How to get started with intent-based email capture
Retailers ask for emails with the goal of growing their audience, their campaign reach, and their influence.
But most retailers are asking at the wrong time, in the wrong way, and it’s costing them.
In our èƵ Gap research, we found 55% of online shoppers dislike pop-ups that appear early in a session. 45% say they actively make them less likely to buy. One in five even say they’d leave a site altogether if interrupted too soon.
37% of the retail sites analysed as part of the report used pop-ups, with 79% shown within the first 30 seconds.
The problem isn’t the capture itself. ’s the lack of context.
Most email capture strategies are built on fixed rules; time on site, page views, scroll depth. But these are proxies, not signals. They don’t reflect how a visitor is behaving or how likely they are to respond. They assume intent, rather than recognising it.
This isn’t about switching tactics. ’s about responding to behaviour in real time.
Rethink: Why you’re capturing emails
When email capture is treated as a numbers game, relevance drops. And the risk goes up. You might gain a contact in the short-term, but ultimately lose a customer.
The right question isn’t how do we collect more emails? ’s how do we make the exchange feel appropriate, valuable and well-timed. For both sides?
That means considering two things:
- Mindset: Where is the customer in their journey? Are they focused and confident? Or showing signs of struggle, and unlikelihood to progress?
- Value: What are you offering in return? Is it aligned to what they’re doing?
The best email capture doesn’t interrupt the journey. It supports it.
Optimise: Start capturing with èƵ
To start with, optimise what already exists. Use intent segmentation to change when your capture prompts fire.
Play 1: Trigger email capture for abandoning visitors
Most email capture is delivered too soon, before visitors have shown any interest or given any signal that they’re ready for a value exchange.
The fix: Wait for signs of struggle or abandon, then trigger based on live behaviour.
Take On The Beach, who triggered capture only for visitors in the Engage or Build stages of the èƵ Framework, who were showing subtle signs of drop-off. By adjusting the timing to match behaviour, they saw a 28% uplift in email sign-ups with no hit to conversion.
Why this works:
- You reach the right audience, in-session
- You increase sign-ups without sacrificing experience
- You stop defaulting to time-based rules that overlook nuance
Play 2: Ask for an email when a visitor is unlikely to progress
Instead of waiting for signs of struggle, or abandon, you can also target a visitor when they’re indicating they’re unlikely to move forward in their journey, by using èƵ to Progress.
That’s what Le Chameau did. By limiting email capture to visitors who were unlikely to progress, and excluding focused shoppers entirely, they:
- Increased email sign-ups by 3%
- Drove 24% incremental revenue
- Protected high-value journeys from interruption
Grow: What comes next
Timing is essential. But message matters too.
Most capture prompts lead with a generic offer: “Sign up for 10% off.” But not everyone is looking to buy. And not everyone cares about a discount.
Visitors early on in their journey, who haven’t found the right product for them? Offer a newsletter prompt.
Shoppers who have a product affinity, but low likelihood to purchase? Suggest a save for later or price drop alert.
This approach moves email capture from a hard sell to a helpful nudge. Tailored to behaviour, aligned with intent.
It also opens the door to experimenting with softer incentives, different tones of voice, and varied placements. Especially for visitors who show high exit intent, but lower likelihood to return.
What happens when you get this right?
When email capture is powered by real-time intent:
- Sign-up rates increase, because prompts are more timely and contextual
- Conversion rates hold steady, because you don’t disrupt high-intent visitors
- List quality improves, with fewer disengaged or disinterested contacts
- Revenue grows, from visitors that may otherwise have been lost
Capture becomes strategic, not interruptive. And it builds long-term value in your customer base.
Your first three steps
If you’re looking to make an impact fast:
- Replace time-based triggers with intent-led email capture prompts
- Target abandoning or struggling visitors, and those unlikely to progress. Exclude focused shoppers
- Align your offer or message to the visitor’s behaviour and mindset
From there, test new placements, value exchanges and copy aligned to intent predictions. And treat capture as a recurring opportunity, not a one-off chance.
Because when you understand visitor behaviour, you don’t have to interrupt to make an impact. You just have to respond at the right time.
Want to see how intent-first email capture works in practice? Get a demo to learn how Made With èƵ helps teams grow their lists without damaging their visitors’ experience.
