Gardeners spend months nurturing their crops—preparing the ground, planting seeds, weeding, watering, and fertilizing. And all the hard work pays off at harvest time! But imagine if a gardener picked the ripe produce once and never returned. Future crops would go to waste, as would the time and effort it took to raise them.
Sounds ridiculous, right? But that's how some ecommerce stores operate.
They invest heavily in attracting customers, celebrate the first purchase, and then neglect them—and without continued care, those customers are unlikely to return. On the other hand, a great post-purchase experience can turn first-time buyers into loyal repeat customers.
What Is the Post-Purchase Experience?
The post-purchase experience includes all the interactions your brand has with a customer after they’ve made a purchase. This includes package delivery and returns, emails or texts, customer service, and many other touchpoints. An effective post-purchase experience results in greater customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth reviews, and an enhanced reputation.
Every business’s post-purchase experience is unique, and it’s up to you to design an experience that resonates with your customers.
Why Is It Important To Focus on the Post-Purchase Experience?
Why is the post-purchase experience important? We often think of increasing website conversions as the most important goal of an ecommerce business. But without a great post-purchase experience, all your efforts to boost sales could go to waste as dissatisfied customers decide to try a different brand next time.
Simply put, a bad post-purchase experience discourages customers from shopping again. Put yourself in a shopper’s place. If a package arrived late, or the product inside was damaged, would you want to buy from that merchant again? Most people will answer no.
But the post-purchase customer experience goes beyond avoiding the bad. It’s just as important to focus on the good, going above and beyond to delight your buyers. Things like branded packaging, personalized emails, and requests for feedback show customers that your brand cares about their satisfaction.
Elements of the Post-Purchase Experience
The post-purchase experience begins when a customer orders a product and includes all the touchpoints between them and your brand. This includes physical elements, such as packaging, as well as digital or virtual elements, such as emails and customer service interactions.
- Communication. Emails and texts allow you to keep customers updated about their order status and send helpful information about their purchases.
- Delivery. Delivery can make or break the post-purchase experience, so do everything in your power to ensure that packages arrive on time and undamaged.
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Unboxing experience. Branded packaging, fun inserts, and free samples take your post-purchase experience to the next level.
- Returns and exchanges. If a customer needs to initiate a return, they should easily be able to contact your team.
- Customer service. Can customers get in touch about issues? Consider providing chat, social media, phone, or email support.
- The product. The product itself is part of the post-purchase experience. Shoppers will likely be satisfied if the product matches the description and is high-quality.
A Great Post-Purchase Experience Starts With the Customer Journey
If you haven’t considered the post-purchase experience before, start by mapping out the customer journey. (If you’re looking for ways to improve your existing strategy, jump to the next section!)
The customer journey is the complete experience a shopper goes through from discovering a product to purchasing it, including post-purchase interactions and support. This journey is unique for each customer, but let’s walk through an example:
- Awareness. Jenna sees a targeted Facebook ad for eco-friendly running shoes.
- Consideration. She clicks through to the brand's website to learn more about the product. There, she reads reviews, looks at images, and explores product details.
- Conversion. Jenna adds the shoes to her cart and completes the checkout process.
- Retention. She receives an order confirmation email followed by a shipping notification with tracking details. The shoes arrive on time, and Jenna receives a delivery confirmation email. Thanks to the smooth delivery experience, she’s interested in purchasing from the store in the future.
- Advocacy. A few days later, Jenna gets an email requesting a product review and offering tips on how to care for her new shoes. Soon afterward, the brand invites her to join the loyalty program for free shipping on future purchases. Satisfied with her purchase, Jenna follows the brand on social media and becomes part of their loyalty program.
To map out your ideal customer journey, start by identifying potential touchpoints—moments when you might interact with customers. Then, choose which touchpoints you want to focus on in your post-purchase experience, including when you’ll reach out to customers and what you’ll say.
