How to Use FOMO Marketing in Your Ecommerce Store

Have you thought about using FOMO marketing to drive sales in your ecommerce store but don’t know how? This guide is here to help.

FOMO marketing can add the much-needed sense of urgency to nudge customers to purchase. It is a powerful purchase motivator as long as it’s used ethically.

In this article, we’ll explain FOMO marketing and how to use it ethically to sell more.

Let’s break down what we’ll cover:

• What FOMO marketing is (plus its ethical concerns).
• How to use ethical FOMO marketing in your ecommerce store.

Before we talk about how to use FOMO in your marketing strategy, let’s first look closely at what it is.

What is FOMO marketing?

Short for ‘fear of missing out,’ FOMO marketing is a marketing strategy that plays on customers’ innate fear of missing out on good deals. When they get a good deal that won’t always be available, customers would prefer to act immediately rather than regret it later.

FOMO marketing takes advantage of a ‘flaw’ in how our brains work. We don’t want to miss out on good opportunities, so we make the most of them. This is one of the main reasons people like to jump on social media trends. It works the same way in ecommerce.

How FOMO marketing can work for your ecommerce store

Let’s say a customer is about to leave the cart page to proceed to the checkout. Then you present an offer just before they do so, and it’s everything they want at the price they want.

In short, you presented it to them in the best way. But this offer is only available for 6 hours, and then it’s gone. Or, there are only two units left. So, what does the customer do? Well, buy it, of course! 

How to present FOMO marketing offers.

This is the basic premise on which FOMO marketing stands. You present customers with an irresistible offer that won’t always be there. It could be a limited-time offer or one where the products have almost run out.

This urges them to act immediately and buy the product instead of postponing the purchase for later, when the offer may not be available.

You can use FOMO marketing in the same way. Established ecommerce brands do it – we’ll look at the best FOMO marketing examples later on.

How effective is FOMO marketing?

According to research, 60% of people make purchases because of FOMO, mostly within 24 hours. These numbers demonstrate the effectiveness of FOMO marketing as a strategy. 

Customers take up these opportunities more than half of the time. It only makes sense that you want to add this powerful sales technique to your marketing strategy.

Is FOMO marketing ethical?

There is a huge discourse on whether it is ethical to create FOMO in marketing campaigns and for good reasons. Critics of FOMO marketing argue that these techniques manipulate consumers’ emotions and exploit their vulnerabilities.

Several studies, including this one, have assessed how ethical FOMO marketing is. Most of them reveal that FOMO comes from negative psychological situations, such as anxiety. Surprisingly, this study also reveals that FOMO positively impacts consumer behavior.

By default, customers don’t make snap decisions when purchasing products. They like to think long and hard before deciding, but FOMO drives them to impulse purchases.

You can use FOMO marketing ethically

So, what does this mean for you if you’re looking to use FOMO in your marketing campaigns? You’ll be glad to know you can use it ethically if you do it honestly and with good intentions.

Instead of pressuring customers to get a sale over the line, you can focus on providing genuine value to them. And they will appreciate it.

With that in mind, let’s look at 10 ways to use ethical FOMO marketing in your ecommerce store.

How to use ethical FOMO marketing in your ecommerce store

If you want to build a great relationship with your customers when using FOMO in marketing, you must do it honestly and transparently. We’ll walk you through several ways you can use FOMO marketing ethically.

We’ll examine how it benefits you and your customers, what makes it ethical, and some tips for implementing it.

1. Be honest about scarcity

Scarcity sells. Customers value items they believe are scarce more than those that are abundant. This is the same reason why a rare piece of art can cost upwards of a thousand dollars.

Scarcity is a powerful purchase motivator. When customers see a scarce product, they want to buy it immediately. It is one of the key FOMO triggers, but you must use it honestly.

How to be honest about scarcity in FOMO marketing

A clever way to use scarcity in FOMO marketing is to display low inventory alerts on the product page. These alerts show the number of items remaining for a limited-stock product, such as “Only 3 items left in stock.”

Ensure that the stock indicated in the alert reflects the actual stock remaining. It is in your best interest to avoid artificially lowering these numbers when you know you have enough stock.

This creates a false sense of urgency, manipulating customers to buy the product even when it’s abundant. This could harm your brand, especially when customers catch on.

