Top Strategies for Post-Purchase Monetization

Post-purchase monetization might be the best kept secret in the e-commerce space. Less than 5% of e-commerce brands monetize their post-purchase flow. That means out of 6 billion transactions happening across the globe per day, only a fraction are earning incremental revenue on top of their normal sales.

We’re here to explain why this is a huge missed opportunity and give you insider tips on how to earn more for every checkout.

What is Post-Purchase Monetization?

Post-purchase monetization is exactly what it sounds like: monetizing your brand’s online checkout and thank you pages. Sometimes this looks like recommending cart add-ons for your own products. Other times, there may be sponsored ads displayed on your checkout pages.

When the world is already so noisy with advertisements, you may wonder why brands should consider post-purchase monetization in the first place.

There’s a reason physical stores place certain items before the register. Consumers are already in a buying mindset when they’re in the checkout line, which makes it a high intent moment for additional purchases. Post-purchase monetization is a little like adding a wall of candy along the checkout line: it capitalizes on impulse buying near the finish line, creates incremental revenue for your business with additional purchases, and when done right can foster customer loyalty to your brand.

Increasing Digital Customer Retention

One of the most important goals for any brand is to increase their Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). This metric calculates the overall time and money a customer will spend with your brand. Investing in repeat customers is a smart move since they not only buy more of your products over time, but also tend to recommend your brand to people they know.

Post-purchase monetization is a great way to improve your digital customer retention. Solutions like Pier39.ai prioritize data-driven personalization to delight customers with meaningful rewards that keep them coming back for more. Brands that have implemented our non-disruptive ad experience have seen 55-60% of customers return within 60 days to keep shopping. Looking at the numbers, it’s easy to see why not utilizing post-purchase monetization is a huge loss for e-commerce brands.

Common Post-Purchase Monetization Tactics

So what does a digital wall of candy actually look like? There are a few distinct avenues for brands to connect with their customers post-purchase.

Marketing Emails

Emails are a great way to remain in a customer’s mind long after they’ve left your website. You can keep them informed about sales or similar products to ones they’ve bought before on a relatively lean budget. The ROI (Return on Investment) for most marketing campaigns in the US is quite high – averaging $36 earned for every $1 spent according to a Statistica report, making it one of the most effective marketing strategies.

Cross-sells & Upsells

Suggesting additional products that match a customer’s current cart is a great way to expand sales during the checkout process. Cross-sells tend to include items that compliment a current item in a customer’s cart (ex: a new cat food bowl would go great with its matching water bowl). Upsells maximize on the current product a customer is close to buying. In our pet example, an upsell could be signing up for an autoshipment of a particular food type for a slightly discounted price.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are a great way to improve digital customer retention while monetizing the post-purchase moment. They’re a versatile tactic that can be customized to fit your brand values. Some e-commerce brands offer customer rewards while others have exclusive perks unavailable outside of the loyalty program. The goal is to drive more sales by creating repeat customers after that initial checkout moment.

Post-Purchase Monetization with Pier39.ai

What if you had a service that did multiple tactics in one?

Sponsored ads have been around for a long time, but Pier39.ai brings a unique spin to this well-established strategy. It combines sponsored ads with a customer loyalty program. The best part is advertisers sponsor discounts for customers to use on future purchases with your brand, so the loyalty program comes at zero cost to you!

Our AI agent tailors these offers based on customer behavior, choosing what they want to see most and what products compliment (but don’t compete) with your brand. Unlike many current solutions that use invasive pop-up ads, our model fits seamlessly with your brand pages. It’s a non-disruptive ad experience that rewards the most important person in the e-room: your customer!

Brands using our post-purchase monetization model reward their customers with an average of $22 for future purchases, and earn an additional $0.45-$1 of incremental revenue per purchase on their website.

To find out more about how this best kept secret can work for you, Book a demo with us today or explore the Shopify App. Have questions? Reach out at hello@pier39.ai