The Fake Sale Popup booster is designed to build trust, create urgency, and simulate store activity by displaying live-style notifications such as “Someone just purchased this item” or “John from New York bought this 5 minutes ago.”
This booster automatically displays randomized popups at specific intervals, simulating real-time purchases by other customers. You can customize names, locations, time delays, and display rules to make the notifications feel authentic and relevant.
💡 It helps increase conversions by creating the perception of demand and social proof on product or landing pages.
Example Scenarios: #
- Selling home decor? Show that “Anna from Berlin bought this lamp 4 minutes ago.”
- Offering online courses? Simulate “Sarah from London enrolled in Photoshop Masterclass.”
- Running a fashion store? Display “Mike from New York just ordered this hoodie.”
- Promoting eco-friendly goods? Show that “Someone from Amsterdam bought a bamboo toothbrush.”
- Selling digital downloads? “Alex from Madrid grabbed the Resume Template Pack.”
Booster Setup Overview #
1. Navigate to SalesMax → Sales Boosters
2. Click on “+ New Booster“
4. Name your booster, configurate settings and save
Template Type #
Choose your preferred visual layout style for displaying the fake sale notifications.
Minimal – Subtle design for discreetly showcasing recent purchases, enhancing customer trust.
Colorful –Vivid design with highlights to grab attention to purchases and create a sense of urgency.
💡 The selected template may affect the availability of some display options and elements in the Appearance section.
Appearance #
General
Customize how the Fake Sale Popup booster looks on your storefront to ensure it matches your branding and effectively captures visitor attention.
The following options are available:
Header Text
Sets the main title shown at the top of the popup.
Use this to attract attention or convey urgency.
Examples:
– “Recent Purchase”
– “Someone Just Bought This!”
– “Hot Right Now”
Subheader Text
Optional secondary line displayed below the header.
Use it to add credibility, context, or a social proof cue.
Examples:
– “Trusted by hundreds of shoppers”
– “Verified customer purchase”
– “Limited stock available!”
Style
This section allows you to fine-tune the visual appearance of the popup and its elements — no coding required. Customize styles like spacing, colors, fonts, and layout behavior to match your store’s branding.
Here you can adjust:
Layout spacing
(padding and margins)
Container styling
(border radius, border color, background)
Typography
for titles, subtitles, and badges
CTA button colors and fonts
These options allow you to match the booster’s design with your site’s overall branding and UX preferences.
Note: Some style options may vary slightly depending on the selected template.
Advanced
You can fine-tune which individual elements are shown in the fake sale popup.
This gives you full control over the visual structure of the notification.
Available toggles:
Header
Displays a short attention-grabbing phrase at the top of the popup, such as *“Oh no! Hurry up!”*
Use this to create urgency or excitement before the main content.
Header Badge
Displays a small label next to the header (e.g., “Hot Deal”, “Trending”).
Image
Shows the product image alongside the text for better visual impact.
Title
Shows the main heading of the popup (e.g., “Someone just purchased product name”).
Time
Shows the simulated time of purchase (e.g., “2 minutes ago”).
Locations
Enables display of randomized customer locations (e.g., “from Berlin”).
Price
Displays the product price to add credibility to the fake sale.
Button (optional)
If enabled, shows a clickable button (e.g., “Shop Now”) inside the popup.
Close Icon (optional)
Adds an icon allowing the customer to manually close the popup.
💡 Tip: Keep the layout clean by only enabling the elements that reinforce credibility and urgency for your specific audience.
Display Settings #
Choose where and how the Fake Sale Popup should appear across your store. This allows you to place the popup in the most strategic location based on user behavior and page context.
Page
Select which page(s) should display the popup:
- Across the website
The popup can appear on any page throughout your storefront. - Shop page
Notifications appear while customers are browsing product listings. - Product page
Popups are shown while viewing a single product, often to simulate live interest. - Cart page
Create urgency right before the customer moves to checkout. - Checkout page
Reinforce social proof while customers are finalizing their order.
💡 Tip: Showing notifications on product and checkout pages is often most effective, as users are closer to purchase intent.
Position
Control where the popup appears on the screen:
- Top Left
- Top Right
- Bottom Left
- Bottom Right
💡 Tip: Choose a position that won’t interfere with important UI elements like “Add to Cart” or payment buttons.
Popup Animation Effect
Select how the popup should appear on screen:
- Slide In Right
- Slide In Left
- Slide In Up
- Slide In Down
- Fade In
💡 Tip: Animations help draw attention, but keep it subtle to avoid distracting the user.
Product Display Limit
Set how many products will be cycled through in the fake sale feed.
This defines how many unique popup variations can appear per session.
- No limitations
- Range: 1 to 12
💡 Tip: Use fewer items (e.g., 2–4) for focused promotions, or more (e.g., 6–10) to simulate store-wide activity.
Locations #
Customize the list of cities and countries shown in the popups to simulate purchases from different regions.
– Each entry can include location names and emojis for better realism and visual impact.
– Random entries from this list will be used in the popup text.
Example input:
{{{Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪}}}; {{{London, UK 🇬🇧}}}; {{{Kyiv, Ukraine 🇺🇦}}}
This helps add a layer of credibility and international presence to your store.
💡 Tip: Use real, diverse locations relevant to your customer base to increase trust.
Note: This section becomes available after you save the campaign for the first time.
Customers #
This section lets you define a custom list of customer names that will appear in the fake sale popups.
– You can enter multiple names, separated by semicolons.
– Each name will be randomly selected and displayed in the format you define in the message template.
