Exit popup offering save or continue: +52% loan applications saved
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAn exit-intent popup inviting users to save or continue their personal loan application raised saved applications by 52%.
IMB Bank, an Australian bank, ran this test, and it was published as a VWO case study.
It did not clearly raise completed applications during the test, which was the original aim.
- Applications saved: +52%.
- Completed applications: no clear effect during the test. The popup did not directly stop people leaving.
- After rollout, the bank reported more resumed and completed saved forms year on year. Those are before-after figures, not split-test results.
The change
An exit-intent popup offers to save or continue the application.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The personal loan application form had no exit prompt. About 84% of users who started the form left before finishing it.
Variant
When a user's mouse moved to leave the page, a popup asked them to save their application or carry on filling it in.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Many applicants didn't have all the details they needed to hand, so saving was more useful to them than finishing on the spot.
- The prompt caught people at the moment of leaving, when they would otherwise lose their progress.
- Saving creates a reason to come back, which only pays off if the bank follows up with reminders or a resume link.
Caveats: The popup raised saves, not completions, during the test. Sample size and duration were not shared, the year-on-year figures are before-after, and the data is from around 2019.
Who ran it
IMB Bank ran this test for Australian bank and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on IMB Bank →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we show an exit-intent prompt offering to save the application, then more users will keep their progress because many leave to find missing information rather than because they've lost interest.
- Primary metric
- Applications saved
- Guardrails
- Completed applications
- Saved applications later resumed
- Form abandonment rate
- Who should test it
- Lenders and other businesses with long applications that need documents or details people may not have to hand. It pays off only with a resume flow and reminder emails. Mouse-based exit intent also doesn't work the same way on mobile.
Questions
Do exit-intent popups increase form completions?
Not in this test. Saved applications rose 52%, but completions showed no clear change during the test.
Why offer a save option on a long application form?
Some people leave because they need information they don't have yet.
A save option keeps their progress so they can come back.
What should follow a saved application?
A way back in, such as a resume link or a reminder email.
IMB Bank tested a resume ribbon on its main page and planned retargeting for users who had saved.