9 Strategies for Improving the Post-Purchase Experience
How can you improve the post-purchase experience? Let’s look at nine strategies.
1. Communicate With Customers
After clicking the check out button, customers might still have questions. Did my order go through? When will my package ship? When will it arrive?
Don’t leave them hanging. From the moment they order, you can begin sending post-purchase emails to answer all their questions (including questions they don’t even know they have). This communication keeps customers in the loop, reassuring them that their order is being handled efficiently.
We recommend sending at least three emails: an order confirmation, a shipping confirmation, and a follow-up.
- Order confirmation. Immediately after a purchase, send an email detailing the items purchased, the expected delivery date, and contact information for customer support.
- Shipping confirmation. Send an email when the customer’s package has shipped. You can also allow them to opt into regular shipping and delivery updates.
- Follow-up. A few days after delivery, send a follow-up email requesting feedback on the purchase experience and product.
After these emails have been sent, enroll customers in your normal marketing emails. You might tie the first few emails to their recent purchase to keep the experience fresh.
- How-to and use case content. Share instructions for setting the product up, ideas for using it, videos demonstrating use, or customer stories.
- Ask for a review or referral. Invite customers to leave an online review or share your website with a friend.
- Remind to refill or restock. If the customer ordered a product like supplements, beauty products, or food, consider automating a reminder for them to refill or restock.
- Invite to subscribe. Does your brand offer a subscription service? If so, invite satisfied buyers to subscribe and save.
2. Offer Shipment Tracking
Shipment tracking provides customers with real-time updates on the status of their orders. This transparency helps reduce any anxiety or uncertainty they might have about their purchase.
When they know exactly where their package is at any given time and when it’s expected to arrive, customers can better plan and manage their expectations.
Businesses can get started by integrating a reliable shipment tracking system into their ecommerce platform. Once you’ve integrated package tracking capabilities, send automated emails or SMS notifications with tracking information at various stages of the delivery process.
3. Provide Shipping Insurance
Package loss, damage, and theft are all too common. By offering shipping insurance, you’ll provide customers with peace of mind while their package is in transit. Shipping insurance not only safeguards the customer's purchase but also demonstrates your brand's commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction.
You can either offer shipping insurance as an optional add-on at checkout or include it as a standard part of your shipping service. To get started, you’ll need to partner with a reputable insurance provider that offers comprehensive coverage and hassle-free claims.
If you sell on Shopify or WooCommerce, adding buyer-purchased shipping insurance is simple! With an app like Norton Shopping Guaranee, you can quickly add an insurance option to your checkout page, boosting consumer confidence—and improving the delivery experience—at no cost to you.
Fashion brand RebDolls allows shoppers to insure packages for a small percentage of the total product cost.
4. Design a Great Unboxing Experience
A great unboxing experience is a powerful way to improve the post-purchase experience, creating a memorable moment that strengthens customers’ emotional connection with your brand.
The unboxing process is often the first physical interaction customers have with their purchase, and it’s an opportunity to make a lasting impression. To get it right, focus on packaging design, presentation, and additional touches.
High-quality, aesthetically pleasing packaging can create a sense of luxury and care. Make sure the colors, fonts, and overall design align with your brand identity. Inside the box, items should be arranged neatly, with protective materials ensuring they arrive in perfect condition.
Finally, consider adding inserts or even small gifts to packages. Including a personalized thank-you note, small freebie, or coupon code for the next purchase adds a personal touch that makes customers feel valued.
5. Build a Community
Building a community is a long-term strategy, not a quick initiative. But don’t be dissuaded; community-building is a powerful way to enhance the post-purchase customer journey.
A community offers customers a platform to connect, share experiences, and engage with a merchant beyond the transaction. This sense of belonging can transform customers into advocates who are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend the brand to others.
You’ll need to create and maintain platforms where customers can interact, such as social media groups, online forums, or even your own mobile app. To drive engagement, make sure to post, repost, and reply to customers regularly.
