A lot of people on HN seem to be adverse to using these modal pop-ins. I'm curious to find out why people here hate them so much.
In practice, they can be very effective, almost shockingly effective, at increasing conversions. I know they can seem intrusive, but most commentary I see on them comes from a critical perspective, where the critic has zero intention of being a customer. I suspect the pop-ins may not be such a horrible experience for people who actually are prospective customers.
Imagine this scenario: I'm at a store, looking around, then realized I left my wallet in the car. So I start to exit the store, when suddenly an employee stops me. He may even have a special sales flyer -- but I can't get past him unless I tap him on the shoulder so that he steps aside.
At this point, instead of going to get my wallet, I will get in the car and find another store. It is the same type of irritation that I feel when, after making a purchase, a store employee stops me at the door to check my receipt and compare with the contents of the bag. I've already stood in line for 20 minutes, forked over money, and now they are holding me up for another minute? No thanks.
I think leaving a store because you forgot your wallet is an edge case that only an extremely small percentage of bounces would relate to. I agree pop-ups are annoying, but I think its important to remember that HN users aren't necessarily the customers every business out there is targeting.