Why is it important to be honest about scarcity in your FOMO marketing tactics

Customers have to trust your brand to buy from you. Displaying actual stock levels shows you want to be honest with them. Customers appreciate truthful communication and are more likely to trust and be loyal to your brand.

One study found that businesses that use scarcity honestly have up to 2 times higher retention rates than those that don’t. 

But lying about the available stock could destroy a relationship you’ve spent weeks or months building with your customers. Simply put, it’s not worth it.

2. Use transparent timelines

Limited-time offers are also powerful FOMO triggers. By offering products at a discounted price that expires quickly, you motivate customers to act quickly before the offer period expires.

These offers have been proven to be quite effective at driving conversions. Consumer studies show that 64% of consumers act on limited-time offers when otherwise they wouldn’t buy anything.

Presenting limited-time offers is one of the best ways to add FOMO to your marketing campaigns. You can do it at any time, unlike with scarce or limited-edition products, where you have to stock these types of products first.

Note: Besides triggering FOMO, limited-time offers have deadlines encouraging faster decision-making. As with scarcity, you must be transparent with limited-time offer deadlines.

Let customers know exactly when limited-time offers expire

Amazon has daily deals where they present a selection of products at a discount for 24 hours. When you view a product, you’ll usually (but not always) see the time remaining to take advantage of the offer.

You can implement something similar with limited-time offers on your ecommerce site. If you’re running a flash sale, ensure you display the timeline for when customers can take part.

Avoid vague timelines 

Reset the timers after the offer period expires. This will help maintain the credibility of your marketing efforts. Simply saying ‘Limited Time Offer’ on the product page without a timeline will likely desensitize your customers. 

They won’t feel the same sense of urgency as they would when there’s a set deadline. 

3. Highlight real-time activity authentically

You can also show what’s happening to your limited-time offer or product in real-time.

This includes live notifications on customer activity like:

• Product views.
• Purchases.
• Social proof elements like testimonials, case studies, customer reviews, and other user-generated content (UGC).

This type of content not only boosts customer engagement but can also help you seal the deal. 

Real-time user activity elevates FOMO marketing efforts

Potential customers turn to product reviews and other forms of social proof if they’re unsure about purchasing.

Research shows that 97% of consumers look at reviews before buying a product. 

People will want to buy a product if they see others viewing it, buying it, and sharing great feedback about it. So, if a customer is viewing one of your limited-time offers but is still unsure about buying it, real-time activity content can help them decide. Not to mention social proof is also great for SEO.

How to use real-time activity authentically

When you include this information, social proof, product views, and purchases, ensure it is accurate. If it is customer reviews, make sure you’re pulling this information from the product review section on your website or externally from sources like Google or Trustpilot. The same goes for customer testimonials and case studies.

You can draw inspiration from Amazon’s daily deals, which display star ratings for each product in the offer in real-time.

Add accurate popularity indicators

Depending on how much other customers have viewed or purchased a product, add labels such as ‘Trending’ or ‘Best Seller.’ But ensure they reflect the actual data.

4. Prioritize transparency in popups

Exit-intent popups appear when customers show signs of leaving a page, such as pressing the back button or moving the cursor to the browser’s viewport.

Add-to-cart or after-cart popups appear after the customer completes an action, such as adding a product to their basket or completing a checkout.

Most ecommerce store owners use them as a last-ditch effort to get a conversion. But do they work? Let’s look at some numbers.

Venture Harbor reports that exit-intent popups increase conversions by an average of 5 – 10%. This is a good return because the average conversion rate is usually below 3%.

They would be a great addition to your FOMO marketing campaign.

Be ethical with your popup’s copy

You can use these popups to present your limited-time/limited-edition products to customers. 

Perhaps a customer was busy browsing other parts of your website and hasn’t seen these offers. These popups are a great way to bring their attention to your offer before it expires.

Again, your copy needs to be honest to make the offer irresistible. Avoid using fabricated statements like “You’re the last customer eligible for this deal” unless they’re genuinely true.

And if you’re offering incentives such as free shipping, make sure you mention it.

How to implement ethical popups in your ecommerce store

If your store is built on WooCommerce, you know that there is no default way to add popups to it. However, you can do it easily with the help of the Iconic Sales Booster for WooCommerce plugin.

