Merchants can create urgency to drive sign-ups and sales by displaying countdown timers on their Postscript popups. This feature is available to all Postscript customers.
About Countdown Timers
Countdown timers give merchants another opportunity to drive sign-ups and conversions by using strong visuals to communicate limited-time offers or sales to consumers. Merchants can set up timers to count down to a specific time and date (i.e. "this sale ends tomorrow at midnight") or specified durations for a specific subscriber to take action (i.e. "you have 48 hours to use your new promo code"). With a number of visual styles and display options, countdown timers give brands another tool to boost sign-ups and sales.
How Countdown Timers Benefit You
- Create urgency to drive consumer behavior.
- Reinforce messaging about deadlines and expiration dates.
- Maximize ROI on limited-time promotions.
What You Need to Know
For duration countdowns, the timer begins once it’s viewed. The timer does not restart, even after clising and reopening popups.
For target date countdowns, the timer counts down in the visitor’s local time zone.
Countdown timers are only to drive urgency–they do not close the popup even after the countdown time period has elapsed (for accessibility reasons).
Adding & Customizing Countdown Timers to Popups
- Select Acquisition from the Postscript dashboard.
- Select an existing popup (or create a new one). Select the tile where you want to add a countdown timer.
-
Select the [+] Add Blocks button on the bottom left.
Select the Countdown Timer from the Other section
of
the Add Blocks section on the left and drag and drop it onto the
popup
where you want it to be displayed.
- Select the Countdown Timer on the popup. On the left, you can configure the look and style of the popup in a number of ways. The Countdown Style has three options: Big numbers, Flip clock, Inline text.
-
You can then scroll down to adjust fonts, label position, padding,
and
even
how many zeroes are displayed to tailor the look-and-feel to your
needs.
- Next, select Settings in the top left next to Style.
- Under Countdown Type, select From when this block is first viewed or Fixed date and time.
- Enter the duration or the end date and time for the countdown timer. You can also select a different time zone and/or select the largest unit of time to display (Days, Hours, Minutes, or Seconds).
- Select Save in the upper right.
Got Questions? We've Got Answers
Can merchants customize the look of the timer?
Yes! Choose between a flip clock, inline text, or big number styles. You can also customize fonts, labels, positioning, and whether to use colons or leading zeros.
Will the timer restart if the popup is closed and reopened?
Nope! For duration-based timers, the countdown continues from where it left off—even if the user reopens the popup or navigates between steps.
What happens when the countdown hits zero?
Nothing changes visually or functionally—this is intentional for accessibility compliance. Merchants should pair timers with strong CTA copy to drive action.
Does the timer adjust to the visitor’s timezone?
Yes—for countdowns to a target date/time, the timer auto-adjusts to the visitor’s local time.
Get Support
Have questions? Please feel free to reach out to our wonderful Support team at support@postscript.io or via live chat. You can also submit a support request here!
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