Example input:
{{{Emily}}}; {{{David}}}; {{{Lina}}}
Fallback behavior:
If this field is left empty, the popup will use a generic fallback like Someone (e.g., Someone from Paris just purchased…), ensuring the message still feels active and natural.
💡 Tip: Use short, common names that feel authentic to your store’s audience.
Note: This section becomes available after you save the campaign for the first time.
Frequency #
This setting controls how often the popup appears on the page.
– Value is defined in seconds.
– A shorter interval (e.g., every 15 seconds) creates more urgency, while a longer delay feels more subtle.
Example:
Set to 15 = one popup every 15 seconds.
💡 Tip: Don’t make it too frequent — 12–30 seconds is usually a good range to feel “realistic.”
Note: This section becomes available after you save the campaign for the first time.
Duration #
Defines how long each popup remains visible on screen before fading out.
– Value is in seconds.
– Typical range: 8–15 seconds.
Example:
Set to 12 = popup will be shown for 12 seconds before disappearing.
💡 Tip: Ensure the duration is long enough for users to notice but short enough to not feel repetitive.
Note: This section becomes available after you save the campaign for the first time.
Filters & Conditions #
SalesMax gives you advanced control over which products appear inside a booster — using a powerful, flexible filtering system.
Rather than manually selecting each product, you can enable one or more dynamic filters that pull in relevant products based on predefined logic such as category, tag, sales rank, and more.
Filter Types
You can enable one or more of the following filters:
Specific Products
Include or exclude manually selected items
Product Categories
Filter products by assigned category
Product Tags
Match products with selected tags
Product Price
Filter by minimum and maximum price range
Best Selling Products
Include your store’s most frequently sold items
Top Rated Products
Products with the highest customer ratings
Newest Products
Items recently added to your store
Featured Products
Products marked as “featured” in WooCommerce
On Sale Products
Items currently discounted
Recently Viewed Products
Personalized suggestions based on user browsing
Bought Together Products
Products frequently bought with the current one
Related Products
WooCommerce-defined based on category/tags
Cross-sells
Cross-sell items linked to cart or order contents
Upsells
Upsell products assigned in the product editor
Note: Some options may vary depending on the selected booster type.
How It Works
Filters in SalesMax are additive, not restrictive:
Enabling multiple filters does not narrow the list to matching all filters. Instead, it pulls in products matching any selected filter — each as its own group.
For example:
“Best Selling”
“On Sale”
“Recently Viewed”
The booster will display:
Top-selling products
Products currently on sale
Recently viewed products by the customer
Note: Each group appears in the booster based on your display limit and order priority.
Why It Matters
💡 This approach gives you the flexibility to mix static logic (e.g. best sellers) with dynamic context-aware logic (e.g. recently viewed) — ensuring your boosters stay fresh, relevant, and conversion-focused without needing constant manual updates.
Sorting Options #
To control the order in which products are displayed inside your booster, SalesMax provides a range of sorting strategies. These options affect how products appear after filters or manual selections are applied.
This feature helps you strategically prioritize which products are shown first — whether by relevance, popularity, or pricing.
Available Sorting Methods
Default
Displays products exactly as they are returned by the recommendation engine.
Ideal when you want to preserve the logic of filters or backend ordering.
Random
Shuffles product order each time the booster is shown.
Useful for showcasing different combinations and avoiding banner blindness.
Name
Sorts products alphabetically by their name.
Ideal for structured or catalog-style product listings.
Top Rated
Ranks products based on customer ratings (highest first).
Helps prioritize well-reviewed, trustworthy products.
Freshness
Displays recently added products first.
Great for promoting new arrivals or rotating inventory.
Price
Sorts products by their price (low to high).
Encourages budget-conscious upsells and entry-level add-ons.
Note: Only one sorting rule can be applied per booster.
💡 This section helps you maximize relevance and visibility for high-impact products — tailored to your store’s sales strategy.
Frontend Result #
Once activated and configured, the Fake Sale Popup booster displays small, attention-grabbing notifications on the selected pages of your site.
These popups simulate recent purchases made by other customers, using randomized names, locations, product info, and time delays — all based on your campaign settings.
💡 Tip: This booster is ideal for reinforcing social proof and encouraging hesitant users to follow the perceived crowd.
Troubleshooting #
If the popup isn’t showing as expected:
- Ensure booster is Active
Check that the Fake Sale Popup campaign is enabled in the dashboard. - Check page targeting settings
Make sure the popup is assigned to the correct pages (e.g., Product, Checkout, etc.). - Verify Customers and Locations lists
If these are empty or incorrectly formatted, the popup may not render as expected. - Confirm Frequency is not too long
A very high frequency (e.g., 300s) may delay popup appearance and look inactive. - Ensure no conflict with other visual popups
Check for overlapping popups or plugins that modify the same screen area (e.g., exit-intent, cart notices). - Temporarily disable caching plugins that may block real-time scripts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) #
Can I limit the popup to only some products?
Yes. You can assign the booster to specific products, categories, or globally across your store.
Is this GDPR compliant?
Yes. No actual customer data is used. All names, products, and times are simulated.
Will customers see real names and locations?
No. All data is randomly generated based on the name and location pools you define.
Does this booster work on mobile?
Yes. The popup is responsive and works on both desktop and mobile by default.
Can I display multiple fake sale popups on the same page?
Yes. To show several different popups on the same page, simply create multiple Fake Sale Popup boosters, each with:
– Different product or category targeting
– Unique frequency and duration settings
– Optionally different customer/location pools
Assign them all to the same display location (e.g., Product page, Shop, Checkout).
This way, each booster will cycle its own set of popups independently, creating the impression of ongoing store activity.
💡 Tip: Use slightly staggered frequency and product focus to avoid repetitive messages.