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There is this song named “Missing Out” by a rock band called “Shed Seven” that says:
“That sounds like I should’ve been there. It sounds as though everybody laughed.”
Before telling you why we are referencing this song, let us ask you a couple of questions:
Have you ever decided not to attend a particular event, then felt regret while watching the pictures of people who went to that event and said, “Maybe I should’ve been there”?
Have you ever bought an item simply because everyone around you was buying it, and you didn’t want to miss out on whatever benefit they were having?
If you answered yes to the previous questions, then you are familiar with the feeling illustrated in these song lyrics. As human beings, we experience this feeling a lot, even in the most basic situations. This feeling is called the “fear of missing out.”
Now, as an owner of an eCommerce business or an eCommerce marketer, the fact that no one wants to feel left out should be leveraged in your store.
When the fear of missing out is used as a strategy in the marketing field, it is referred to as “FOMO Marketing,” which is defined as a psychological phenomenon that happens when a person feels anxiety and regret after missing out on a great opportunity or when fearing that someone else might get that opportunity before them.
FOMO marketing is now being used by eCommerce businesses as a marketing strategy to get more potential customers to convert, drive more sales, and achieve higher profits. In this article, we will walk you through some of the best examples of eCommerce brands successfully using FOMO marketing.
Top 10 E-Commerce FOMO Marketing Examples With Tips:
As we said in the introduction of this article, FOMO marketing is becoming incredibly effective; hence, highly indispensable for eCommerce businesses. Therefore, if you are not already implementing FOMO marketing strategies for your eCommerce store, you should start now. Today, we are here to help you embark on this journey, so we are presenting some of the most successful eCommerce FOMO marketing examples to inspire you.
1- Amazon
When talking about eCommerce businesses that are successfully implementing FOMO marketing techniques, Amazon is the first one that comes to mind. Amazon excels when it comes to highlighting the scarcity of a product. This technique can also be referred to as “Scarcity Marketing,” which is a substantial aspect of FOMO marketing.
Amazon uses a variety of ways to implement FOMO marketing and scarcity marketing, such as:
- The number of items left in stock:
Image Source: wisernotify.com
- Limited-time special deals:
Image source: convertflow.com
- Countdowns
Image source:
Source: optinmonster.com
Analysis And Tips:
- As you can see, Amazon does not depend on only one technique to stir up customers’ fear of missing out. Instead, it uses a combination of effective techniques.
- As it appears in the first image, Amazon shows the number of items left in stock under each product.
- In the second image, we can see Amazon employing time-limited offers. These offers are sometimes called “lightning deals” or “flash sales.” What makes these offers and discounts a hundred times more attractive is that they are available for a limited time.
- In the third image, Amazon is using a countdown timer as a way of visually reminding customers of the time remaining until the end of the offer.
- Scarcity is the first significant aspect of FOMO marketing. Use this technique to show scarcity as much as you want but NEVER LIE about the number of items left in stock.)
- Tips: Stick to your words. If you say that an offer is available only for the day, a customer cannot open your website the following day and be able to access that same offer.
- Stay consistent. If you decide to offer your customers a special deal every day, you shouldn’t miss a day because some customers may check your website daily expecting the deal you promised them.)
- Tip: Urgency is the second aspect of FOMO marketing, and it can be employed using countdowns. Carefully choose the place in which you will add the countdown timer. Make sure it is visible and working properly.
2- Nisolo
Nisolo is an American brand with a successful eCommerce store that sells leather shoes, boots, bags, and belts. It happens to be a great example of an eCommerce business using FOMO marketing.
Analysis And Tips:
- What’s special about this example is that it achieves FOMO marketing by depending on using social proof. Nisolo does that through customer testimonials. These endorsements coming from current customers whether in the form of quotes, videos, or stories provoke potential customers’ fear of missing out.
- In other words, when leads or potential customers see how well other customers are talking about your products or services, they start feeling that they might be missing out on something good that can solve their problems.
