Converting eCommerce Window Shoppers Into Customers: 17 Practical Ideas

You know that vacation you’ve been dreaming of?

It floats in front of your eyes – you will often check tickets – but you don’t go through.

Well, that’s what window shopping feels like—and, here’s what you can do to convert window shoppers into prospective customers, FAST:

1. Pop the question first – break the ice

2. Build a great first impression

3. Lead the eyes → better display = more interest

4. Get them to “use” your site

5. Give them a reason to buy

6. Make it look like a “no-brainer deal”

7. Offer a *surprise* value upgrade

8. Handle web rooming

9. Talk to them

10. Open the express checkout track

11. Watch out for spam coupon victims - reach out to them

12. Create content for window shoppers

13. Remember past searches

14. Offer a unique try-on experience

15. Invite em’ over to your socials

16. Re-engage via emails

17. Remind them their welcome discount is active

But, first —

So who are these window shoppers? Why are they not buying?

Window shoppers online don’t just keep browsing – here are the most common types of online window shoppers you will see on an eCommerce website:

a) Forming an impression but couldn't find something on the product page: Viewed a product at least twice in the last 30 days or more (includes quick views)

b) Interested in your brand, but aren’t too sure: Signed up for your email list – opened, and clicked through – but didn’t complete the purchase

c) Likes the product and is hoping to score a discount: Have been coming back to your site for over 30 days – add to cart page – and left

d) Heard about you and want to know more: People who clicked through your socials – and have kept coming back

e) Some form of trust issues or cost stopped them, or, rethinking the purchase: Added to cart – filled out shipping – but didn't complete the purchase

How To Turn Online Window Shoppers Into Sales?

1. Pop the question first – break the ice

Sure, window shoppers love to browse – but you’ve got to be there to move them along. 

In short, you break the ice by:

✅ Sending a well-timed welcome pop-up – Ask them about their pain points – like, ‘What’s your hair goal’:

✅ Or bringing in a short quiz to build a persona – recommend based on options chosen.

✅ Using the quiz results to recommend products – within the site and on emails as well.

Quick Tip: Suggest a bestseller on exit intent – or keep it tabbed as a sticky button – this helps build a subtle nudge.

You may like reading: 15 Brilliant (Non-Intrusive) Mobile Pop-up Examples In eCommerce

2. Build a great first impression 

Research indicates shoppers unfamiliar with your product or brand will be less likely to be attentive—which is why you should:

✅ Visualize your categories on your homepage. Categorize it by needs, as this example does:

✅ Show a mix of affordable and best-selling products – preferably on the first fold of the homepage/landing page.

✅ Show some visual indicators of social proof – for example, a star rating or excerpts from reviews. 

Quick Tip: Consider highlighting the promotions within your navigation – for example, create a separate category for all items on sale.

3. Lead the eyes → better display = more interest

Visually attractive product displays trigger the pleasure centers in your brain (and reduce cognitive load).

This is why your eCommerce store's UX should level up with these best practices:

✅ Visually attractive product displays – for example, auto-scrolling image carousels like this one:

✅ Visual in-page navigation with product thumbnails – consider showing offers like “end of season sale” or pricing like “Necklaces under $150”.

✅ Decoy effect on category pages –  put the best-priced product at the center (all while showing affordable, but not so feature-packed options).

We suggest reading: Build high-converting category pages (13 ideas + great examples)

4. Get them to “use” your site 

By helping them build a bundle/wishlist/product. 

This way you get signups – help co-create – increase session duration – and raise brand discovery in one go: 

Here are some other ideas that you can use as well:

✅ Create a timed nudge on product pages – trigger after 30 seconds – say ‘Got your eyes on this one? Wanna add it to your wishlist?.’ 

✅ Turn browsing history into a discounted bundle – this helps them feel they’ve unlocked something special.

✅ Prime them slowly across the site – say something like, ‘Your wish list has items with expiring discounts.’

5. Give them a reason to buy

Window shoppers don’t convert because they can’t find a reason good enough to tip them over.

If they have to wade through reviews, you aren't making it any easier – start by featuring expert reviews on your homepage:

You can also try doing the following:

✅ Display reviews of the product variant chosen – for example, if a user is viewing the red variant of the product, show reviews for the red variant first. 

✅ Create a search bar for the review section – also add user attribute filters like skin tone and product details like “color” or “size.”

✅ Try adding inclusivity in reviewers – show all body shapes, ethnicities, and genders. 

