[V6] Fear of missing out (FOMO) and How to Trigger It

What is “Fear Of Missing Out” or “FOMO”? 

It is a kind of social anxiety, impacting a vast majority of the population. Generally speaking, FOMO is the perception that others are having a better life than you and you are constantly assessing and comparing your situation to theirs. 

In E-commerce, it works the same, using psychological triggers such as scarcity or urgency to rush out customers to make a purchase.

Let’s say you are currently running an advertisement campaign linking to a landing page or a one-product page and you have no elements capable of triggering a “FOMO” feeling.

Your customers will probably browse your website, see your products, be interested in one of them, and will make a decision as to whether they will buy it or not.

Most of the time their decision can be impacted by different criteria set in their minds such as the price, extra costs, or the quality of your product. Maybe a few will proceed to checkout but the rest of them will bounce off and you will have lost them (almost) forever. 

With that being said, let’s try implementing different triggers to create Fear Of Missing Out in the minds of your visitor. 

Creating “Fear Of Missing Out” with GemPages

Let us introduce you to the two most famous techniques you can use to generate this feeling of anxiety in the mind of your visitor! 

• Stock Counter:

Here, we will use quantity to prompt users to act quickly. To insert this element in GemPages, follow these steps: 

Step 1: Access your GemPages Dashboard. Select the page where you want to install it or create a new page to enter our visual editor. 

Step 2: Once you are on the editor, click on Library on the top bar. 

Step 3: Select the “Elements” tab and press on E-commerce on the left sidebar. Scroll down until you find our “(P) Stock Counter” add-on to use it on your website.

Step 4: To insert it to your page, scroll down until you locate “(P) Stock Counter” and drag it to the position where you would like to appear. Keep in mind it must be inserted in a product module. 

•   Countdown Timer:

Here, we will use time to prompt users to act quickly. To insert this element in GemPages, follow the first 2 steps stated above to open the Library. 

Step 3: Select the “Elements” tab and press on Marketing on the left sidebar. Scroll down until you find our “Countdown Timer” add-on. 

Step 4: To insert it to your page, scroll down on your left sidebar until you locate “Countdown Timer” and drag it to the position where you would like to appear. You have full flexibility in how and where you want to display it.

However, keep in mind that the more psychological triggers you add to your website doesn’t mean more sales. It can also be ineffective when overusing it. Be careful about the placement you use for them and make sure to deeply understand and study your customers’ journey to display them these two features at the right moment.