6. Create a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program rewards customers for their repeat business, incentivizing them to continue shopping at your store. As you develop a loyalty program, remember to make it easy to understand and participate in. Offering exclusive benefits, discounts, and rewards will help members value the loyalty program and stay motivated to participate.
Your program could include earning points for every purchase, which can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or special services. It might also feature tiered levels, where customers unlock more significant benefits as they spend more.
The REI Co-op membership offers an impressive list of benefits, including 10% back annually on purchases, a full year to return or exchange most products, free shipping, special member offers, and more.
7. Ask for Feedback
Asking customers for feedback shows that you care about their experience and value their insights. Feedback is also valuable for another reason: it provides insights into customer satisfaction and product performance, revealing areas for improvement.
The easiest way to ask customers what they think is to simply send them an email. This email should arrive shortly after they’ve made a purchase—just make sure the customer has had enough time to use the product.
It's important to make the feedback process simple and convenient. You might try offering multiple ways for customers to share their thoughts, including rating systems, open-ended questions, or quick polls.
8. Make It Easy To Return or Exchange Products
As an ecommerce business, your goal is to sell products, not have them returned. So why should you make the returns process simple? Ultimately, it comes down to customer expectations. Customers expect a user-friendly returns process, and they could abandon your brand if sending something back is time-consuming or confusing.
A straightforward returns policy shows that a brand stands behind its products and cares about customer satisfaction. This helps boost customer confidence, encouraging shoppers to make purchases without fear of being stuck with an unwanted item.
The returns process should be as convenient as possible, offering multiple options such as in-store returns, shipped returns, or drop-off points. Providing prepaid return labels, detailed instructions, and responsive customer support further streamlines the process and reduces friction for customers.
Nordstrom is known for having one of the most relaxed return policies. They don’t put a time limit on returns, instead handling them on a case-by-case basis.
9. Provide Helpful Customer Service
Finally, let’s talk about customer service. When customers experience issues with their purchases, they often feel angry and helpless. The customer experience you provide can help turn a negative experience into a positive one, decreasing feelings of frustration. This not only increases the likelihood of the customer returning, but it also decreases the chance that they’ll file a chargeback.
The first step? Provide multiple ways for customers to contact your team. Channels could include phone, email, live chat, and even social media. Then, when a customer reaches out, respond promptly and clearly. Offer a solution tailored to their needs, and reassure them that you’ll make changes to ensure their next purchase is more satisfactory.
Of course, too many customer service requests can become overwhelming and expensive. To save your team time, try adding an FAQ page to your website. This gives shoppers and customers a chance to find answers to their own questions before contacting your team.
Chewy's FAQ page includes answers to over 90 questions, covering topics like shipping, payments, and promotions.
How To Track Your Post-Purchase Experience Improvements
How can you know if your new post-purchase strategy is working? To gauge your success, measure metrics related to customer acquisition, retention, and engagement rates. As you see the following metrics improve, you’ll know you’re on the right track with your post-purchase efforts.
- Customer lifetime value
- Email open rates and click-through rates
- Number of product reviews
- Website traffic
- Conversion rate
- Customer retention
- Repeat purchases
- Return and exchange rates
In addition to reviewing hard data, it can be helpful to read through qualitative customer feedback. Take customer feedback seriously; even if you have a high average star rating, it’s worth reading negative reviews to learn what you could be doing better.
Enhance the Post-Purchase Experience With Norton Shopping Guarantee
Shipping plays an important role in the post-purchase experience, and having a package lost, stolen, or damaged is sure to ruin a customer’s day.
Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection by EasyPost allows shoppers to insure their purchases for a small fee, safeguarding them against shipping issues. With fast claims resolution, Norton Shopping Guarantee promotes a post-purchase experience that will keep customers coming back.
Add Norton Shopping Guarantee to your Shopify or WooCommerce store.