Quick Tip: If you are short of product reviews, partner with UGC creators to create product videos – also consider asking your employees or yourself to pitch in.

You'll love reading: 15 EASY ways to get customer reviews and boost sales

6. Make it look like a “no-brainer deal”

Specifically, a deal that they couldn't have gotten otherwise—let’s take a look at this example from Ana Luisa: 

✅ Create an exclusive tiered discount or a free gift/shipping threshold – like “Flat 25% off on 3 Items” or “Add X Items to Cart and Get X Free (Worth $X).” 

✅ Maintain exclusivity – ensure that the site doesn't display your exclusive discounts to the user (unless they log in).

✅ Upsell/cross-sell bestsellers in cart pages as well – ensure the prices range within ± 30% of the cart value.

We recommend reading: 31 insanely powerful online sales promotion ideas for eCommerce

7. Offer a *surprise* value upgrade

Offer insurance or extended warranty – or a service they don't even know they need.

Check this mini cart page as an example – apart from the free shipping and mattress haul-away service, there is an extended warranty plan on offer:

Here are some other things you can implement to convert window shoppers:

✅ Delay the spending – remind them they can always make flexible payments with BNPL payment options.

✅ Create a reminder for your policies and practices. Note how the above example highlights sustainability in manufacturing and shipping processes.

✅ Justify the “cost per wear” in the product description – explain why owning the product will improve their lives or the social cred – or the durability/uniqueness of your product 

✅ Assert their taste – emphasize why the product fits into their lives and reassure them with copy like “Great Scott – you’ve got taste.”

Want more reasons why shoppers drop off your ‘perfectly’ designed store?

Read: Getting Traffic But No Sales? 21 Reasons Why (+ How To Solve)

8. Handle web rooming 

Researching a product online, only to buy it in a store – that’s exactly what web rooming is – here’s what you can do to prevent it:

✅ Offer in-store pickup (if you have one) – highlight the free shipping in exchange for a slower delivery period.

✅ Explain buying online helps easy returns—also don’t forget to highlight money-back guarantees and easy service.

✅ Offer a solid product comparison – don’t compare competitor products – compare by delivery times, added costs, and post-purchase service. 

✅ Highlight your buyback program (if you’ve got one) – this helps them avoid post-purchase regret and keep new purchases going:

Quick Tip: Highlight faster delivery options during seasonal holidays like Easter, Christmas, and more – note the “Free 2-Day Shipping” highlighted in the example.

9. Talk to them 

Window shoppers love their anonymity—but, check how an AI quiz bot does the job:

Keep these things in mind:

✅ Don’t ask for info or logins at the get-go – focus on bringing the helpfulness of an in-store salesperson.

✅ Track click-throughs and page activity to retarget effectively – you can use Meta Ads or Google Ads for better performance.

✅ Ask for information, at the end – if a live stream has ended, use a message like “Want the recommendations sent to your inbox? Drop your deets.”  

Quick Tip: Implementing first-party cookies? Consider sending a push notification through your live chat – like, “Still looking for {last product viewed}?” or “Need help with {last product viewed}?.”

Also Read: Conversational Commerce: 21 Amazing Real-World Examples (eCommerce Brands)

10. Open the express checkout track

Window shoppers or not, checkout pages get drop-offs solely because they make shoppers think twice– which is why you should:

✅ Offer cashless options always – highlight them better – keep a mobile-friendly option too; like Venmo or Shop Pay:

✅ Autofill form fields – allow geolocation to get most of the delivery address filled out – consider using social media logins to get the leg work done.

✅ Display ready-apply coupons (or better yet, auto-apply them) on checkout – ensure that the price hasn’t changed from the product page.

✅ Create a clear and editable order summary – with the delivery date and a complete price breakup – showing the savings made as well.

Quick Tip: Amp up the urgency on checkout with a count-down timer like this one: 

Convertcart Pro Tip 🚀

Don’t sneak stuff in at the last minute – keep your checkout distraction-free – offer only what adds direct value (insurance, warranty, etc) 

Also Read: Why Are Shoppers Dropping Off My Checkout Flow? 

11. Watch out for spam coupon victims - reach out to them

Coupon scams are everywhere – your window shopper may have fallen for them too – here’s how you can check for this:

✅ Check referring domains on your GA4 and GSC – specifically look for coupon sites, or suspicious sites – check the bounce rate and session timings.

