Exit Intent Popups: Capturing Departing Visitors

Visitors about to leave represent lost opportunity. Exit intent popups appear when mouse movement suggests departure, offering one final chance to convert or capture contact information. The timing makes the interruption acceptable.

The Logic of Last Chances

Users leaving your site have already decided to go. A popup at this moment risks nothing: they were leaving anyway. But a compelling offer might change their mind.

The calculation is pure upside. Even modest recovery rates represent incremental gains from traffic you’d otherwise lose completely.

Detection Mechanism

Exit intent popups monitor mouse position. When the cursor moves toward the browser’s top edge (toward close buttons or navigation bar), the popup triggers.

Mobile detection requires different signals: rapid scrolling upward, orientation changes, or timed inactivity. Most popup tools handle cross-device detection automatically.

The Offer Matters

Generic “subscribe to our newsletter” popups perform poorly. Users weren’t interested enough to stay; why would they subscribe?

Compelling exit offers include:

• Discount codes (10% off, free shipping)
• Free resources (ebooks, templates, tools)
• Limited offers (“only 3 left at this price”)

The offer should feel valuable enough to warrant reconsideration. Users must perceive unexpected value.

Recovery Rates

Data suggests average exit popup conversion around 3%. From 1,000 departing visitors, 30 reconsider and take action.

Applied to significant traffic, these numbers matter. A site losing 100,000 visitors monthly recovers 3,000 through exit offers. Each represents potential revenue or list growth.

Implementation

Most popup tools include exit intent detection. Configure timing so visitors see content before triggering offers. Immediate popups on page load annoy; exit popups intercept at the natural leaving moment.