7 Behavioral Triggers to Increase CROs and How to Implement Them in Your Merchandising and Marketing

Conversion rates don’t jump because of wishful thinking — they move when your merchandising and marketing work together to guide behavior. 

In fact, studies show that FOMO alone can drive up to 60% more sales. Small tweaks like urgency timers helped one retailer triple daily leads.

But here’s the catch: 

• These triggers only work when used with intention.

In this post, we’re breaking down 8 proven marketing and merchandising behavioral triggers — and giving you real brand examples and step-by-step ways to implement them without relying on constant discounting.

1. Scarcity

Scarcity triggers tap into a shopper’s fear of missing out by showing limited stock or time. This could mean tagging top-selling items with “Only a Few Left” badges or surfacing low-stock products higher in collection pages to drive urgency without heavy discounting. 

• It’s about nudging quicker decisions on items that are already moving. 

And it can be highly effective. 

Supreme's Scarcity Strategy

An apparel brand who has built scarcity into every single aspect of their business is Supreme. Their whole MO is to release limited quantities of new products during their weekly "drops." 

These items are often available just for a short period and in restricted numbers, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency among consumers. 

Supreme’s strategy means they rarely, if ever, offer discounts, reinforcing the perceived value of their products.  

And they are not alone. 

Exclusivity + Urgency = Big Time Scarcity 

Australian watch brand The 5TH also leverages exclusivity and urgency. However, they have evolved from scarcity only to a more hybrid model. 

• While they continue to offer limited-edition releases, their products are now available year-round, albeit in small, limited runs. This shift maintains the brand's commitment to exclusivity without relying solely on time-restricted sales.

This doesn’t mean you have to go all-in with limited additions to use scarcity for your retail brand. Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

How to Implement Scarcity into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies?

• Setting a max number of units each customer can buy for popular items
• Showing restock dates or opening a waitlist for items people are searching for
• Hiding certain sizes or colors until more of the main stock sells
• Rotating special collections that are only live for a short time
• Offering early access to new products if someone signs up or joins your list

2. Urgency  

Urgency triggers are another well-used way to get your shoppers closer to a buying decision. But, for it to really be effective long term, eCom stores should make urgency less about panic, more about momentum.

• For stores with fuller catalogs, this could mean adding countdowns to collection pages during sitewide promos or setting timed visibility on seasonal SKUs.

Cosmetic Capital’s Countdown Timers

A good example of this in practice is Cosmetic Capital's simple but effective countdown timers that were strategically placed to highlight limited-time offers and prompt immediate action. 

According to OptinMonster, they tested a combination of Yes/No lightbox pop-ups and floating bars with countdown timers; they opted for free shipping incentives instead of dramatic discounts. This resulted in: 

• 300% increase in daily leads 
• More than 8,000+ captured leads 
• 600 new leads per week 

Duplicating their success is all about combining deadlines with action to create strategic urgency. 

And they are not the only examples. 

Time Cues + Action Prompt = Momentum-Based Urgency

Australian beauty retailer Mecca integrates urgency into their "Beauty Loop" loyalty program by offering time-sensitive rewards and early access to new products. 

• Members are notified of exclusive offers available for limited periods, encouraging prompt engagement and purchases.  

While Bob & Lush, a premium dog food brand, used this strategy through to fulfillment. 

• Tracking feedback that potential customers were concerned with arrival times, they added clear, time-sensitive shipping information on product pages. 

This subtle urgency cue encouraged shoppers to order sooner, rather than later, to get their dog food on time and resulted in a 27.1% increase in revenue.

How to Implement Urgency into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies?

• Adding shipping countdowns before cutoff times on product pages and in carts
• Rotating featured collections with short visibility windows
• Using limited-time perks (like a gift with purchase) for specific SKUs
• Showing “Ending soon” labels only on promo days, not year-round
• Triggering back-in-stock alerts with 48-hour priority access windows

3. Social Proof 

Social proof triggers show that other people are buying, liking, or using a product, so new shoppers feel more confident doing the same. This can mean anything from “Bestseller” tags and review stars, to “X people bought this today” notes on popular products. 

• It’s about strategically showing new shoppers that others already trust your brand and products. 