✅ Create a custom audience and retargeting ads – create an ad on this angle: “Saw a coupon you couldn’t find – come back – we’ve got something for you.”

✅ Lead them to a custom landing page – inform them about what they have faced – offer them to sign up for a direct channel or a special discount.

✅ Redirect traffic from those suspicious sites to the above landing page – gather the IP addresses and redirect using your htaccess file.

Quick Tip: Use your notification bar to inform of potential scams – create a separate landing page (without the discount) that helps users get in touch with you.

Also Read: 30 Ways to Build Trust FAST (On Your eCommerce Store)

12. Create content for window shoppers

Some shoppers can’t get enough info and some don’t bother to check at all – this is what we call the Dunning-Kruger effect – this is why you should:

✅ Show videos about your product – preferably content from customers/employees showing a ‘how-to’ or a ‘how was it’ after using the product.

✅ Offer visual shopping guides for gifting on seasonality – dedicated landing pages with curated products with blogs/videos for inspiration.

✅ Detailed project inspiration – essentially a ‘shop the look’ or ‘build a room like this.’

✅ Sizing information or how-to-use guides – show what will be in the package when it arrives – show the fulfillment that will come from the product.

Quick Tip: Partner with creators on blog websites and YouTube to create comparison videos between your products – these build solid social proof:

Also Read: 14 eCommerce content marketing mistakes (+ their fixes)

13. Remember past searches 

What’s the critical difference between first-time visitors and window shoppers? 

Window shoppers keep on returning.

The goal of the search bar should keep them going – here’s how you can use the search bar to convert window shoppers:

✅ Offer suggestions on products last viewed  – use help text like “looking for {last product viewed}.”

✅ Recommend similar products within the search – run a product filter to discover similar products.

✅ Enable autocomplete within the search bar – look at the search query history to help further.

✅ Show popular search suggestions – or the bestsellers within the bar.

✅ Avoid zero search results – prompt them to take the quiz if there aren’t any search results.

✅ Show thumbnails of the products in search results – along with popular categories:

Quick Tips: 

• Consider adding microcopy to the search results like “Popular 🔥” or “Trending 📈”
• Don’t go overboard with the suggestions – choice paralysis must be avoided

Also Read: eCommerce visual search: 9 smart optimization tips (+ 4 tools to use)

14. Offer a unique try-on experience

Retail stores keep laptops open at 70° angles – this is to get people to interact with the laptop – here’s how you can get window shoppers to do the same:

✅ Help try on virtually – virtual try-ons like Aveda does ⏫.

✅ Offer an at-home try-on service – like Warby Parker does.

✅ Create a smaller quantity as a sample. The workings behind this are the same as offering free samples with orders. 

Quick Tip: Use your returns period to create a unique experience – remember Casper’s 100-day trial program?

15. Invite em’ over to your socials

The idea is to get the FOMO dialed up.

You can consider offering exclusive social media-only products/sales – think milestone sales like “25% off for 25000 followers” (or giveaways).

Check how Casetify teases the launch of an exclusive collection on their TikTok:

Quick Tip: Highlight all the above on ‘Playlists’ on TikTok or ‘Story Highlights’ on Instagram – this acts like a notification bar for your socials. 

Also Read: 10 eCommerce brands winning at Social Commerce (+ Lessons we can learn from them

16. Re-engage via emails

A lot of window shoppers display browse abandonment behavior – which is why you should:

✅ Send a product recommendation quiz flow – use the selections to personalize your email content.

✅ Ask them about their problems – taking feedback on why they are browsing will help you identify the exact roadblocks. 

✅ Create two bundles built from products already viewed – ask them to pick any one bundle – consider sweetening the pot with a discounted price. 

Also Read: Re-engagement Email Examples That (Actually) Win Back Subscribers

17. Remind them their welcome discount is active

This applies to shoppers who didn’t complete a purchase from the welcome flow:

✅ Resend the welcome email with product recommendations – preferably from the products viewed – remind them of the discount waiting for them.

✅ Gather feedback on what made them leave – link to a custom landing page for window shoppers – add a custom exit intent.

✅ Reach out 1:1 to subscribers who click through but don’t complete purchases. Instead of leading with a discount, ask them about their experience with your store. 

Quick Tip: Add a progress bar within your email to show how many steps it will take to get the discount – consider auto-applying the discount to create a frictionless sale. 

Want window shoppers to convert better? Look at your UX first

Window shoppers or not – 98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything.

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors.

And this is the problem Convertcart solves.

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.

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