- Tip: Social proof is the third essential aspect of FOMO marketing. You do not want to miss out on leveraging it in as many ways as possible.
- Also, if you are using customer testimonials, make sure you are displaying the ones that perfectly reflect the personality of your brand and the added value that your old customers got from your products or services and that your new customers will miss out on if they do not buy from you.
3- Overstock
Image source: convertcart.com
Overstock is an American retailer that sells furniture, home decor, and other different types of products for women, men, kids, and even babies. It qualifies as one of the very good eCommerce FOMO marketing examples because of the way it deals with sold-out products and expired deals.
Analysis And Tips:
- Overstock makes sure to display a sign that says “Out of Stock” whenever a product is not available anymore. This is similar to the technique that Amazon uses when it shows the number of items left in stock. Both methods highlight the scarcity of the products and the fact that they are being bought frequently by other customers.
- If we take a deeper look at the image presented in this example, we can see that Overstock does not just notify browsing customers that the item is scarce; and hence, out of stock; it also presents them with the opportunity to be notified whenever the item becomes available again.
- This is a very smart move because, on the one hand, it shows the customers that you care about their desires and that you will dedicate the time to communicate with them about the products they are interested in. On the other hand, by asking customers to insert their emails, Overstock is gathering leads and extending their email list.
- Another smart move that we can see in this example is that Overstock provides customers with product recommendations that are similar to the currently unavailable product.
- Tip: Do not lie to your customers to use this technique. In other words, do not display the sign “out of stock” unless the product is currently unavailable in your inventory.
- Also, if a customer provides you with their email, you have to be committed to notifying them the minute the product becomes available.
4- Rue La La
Rue La La is another American online retailer that made the list of inspiring eCommerce FOMO marketing examples today. It sells the products of many different brands at very good prices.
Analysis And Tips:
- What’s different about this example is their explicit use of FOMO marketing. They explicitly use these words in their marketing campaigns: “Fear Of Missing Out.”
- In other words, Rue La La does not try to manipulate its customers in any way. On the contrary, they acknowledge the fact that the fear of missing out is a real thing that many customers struggle with. Then, they immediately offer their customers the chance to help them deal with that fear and overcome it.
- Their smartness also appears in their use of the sentence “If you don’t click, this will be our last email.” So here, instead of just being scared of missing out on the products available on the website, a customer might also fear missing out on the brand’s emails.
- They also use very attractive call-to-actions, such as the one in the image “Yes, Keep Them Coming.”
- Tip: This technique, even though it is smart, can be provoking for some customers. Therefore, if you decide to be explicit about your FOMO marketing implementation, make sure your customers would perceive it as appealing.
5- Levi’s
Levi’s is not a brand that needs to be introduced, and its name speaks for itself. However, today, we are not looking at the brand’s reputation but at its effective use of FOMO marketing techniques.
Analysis And Tips:
- Levi’s here plays on customers’ impulsive buying decisions that are usually made under pressure. The brand creates this pressure through “end-of-season” sales.
- We know that brands using limited-time offers is not something new; however, we are presenting this example to look at how Levi’s takes care of every little detail. For example, as you can see, it does not just mention the date on which the sale ends; instead, it also mentions the exact hour and minutes after which the offer won’t be available.
- Tip: Do not be afraid to provide many details. Some customers may need a little more convincing than others. In other words, not all customers feel the fear of missing out immediately. Some customers may need to know more details to take action.
6- Surfdome
Image source: mageplaza.com
If you are an eCommerce marketer, we do not need to convince you of the significance of email marketing because you are already familiar with it. However, we can try to talk you into using email marketing to implement FOMO marketing strategies, just like our example here.
Surfdome is an eCommerce store that sells surfboards, skateboards, and other related products. It is one of the eCommerce businesses that are successfully incorporating FOMO marketing within their email marketing campaigns.