Use ethical popups on the product page and checkout with Iconic Sales Booster

Iconic Sales Booster is the WooCommerce cross-selling plugin built to help you boost sales. It allows you to cross-sell throughout your customer’s journey in your store.

You can use it to place popups at various steps of your customer’s journey, including:

• Once they click ‘Add to Cart.’
• After checkout, when they’re ready to leave your online store.

Sales Booster allows you to control the popup’s appearance and copy. You can write the copy for each offer, keeping them as ethical as possible. 

What’s more, you can set it up such that the offers are based on what customers have in their cart. When you suggest relevant offers, customers will likely take you up on these offers.

5. Focus on value, not pressure

Not all customers who see your offer will experience FOMO. These are the customers who see right through your FOMO marketing strategy. So, how do you get them to accept? Focus on the value the offer provides – in other words, how they’ll benefit from it.

Earth Harbor does this quite well. To get customers to join their email marketing list, they offer free gifts in a limited-time offer. They highlight the gift part, the first thing you’ll see when the offer pops up.

Emphasize the benefits of your offer

You can highlight why the product is worth buying rather than solely pressuring customers with FOMO. Take this opportunity to educate them on why they should buy the product by highlighting its qualities and why the offer exists. 

Let’s say you’re selling holiday-themed sweaters. Instead of pressuring customers with a statement like “Hurry! It’s almost gone,” you can say something like, “Limited stock due to holiday demand.”

Offer value through discounts

Discounts are a powerful purchase motivator. Studies show that 54% of consumers can be influenced by them to make buying decisions.

Discounts can be valuable offers to customers – they help them save. If you offer discounts, make sure you highlight them and show customers how much they’ll save.

Offer and highlight discounts with Iconic Sales Booster for WooCommerce

With Iconic Sales Booster, you can create irresistible offers for your FOMO marketing campaigns. It allows you to offer any discount you want on your offers, whether fixed or as a percentage. 

Once you set up your discounts, you can focus on them in the offer. As mentioned earlier, this plugin gives you control over your offer’s copy. So you can use this to highlight the discount you’re offering, for example, “40% OFF”. 

Or you can state how much you’re knocking off the selling price to show them how much they’ll save from this offer. The choice is yours.

6. Offer real exclusive perks

Customers are often attracted to products perceived as rare or exclusive. They feel these products increase their status or make them part of an exclusive group.

So, if you offer exclusive deals, they’ll rarely pass up the opportunity to act on them. Consumer surveys reveal that 58% of consumers say an exclusive offer would influence them to purchase.

They fear that they might regret not taking the offer when the rare item sells out. You can use this to your advantage by offering exclusive deals to create FOMO.

Offer genuine exclusive experiences

To reward loyal customers, you can offer exclusive experiences. These could include early access to new products or exclusive access to specific products. Customers not part of your ‘early access club’ will feel like they’re missing out and want to spend more to be eligible.

You could also offer exclusive discounts. Ensure that if you label a product as exclusive, only the customers in the exclusive group should access it. The same goes for the discounts. This will allow you to build credible exclusive experiences.

7. Create anticipation, not anxiety

While FOMO marketing techniques rely on creating urgency, they shouldn’t cause anxiety. Nothing good will come from your customers making purchase decisions because of anxiety.

Using anxiety can:

• Erode customer trust – you can come off as manipulative, and customers could shy away from your brand.
• Encourages buyer’s remorse – customers could regret anxiety-driven purchases later on.

The solution? Create anticipation instead, like the way Pete’s Pirate Life does it. 

Pete’s Pirate Life creates anticipation in an interesting way

Pete’s Pirate Life is an ecommerce shop owned by an internationally acclaimed photographer and filmmaker, Peter McKinnon. He sells custom coins, whiskey glasses, and other custom merch based on the companies he’s worked with.

Pete’s Pirate Life creates anticipation this way. You never know when they will drop merch or which type of merch they’ll drop. If you visit the website, you’ll see a ‘Next Drop TBA’ message. 

To know when the next drop will be, you can subscribe by leaving your email address. This way, you’re always in anticipation for when the next drop will be.

