Omnisend adds Instagram-to-email capture and gamified popups before BFCM
Omnisend, an email and SMS marketing platform for ecommerce businesses, has launched Social Capture, which turns Instagram comments and DMs into email subscribers. The release also includes gamified popups under Forms+ and a new Send Time Optimization feature, all aimed at the Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) and holiday season.
- Omnisend launched Social Capture, which asks Instagram commenters and DM senders for their email address via a merchant-chosen keyword.
- Forms+ adds Scratch Card, Mystery Box and Quiz popups alongside multi-step forms of up to four steps.
- Send Time Optimization offers four modes, including time zone optimization and three AI-powered options.
- Social Capture is available to all paid plans; Forms+ requires the Pro plan, and AI send time modes need Pro or an add-on.
Social Capture links Instagram activity to email lists
Social Capture is designed to help merchants convert engagement on Instagram into email subscribers. According to Omnisend, the feature instantly asks anyone who comments or sends a DM with a keyword chosen by the merchant for their email address. People who reply with it are added to the merchant's Omnisend audience email list.
Žilvinas Lešinskas, VP of Product and Engineering at Omnisend, said merchants often lack ownership of their audience on platforms like Instagram. In his words, "Social Capture bridges that gap by turning a quick comment or DM into a lasting connection."
Forms+ brings Scratch Card, Mystery Box and Quiz popups
Forms+ adds gamified popups aimed at first-time site visitors. The options include Scratch Card, Mystery Box and Quiz formats. They work alongside Omnisend's multi-step forms, which let merchants collect details such as email, birthday and product interests across up to four steps.
Omnisend says it has already seen its Wheel of Fortune popup convert visitors nearly twice as often as basic popups. Lešinskas said the company expects Scratch Card and Mystery Box to engage shoppers even more, in time for BFCM and the wider holiday shopping season.
Send Time Optimization offers four delivery modes
Send Time Optimization lets merchants pick from four delivery modes. One is time zone optimization, which sends emails at the scheduled time in each contact's local time zone. The other three are AI-powered options based on past behavior data: click rate, open rate or placed order. Those modes aim to deliver a message when a contact is most likely to open, click or buy.
Availability and what it means for merchants
Social Capture is available now to all Omnisend users with a paid plan. Forms+ is available on the Pro plan. The AI-powered send time modes are available on the Pro plan or as an add-on.
Omnisend frames the release around retention. Lešinskas said the company's research finds that Americans expect to spend 30% less this BFCM than last, which makes keeping new shoppers beyond a short-term event more important. For merchants on the platform, the tools are meant to collect subscribers from social media and on-site visits, then reach them at better times, rather than relying only on holiday revenue.
