15 Exit-Intent Popup Examples for Every Use Case (+ Free Templates)

In this post, you’ll see exit popup templates that invite visitors to join the email or SMS list, offer coupons, prevent cart abandonment, address common objections, or survey customers to understand why they are leaving.

You can replicate any of these examples on your website using Getsitecontrol, a beginner-friendly platform for email marketing and popups.

What is an exit-intent popup?

An exit-intent popup is a modal window, slider, or sidebar that appears when a visitor is about to leave your website — right as they move to close the tab, click the back button, or navigate away. The technology behind it is called exit-intent detection.

On desktop, it tracks cursor movement and triggers the popup when the mouse moves toward the browser’s close button or address bar.

You’ve probably encountered these popups on ecommerce websites, where they typically offer a discount or free shipping in exchange for an email address. But exit popups can do much more: promote sales, gather feedback through surveys, or prevent cart abandonment.

Exit-intent popups don’t interrupt visitors while they’re browsing; they only appear when someone has already decided to leave, which makes them far less intrusive than standard popups.

Exit-intent popup examples

Below, you’ll find ready-made exit-intent popup templates for growing your email and SMS lists, recovering sales, promoting ongoing offers, collecting feedback, and addressing common purchase objections.

Exit-intent popups for list building

These popups invite visitors to subscribe in exchange for a reward — usually a discount — right before they leave. Their goal is to convert abandoning visitors into email subscribers, so the brand gets a chance to reach them later by email.

Simple exit popup with an instant coupon

This template keeps the exchange straightforward: visitors enter their contact details to unlock a discount, which is revealed immediately after they submit the form.

Displaying the coupon right away gives visitors an immediate reason to stay on the website and continue shopping. The simple layout keeps the focus entirely on the offer and signup form.

Image-led exit popup with a discount

This template follows the same approach, offering an instant discount in exchange for contact details, but adds an image to make the popup more visually engaging.

This format gives you more room to reinforce your brand or visually support the offer while keeping the signup process user-friendly. After submitting the form, visitors can access their discount without leaving the website.

Alternatively, you can send the coupon by email as well as display it on the popup. This encourages visitors to provide a valid email address and gives them an easy way to find the coupon again later if they don’t use it right away.

Yes/No exit popup for email signup

Instead of presenting visitors with a signup form immediately, this template starts with a simple Yes/No choice. Those who express interest in the offer are then taken to the email signup form.

This two-step approach asks visitors for a small initial commitment before requesting their contact information. Once they’ve clicked ‘Yes’ and started the process, they’re more likely to follow through and complete the signup. It also keeps the initial screen simple and gives uninterested visitors an easy way to decline.

Exit-intent popups for SMS list building

Exit-intent popups can also help you grow your SMS list by collecting visitors’ phone numbers before they leave. As with email signup forms, pairing the signup with an incentive encourages visitors to subscribe while also giving them a reason to stay and continue shopping.

SMS signup popup with an instant discount

This template invites visitors to share their phone number in exchange for a discount they can access immediately after signing up. You can also collect additional information, such as a subscriber’s name, alongside their phone number. This gives you more data to personalize future SMS campaigns without adding too many fields to the form.

Countdown sidebar for SMS signup

A countdown timer can add urgency to your exit offer by making the incentive feel time-sensitive. Instead of leaving and potentially returning later, visitors have a reason to act while the offer is still available.

This template is a sidebar rather than a traditional modal, which is another valid way to present an exit-intent offer. This option provides more vertical space for the signup form, incentive, and countdown without making the layout feel crowded.

Exit popups for sales and cart recovery

So far, we’ve mostly used discounts as an incentive to join an email or SMS list. But an exit offer can also focus directly on the sale, giving shoppers an extra push to purchase before they leave. And when they already have items in their cart, even a simple reminder can be enough to bring them back to checkout.