Analysis And Tips:
- Let’s just look at the email presented here because we believe that it speaks for itself. As you can see, the first thing that grabs the attention is the bolded countdown timer that highlights the exact days, hours, minutes, and even seconds left until the end of the sale.
- There is also their use of the words “Last Chance” followed immediately by the percentage of sale writing in a bigger and clearer font.
- Tip: Remember that email marketing is your best friend. You can always incorporate different marketing techniques within your email marketing campaigns.
- You can apply FOMO marketing within different types of emails, such as abandoned cart emails for instance.
7- Nectar
Image source: convertflow
Just like Amazon, Nectar is another example of an eCommerce store that uses multiple FOMO marketing techniques at the same time. Nectar is an eCommerce store that sells mattresses, furniture, and other related products.
Analysis And Tips:
- We can notice that Nectar is using countdown timers and displaying them twice: one at the top of the webpage and another time right in the middle of it. We agreed before on how much countdown timers highlight the urgency and push customers to act quicker.
- Other than the countdown timers, we can see the sentence “Low in stock” written in red font to highlight the scarcity of the products. Here, Nectar differs a bit from Amazon because it did not specify the exact number of items left in stock. This can create more fear because the number could be a hundred, and it can also be one. Some customers may not want to take chances, and the uncertainty can push them to buy the product quickly.
- Tip: Do not be afraid to overwhelm your customers a little bit with your FOMO marketing efforts as long as you do not go overboard.
8- Uncommon Goods
Image source: privy.com
Uncommon Goods is an American online retailer that sells different types of products that can be used as gifts for men, women, and children. This brand applies FOMO marketing techniques by leveraging customers’ love for their friends and family members and their fear of letting their loved ones down.
Analysis And Tips:
- We brought you this example because we loved how it played on the emotional side by using customers’ love for their mothers. We loved their use of the sentence: “Don’t wait. Mom is counting on you.”
- Tip: FOMO marketing does not mean that you should always rely solely on fear. You can always mix fear with other emotions.
9- Huda Beauty
Huda Beauty is another brand that is too popular to be introduced. It is one of the most attractive eCommerce FOMO marketing examples that are being analyzed in this article.
Analysis And Tips:
- Huda Beauty implements FOMO marketing by providing its customers with attractive product bundles. Other than the fact that the brand is using the sentence “available for a limited time,” the FOMO marketing here arises from the incomparable attractiveness of the offer itself. It is simply just an offer that no one would want to miss. Look at the 40% discount and the big number of products included in the offer.
- Tip: Know your audience. Huda Beauty, for example, is well aware that its customers will not be able to refuse such an offer. You should know your customers well and be aware of what attracts them the most.
10- Minimum
Image source: adoric.com
Minimum is an international fashion brand with a very successful eCommerce store. Even though it is the last example in our list, it still has something to inspire you with.
Analysis And Tips:
- This example is different from the previous ones in the fact that it employs FOMO marketing through its exit-intent popups. If you are familiar with exit-intent popups, they are simply popups that appear on customers’ screens when they are attempting to leave the page or the website.
- The purpose behind these popups is to make a final try at grabbing the customers’ attention and persuading them to make a purchase. These pop-ups usually offer customers a deal or a discount that they would fear missing out on.
- Tip: Popups are very effective in FOMO marketing as long as you use them at the right time and with the right amount.
Final Thoughts:
To sum up, FOMO marketing is an extremely powerful tool that eCommerce businesses are in desperate need of. By playing on the psychological aspect of customers, eCommerce stores have a higher chance of optimizing their conversion rates, boosting their sales, and increasing their profits. Hence, you must read the previously discussed and analyzed eCommerce FOMO marketing examples very carefully to know how you can be an example yourself.
Other than the informative examples we provided, Converted.in is offering you something else today: a marketing automation tool that will make your work much easier by doing the following:
- Segmenting your customers.
- Creating, personalizing, and automating email marketing campaigns within which you can incorporate FOMO marketing strategies.
Book your demo now and start your journey with FOMO marketing.