GirlGotLashes’s Full-Journey Social Proof Strategy 

GirlGotLashes is a great example of how retailers can leverage social proof marketing across the buyer journey. 

• By integrating photo review, UGC, and a robust referral system (with the help of Loox!), they dramatically increased average order value and conversions.  

Here’s a breakdown of the metrics: 

• 27K+ orders from referrals 
• 20K+ reviews collected 
• 9% revenue from referrals alone 

It works because social proof is all about building trust — and without trust, there are no conversions. 

Real Voices + Visible Activity = Trust in Spades 

Another brand winning at social proof behavior triggers is Bubbles. 

When the Gen Z favorite upgraded to Yotpo, they shifted from offering discounts to focusing on building trust with honest feedback and strong visual reviews. 

• This helped them grow fast while staying true to their brand values and resulted in a 171% higher revenue from loyalty redeemers and a 71% increase in SMS subscribers.

How to Implement Elevated Social Proof into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies?

• Adding real customer photos and quotes to key product pages
• Showing star ratings and review counts directly on collection pages
• Highlighting “Most Loved” or “Top Reviewed” products in homepage sections
• Featuring UGC in email and retargeting ads instead of polished studio shots
• Creating a “Real Reviews” or “Customer Favorites” collection that shoppers can browse

4. Anchoring

Good anchoring is designed to help shoppers make faster choices by setting a clear reference point. It’s especially useful for guiding attention to higher-margin or high-stock items, directing your shoppers to where they can find value. 

But it can be a tricky tightrope to walk. 

• Starbucks has been successfully navigating this with their sizing since they opened, sandwiching their Grande size between the tall and venti so that the Grande always portrays the best value. 

However, this is not the only type of anchoring worth exploring.  

The King of Anchoring Triggers: Amazon

You just need to take a look at Amazon to see all the other types of price anchoring strategies retailers can use. 

Including: 

• Competitor pricing 
• Strikethrough pricing 
• Tiered pricing 
• Comparative bundling 

From their classic strikethrough (List Price: $49.99, crossed out with “Now: $29.99.”) to their comparison table (where they put the more expensive product at the top to make others seem like better deals) — Amazon uses it all.  

That’s not to say we all should. Anchoring doesn’t even need to involve price to show value. 

The secret is transparency. 

Anchor + Transparency = Clear Value

Shopify store Jibby is a good example of putting clever, but honest, anchoring into practice. They openly compare their product benefits with their competitors’. 

ASOS uses transparency in another way. 

They show pricing per product or as an comparative bundle price, or use the strikethrough method to show original pricing versus the sales pricing. 

 How to Implement Transparent Anchoring into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies?

• Showing original vs. current price clearly with simple strikethrough formatting
  
  
• Putting premium or basic versions next to the main product to frame value
  
  
• Using product comparison tables with features and pricing side by side
  
  
• Adding “Why we’re different” sections that mention price and quality upfront
  
  
• Including honest price-per-use or price-per-wear breakdowns for higher-ticket items

5. Loss Aversion

Loss aversion works best when you remind shoppers what they might miss out on, not just what they could gain. This could mean low-stock warnings, limited-time cart holds, or shipping countdowns. 

• It’s about making people feel like putting it off could cost them something they already want.

A simple example of this in practice is your automated cart emails. 

Nanoleaf’s Loss Aversion Strategy 

Smart lighting company Nanoleaf has done a great job in the past of tapping into emotion instead of urgency in their abandoned cart campaigns. They did this by personifying their products, sending emails from their point of view that express feelings of abandonment.   

Here, they were focusing on motivational triggers and potential loss to push attachment. 

But what if you turn that equation on its head?

Potential Loss + Attachment = Motivation Trigger

Thrive Market chooses to focus more on the savings a shopper may be missing out on by not completing their purchase, rather than the “product running out” scenario. 

While Dollar Shave Club’s email uses “What do you have to lose?” (potential loss) with all their benefits (attachment) to trigger a low-risk push to complete the purchase.

How to Implement Loss Aversion Triggers into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies? 