Exit popup with a discount code

One of the simplest approaches is to offer abandoning visitors a discount they can use right away. This template displays the coupon directly in the popup and lets shoppers copy it in one click before returning to the store.

Keeping the offer immediately accessible removes extra steps between seeing the incentive and using it, which is especially useful when the visitor is already on their way out.

Discount popup with scrolling text

Adding a deadline to your exit offer can encourage visitors to act now instead of putting off their purchase. This template pairs a discount with time-sensitive messaging to create a sense of urgency. It’s a good fit for flash sales, short-term promotions, or other offers with a genuine expiration date.

The template uses scrolling text to make the exit offer more noticeable and communicate additional promotional messages without overcrowding the main content. You can use the moving text to highlight benefits, offer details, or other short messages, while keeping the central area focused on the discount and the action you want visitors to take.

Cart reminder exit popup

A discount isn’t always necessary to recover an abandoned cart. If a shopper has already shown strong purchase intent, a simple reminder may be enough to bring their attention back to the items they were considering.

This compact side popup reminds shoppers about their cart and gives them a direct way to return to shopping. You can target it specifically to visitors who have items in their cart and display it when they signal that they’re about to leave.

Exit popups for promoting ongoing sales

Not every exit popup needs to introduce a new discount. If a sale or special promotion is already running, an exit popup can give visitors one last reminder before they leave. You can also use animation, scrolling text, or a countdown timer to draw attention to the offer and encourage shoppers to take another look.

Sale reminder with animated elements

Movement can make a simple sale reminder harder to overlook. This template combines an animated heading with scrolling text, creating an attention-grabbing effect without requiring a lot of copy.

The scrolling text also gives you extra space to highlight key details about the promotion, while the main CTA directs visitors back to the sale.

Sale reminder with a countdown

For time-sensitive promotions, adding a countdown makes the deadline immediately visible. Instead of simply telling visitors that an offer won’t last, the timer shows them how much time remains.

This can be particularly useful for flash sales and other promotions with a genuine end time, giving abandoning visitors a final reason to explore the offer before it expires.

Exit popups for collecting feedback

Exit-intent popups can help you collect feedback while the visitor’s experience is still fresh. Use a quick rating to measure overall satisfaction, or ask more specific questions to uncover what could be improved and what may have prevented a purchase.

Star rating popup with an open question

A star rating makes it easy for visitors to share their overall impression before they leave. This template pairs the rating with an open text field, giving those who have more to say an opportunity to explain their response.

This combination gives you both a quick satisfaction score and qualitative feedback that can provide more context behind the rating. We recommend making the open text field optional and clearly labeling it as such, so visitors don’t feel obliged to write a comment, which could discourage them from submitting their rating.

Exit popup with multiple rating questions

Instead of asking for a single overall rating, you can evaluate several aspects of the visitor experience separately.

This template uses multiple rating scales to collect more structured feedback while keeping the survey quick to complete. It’s a great alternative to an open text field when you want to gather more detailed insights without asking visitors to put much effort into their response.

Exit survey about purchase barriers

If you want to understand why visitors leave without buying, ask them directly. This template presents several possible reasons to choose from, along with an open field for responses that don’t fit the predefined options.

Using multiple-choice fields makes the survey quick to complete and gives you structured data that can reveal recurring purchase barriers. You can also offer a coupon after submission, turning the survey into another opportunity to recover the sale.

Exit popups for handling objections

Sometimes visitors leave because they still have doubts about buying. An exit popup gives you one last opportunity to address common concerns, from shipping and returns to payment security and other trust issues, and give hesitant shoppers the reassurance they need.

Exit popup with trust signals

If uncertainty is holding shoppers back, use your exit popup to bring your strongest trust signals together in one place. This template uses a simple list of benefits to address several common concerns at once.

Customize the points around the reassurances that matter most to your customers, such as easy returns, secure checkout, delivery, warranties, or purchase protection.