How to create anticipation for your offers

Pre-sale announcements can similarly create anticipation. If you’re preparing time-sensitive offers, announce them to customers early so they’ll be ready when the time comes. 

Set enough time for time-sensitive offers to allow customers to make buying decisions without too much pressure. A few hours is great, but a few minutes is going over the top

Avoid putting needless pressure on them with statements like “Hurry! There are only 10 minutes left before this deal disappears forever!” Something with less pressure would work better: “It’s not too late yet, but this deal won’t stick around for long!”. Or if you want to be as ethical as possible: “Final hours to explore this offer – take a moment to decide if it’s right for you.”

8. Tie your FOMO marketing to events, seasons, and holidays

During events, seasons, and holidays, customers tend to be in a spending mood. You can meet them halfway by tying your FOMO marketing efforts to these occasions. 

Doing so is a great way to capitalize on the excitement and urgency associated with these occasions. 

There are so many ways to approach this, depending on the occasion. You can combine most of the techniques we’ve discussed here to create anticipation leading to these occasions and a fear of missing out on the deals.

Create limited-edition holiday-themed products

If you sell apparel, you can sell custom products during holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. For instance, you can sell Santa-branded T-shirts or those featuring the pumpkin mascot of Halloween.

Set up countdowns leading up to these events

Set up a countdown to get customers excited about these events. You don’t need a complex countdown timer; a simple one showing how many days remain until the day of the sale should work just fine.

If you have loyal customers on your email list, you can notify them that you’re planning something special.

Run timed flash sales during these occasions

Run one-day flash sales and offer time-sensitive deals, such as a “24-hour Christmas Eve Flash Sale” or a “Labor Day Blowout,” where you offer enticing discounts over a short period of time. However, as we mentioned earlier, give customers ample time to make a rational decision.

You can combine the techniques we’ve covered to create a successful FOMO marketing campaign.

9. Reinforce confidence with easy returns 

Usually, customers don’t like to take risks with their purchases. This risk avoidance means they don’t want to spend money on something that might not meet their expectations. 

This fear easily gets in the way of making purchase decisions. So, how can you alleviate this fear to make your FOMO marketing campaign successful? Offer easy returns.

Easy returns build confidence in purchase decisions

With easy returns, customers can confidently make impulse purchases. And if it’s not right for them, for example, if the size is too small, they can easily return it. They don’t have to live with buyer’s remorse.

Customers value easy returns so much that they consider them part of their decision-making process. According to Invesp, 67% of shoppers check the returns page before purchasing.

Easy returns are like a safety net. They have something to fall back on if the purchase doesn’t meet their expectations. 

Assure customers easy returns in your FOMO marketing offers

Having confident buyers is a great thing because your sales will see the benefit, and your campaign will likely be successful. If you’re offering easy returns, highlight them in your offers. 

It could be something along the lines of:

• “Free & Easy Returns | 30-day Full Refund Guarantee” – like the way Earth Harbor does it.
• Or combine FOMO with Guarantees: Phrases like “Only 5 left, and covered by our 30-day satisfaction guarantee!”

10. Keep the messaging positive

How you discuss your offers matters, so keep the tone positive. Focus on the opportunities you’re offering your customers. For example, instead of just mentioning a discount, try saying, “Don’t miss your chance to save!” It’s a simple way to make the message feel more exciting.

You can also make people feel good about finding your deal by saying something like, “You’re just in time to grab this!” or “Lucky you – this offer won’t last long!” This adds a fun, optimistic vibe that gets people excited. Positive, friendly messaging not only catches their eye but also makes them feel great about choosing your brand.

Use FOMO marketing ethically this year

The power of FOMO is too great not to use it in your marketing campaigns. But you must use it honestly and with good intentions for your customers.

In this article, we’ve covered 10 ways to use FOMO marketing ethically. We hope you can use this to inspire your next FOMO marketing campaigns. You can do most of this on your own.

However, when creating limited-time offers, you’ll need a solution that allows you to control the copy. The WordPress plugin Iconic Sales Booster for WooCommerce does just that.

Using FOMO marketing ethically it allows you to focus on value and keep your sales text as optimistic as possible. Get Sales Booster today and craft attractive but ethical offers for your next FOMO marketing campaign.