• Showing low-stock or “Almost gone” messages on popular product pages
• Adding cart timers or “Items not reserved” warnings at checkout
• Reminding shoppers what they’re leaving behind in abandoned cart emails
• Using phrases like “Don’t miss out” or “Selling fast” to show potential loss 
• Framing return policies or guarantees as “Nothing to lose” reassurance

6. FOMO

It may surprise you to know, but successful FOMO triggers are less about hype, and more about traction.  

Cues like real-time activity, exclusivity, urgency, and customer engagement all quietly work together to push action. 

• The key is making shoppers feel like they’re part of something others have already figured out.

eCom FOMO Campaigns Are About More Than Just Hyping 

According to Wisernotify, 69% of consumers are said to be influenced by FOMO — and when the message is just right, it can lead to 60% more sales. 

A successful campaign is about more than time hypes, it’s about “Everyone’s buying it and I’ll feel left out if I don’t.” This is something that Kylie Jenner knows a lot about. 

• Every new launch or restock is teased on social media (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter) with massive engagement — likes, shares, comments, and influencer buzz. 
• Kylie herself often posts countdowns or live “Available now” announcements to millions of followers. 

And while most launches are sometimes time-limited, they are always limited in stock. 

• This creates the feeling that customers need to be ready to get the new drop before they miss out. 

Yes, not all of us have the type of personal brand (authority) Kylie wields, but that’s not to say that this strategy can not be implemented on an, albeit, slightly smaller scale. 

There is more than one way to implement FOMO into your store copy, you just need to combine opportunity with authority. 

Opportunity + Authority = Urge to Join

Beauty Bay, for instance, often combines FOMO with shipping triggers in their product pages.  

While Ralph Lauren injects a bit of FOMO into their pop-ups. 

How to Implement FOMO into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies? 

• Showing recent purchases or activity on popular products to build interest
• Adding “Popular Right Now” or “Back by Demand” tags based on real store data
• Featuring customer reviews or photos with timestamps to highlight real-time interest
• Launching limited-access collections or restocks
• Letting loyalty members or subscribers preview new drops before they go public

7. Personalization

Personalization, of course, is more than just getting your shopper's name into your eCom mail marketing. 

It’s about surfacing the right prompt for the right person at the right moment. For merchandising, that means shifting what products show up based on behavior, intent, or value to your store.  

• The goal isn’t to impress, it’s to reduce friction and guide faster decisions. 

A personalization trigger doesn’t need to be loud. In fact, it doesn’t need to say anything at all. 

Bally Takes on “Silent” Personalization Triggers to Boost ROIs 

For instance, Luxury brand Bally was able to enhance personalization by combining Kimonix’s smart sorting with tailored product recommendations. 

• This meant that shoppers were seeing recommendations that factored in both Bally’s unique sorting strategy and a shopper's personalized preferences. 

The results?  

• 10.7X ROI on app cost, noticeably higher product discovery and engagement site-wide, and streamlined merchandising operations with zero disruption to the customer experience. 

The bottom line is that shouting “This is for you, Craig!” is not personalization. Personalization is all about context cues, customer behavior, and adaptive merchandising — all working together. 

Context Cues + Customer Behavior = Adaptive Merchandising

 A good example is Camp Saver, who makes it personal by sending membership anniversary emails with personalized promotions or product recommendations. 

Yellow Shoes, on the other hand, uses a comprehensive automated sorting strategy that factors in customer behavior with multiple other parameters and integrations such as sales performance, inventory health, and return rates. 

(A strategy that yields them 31% more add-to-carts!)  

How to Implement Personalization Triggers into Your Merchandising and Marketing Strategies? 

• Auto-sorting collections based on shopper behavior + product value to your store
• Showing different homepage banners depending on the traffic source or campaign
• Triggering loyalty perks or messages on milestones like anniversaries or order counts
• Using quiz or survey responses to create personalized product bundles
• Highlighting different content blocks (like reviews or FAQs) based on the browsing stage

TL;DR: Merchandising + Behavioral Triggers = Higher Conversions

When you’re managing 150+ SKUs, CRO isn’t always about hype and flash. It’s about subtle messaging and moments you set throughout your funnel that guide behavior without disrupting the shopper journey. 

These eight behavioral triggers give you practical ways to do just that, turning even the most passive browsing into active buying.

Got merchandising questions? 

Reach out to our Merchandising Gurus in our online chat or give us a follow on LinkedIn! 

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