Exit popup addressing shipping concerns

Unexpected shipping costs are one reason shoppers may hesitate to complete a purchase. If your shipping policy gives them a reason to stay, an exit popup is a good place to make sure they know about it.

This template puts the shipping offer front and center and provides room for additional details that can reinforce it. Adapt these supporting points to answer the questions your customers are most likely to have.

Are exit popups truly effective?

According to Conversion Sciences, exit-intent popups can save between 10% and 15% of abandonments. Getsitecontrol’s data, based on hundreds of ecommerce stores, shows similar results.

According to the study, exit popups offering a discount in exchange for an email address can convert up to 7% of those who were about to leave. In the cart, that number reaches as high as 13.5% when an immediate discount is offered. Of course, the numbers vary based on product type, traffic quality, and offer strength.

Best practices for exit popups

Match the offer to the context

An exit popup is more likely to be relevant when its message reflects what the visitor has been doing on your site. Instead of showing the same campaign to everyone who is about to leave, use targeting conditions to tailor your offer to different stages of the customer journey.

With Getsitecontrol, you can combine the exit-intent trigger with page rules and visitor conditions based on browsing behavior, traffic source, location, device, and, for Shopify stores, cart and customer data.

A/B test different offers

Even with precise targeting, it isn’t always obvious which message or offer will resonate best with visitors at a particular stage of their journey. That’s where A/B testing comes in.

Test different incentives, messages, or approaches with the same audience and compare their performance. For example, you could test a discount against free shipping for cart abandoners, or an incentive against a simple cart reminder. Over time, the results can help you determine what works best for different visitor segments rather than relying on assumptions.

Keep it relevant, not desperate

An exit popup is your last opportunity to get a visitor’s attention, but that doesn’t mean the message needs to sound dramatic. Phrases like ‘Don’t go!’ or ‘Not so fast!’ draw attention to the fact that the visitor is leaving without giving them any reason to stay.

Instead, focus the message on what’s in it for the visitor: a discount, free shipping, same-day delivery. Keep the tone clear and consistent with the rest of your website rather than making the popup sound like a desperate attempt to stop them from leaving.

Reduce friction as much as possible

Visitors who trigger an exit popup were already on their way out, so avoid asking for more effort than the conversion requires. For email list building, an email address may be all you need, while fields such as first name can be optional.

The same principle applies to sales-focused popups. If your goal is simply to encourage an immediate purchase, you can display the discount code directly rather than requiring visitors to submit their details first. The fewer steps between the visitor and the desired action, the easier it is for them to follow through.

Design for brand consistency

Your exit popup should feel like a natural extension of your website rather than a completely separate element. Carry over your brand colors, typography, imagery, and overall visual style to create a more cohesive experience.

If you use images, choose product photography or other brand visuals that support the message rather than generic stock photos. And don’t feel the need to make the popup overly elaborate: a simple design that clearly communicates the message can work just as well.

Adapt your trigger for mobile visitors

Desktop and mobile visitors interact with websites differently, so your popup triggers should reflect that. On desktop, you can use exit-intent detection to reach visitors as they move to leave the page. For mobile visitors, create a separate version of the campaign and use behavioral signals such as time on page or scroll depth instead.

For example, you could show the mobile campaign after a visitor has spent a certain amount of time on a product page or scrolled far enough to demonstrate interest. This lets you adapt the timing to mobile browsing behavior while keeping the message consistent across devices.

Create an exit-intent popup for your website with Getsitecontrol

You don’t need design or coding skills to create effective exit-intent popups for your website. Whether you want to get more email subscribers, offer last-minute discounts, or survey abandoning visitors, with Getsitecontrol you can build and publish your campaign in less than an hour.

Choose from dozens of templates, customize the message, and set your trigger conditions. Once your exit popup is live, monitor its performance through the analytics dashboard and tweak the settings to optimize conversions.

With Getsitecontrol, creating high-converting popups is straightforward and requires zero technical knowledge. Explore Getsitecontrol’s templates and start building an exit-intent popup for your website.