly as possible.
E-commerce Statistics to Show the Impact of Urgency on Purchasing Behavior
The impact of urgency on purchasing behavior isn’t mere hearsay. There are insights and statistics back it. For example, by carefully employing urgency tactics, Marcus Taylor tripled the conversion rate on his groupon deal for musicians, moving from a paltry 2.5% conversion rate to 10.8%, representing a 332% increase in conversions.
While cart abandonment is rife in e-commerce, the fear of missing out occasioned by urgency helps reduce cart abandonment. According to Trust Pulse, 60% of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours. This is another pointer to the fact that urgency has a psychological effect on the buying decisions of shoppers.
The success of Cyber Monday and Black Friday is a prime example of how well urgency can drive e-commerce sales. For 2023, online shoppers spent $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, representing a 9.6% increase in the sales recorded on Cyber Monday in 2022. While the discount plays a role in the figures, the fact that consumers understand they won’t be getting such deals at any other time of the year helps drive sales on Cyber Mondays and Black Fridays.
How to Use Shopify Urgency App
As a Shopify store owner, you need to employ tools that give you an edge and help your business thrive in the competitive market. By thriving, we mean improving your conversion rates and getting visitors to buy from your store.
The advantages of urgency in e-commerce have already been discussed, and you’re probably eager to hit the ground running. This is where the Urgency+ App by Amai can help you as a Shopify store owner. This Shopify urgency app stands out for several reasons.
- Dynamic Countdown Timers: Urgency+’s dynamic countdown timer creates a sense of time sensitivity for your products. The fact that the countdown timers are customizable means you’re still in control, and you can customize it to suit your needs aesthetically and functionally. Whether you’re running a sales or promo, you can rely on the app to bring the urgency factor to your Shopify store.
- Stock Level Indicators: Urgency isn’t always about countdown timers, even though it is a big part. It is also about showing shoppers that the stock is limited and won’t be there forever. Scarcity plays a key role in persuasion, and stock-level indicators allow you to capitalize on the psychological effect of scarcity. Urgency+ has a feature that displays limited stock notifications to encourage quick purchases. These real-time stock levels and countdowns keep the urgency relevant and accurate.
- Customizable Urgency Triggers: Urgency triggers work best when they are personalized. Urgency+ allows you to tailor urgency messages based on customer behavior and preferences.
- Seamless Integration: Amai’s Urgency+ App for Shopify won’t undo the hard work that has gone into setting up your store. It is designed to seamlessly integrate with your Shopify store, maintaining a consistent appearance and user experience.
Limitations of Shopify’s Native System and Competitors
While Shopify’s native features allow for basic marketing tactics, they don’t offer the advanced urgency-creating functionalities provided by Amai’s Urgency App. Competitor apps might provide similar tools. However, they often lack the depth of customization and integration capabilities that Amai offers, making it a superior choice for Shopify store owners seeking to effectively leverage urgency in their marketing strategies.
For example, Amai’s Urgency+ App for Shopify allows you to choose where the urgency triggers appear in your store and the products they affect. In addition, you have a performance dashboard to track and assess the impact of the urgency triggers and how to strategize for maximum conversion.
Useful Tips
- Use Urgency Sparingly: For all of its advantages, urgency should only be used sparingly. Overuse of urgency can lead to customer skepticism. Use it strategically for maximum impact. For instance, if a customer finds a product on a 24-hour sales countdown and comes back 48 hours later to still find the item on a countdown sale, they become skeptical and lose their trust in your business.
- Combine with Other Tactics: To maximize your returns, you need to pair urgency tactics with other marketing strategies like email marketing or retargeting for a comprehensive approach. For example, the 332% conversion jump highlighted above was backed with other tactics such as value proposition and clarity.
- Track and Analyze: Regularly monitor the performance of urgency tactics and adjust strategies based on customer response and conversion rates. The best part is that Amai’s Urgency+ App for Shopify stores offers an intuitive dashboard to allow you to track and measure the impact of the urgency triggers put in place.
Summary and Advice
Implementing urgency tactics through Amai’s Urgency App can significantly boost sales and customer engagement in your Shopify store. By creating a sense of scarcity and time sensitivity, you encourage customers to make quicker purchasing decisions, thereby increasing your store’s conversion rates and revenue.
Remember, the key to success with urgency is balance and relevance—use these tactics to create genuine value for your customers and enhance their shopping experience. You don’t want to simply use urgency to create a sense of panic for shoppers. It is best used sparingly for maximum effect. With the right approach, urgency can transform your Shopify store into a dynamic and highly converting e-commerce platform.
