How to Build High‑Converting Post‑Purchase Funnels: 8 Tips For Shopify Marketers

Although having a shopper place an order may feel like you’ve already reached the end goal, the journey doesn’t end there.

A whopping 83% of consumers believe there’s room for improvement in the post-purchase process, yet so many Shopify marketers fail to consider this part of the funnel.

This stage can be a huge contributor to repeat custom and building trust in your brand, so it’s time to reconsider your post-purchase process and see exactly how you can use it to achieve more conversions.

Why is the Post-Purchase Funnel so Important?

The post-purchase funnel is a crucial aspect of the customer journey, yet one that is often overlooked by marketers.

One of the main reasons that the post-purchase funnel is so important is the customer retention opportunities. 

See, retaining customers is significantly cheaper than finding new ones, as the trust has already been built and people are more willing to part with their money. 

In fact, existing customers spend up to 67% more than new ones – a huge income stream that should not be missed out on.

By building up a loyal customer base and bringing shoppers back to your Shopify store in the near future, this is also bound to reflect on your brand image. 

If potential new customers are reading reviews from long-term customers who have returned time after time, it will make them feel more confident in your store and willing to give it a try for themselves.

From a behind-the-scenes business perspective, building up a loyal customer base provides invaluable insights into the behaviors of your target audience. 

Being able to see what actions people take and what motivates them to return. 

It allows you to tailor your post-purchase funnel to maximize conversions and make the user experience as seamless as possible.

8 Tips for Building Post-Purchase Funnels that Convert

If you feel your Shopify store could benefit from new and improved post-purchase funnels, there are various strategies you can trial to help ensure the checkout page is not the end of the customer journey.

Making small changes to your site by utilizing optimized ecommerce website templates means you can encourage customers to return to your store in the future and turn into loyal visitors.

Here are eight tips that you can try out for yourself…

1. One-click upsells

Once a customer has completed their purchase, their buying mindset offers an unmissable opportunity. Since they are already shopping, the intent means it is a great time to catch their attention with post purchase upsells that relate to the purchase they just made.

Instead of just assuming customers will click off the site once their purchase has been made, consider how you can optimize your order confirmation page to keep their interest. 

Whether that be a personalized selection of products that directly relate to the purchase that was made or a selection of best-sellers from the wider product category, these can be great ways to utilize the momentum of the buyer on their shopping spree.

By allowing these additional products to be added to the existing order in just a click, without having to go back through the checkout process and paying another delivery fee, they will be more likely to make impulse purchases.

Take the brand Native Deodorant, for example. After buying a regular‑sized deodorant on Shopify UK, the brand offers its customers the option to add a similar item in the same range to their basket with one click, without returning to the cart.

Doing this helps ND leverage that “just bought” mindset, keeping the friction very low.

2. Thank you page upsells

The thank you page that your customer sees once they’ve placed an order is a valuable opportunity for you to keep the buyer journey going.

By using this opportunity to suggest relevant products that will complement their purchase or encourage repeat orders while they are still keen, you can maximize conversions and make the most of having their full attention.

Tools like ReConvert make it easy for you to customize your thank-you page with targeted upsell offers that are tailored to individual buying behaviors. By taking a small step to encourage upsells, you can increase your average order value without having to plan elaborate campaigns.

3. Email/SMS upsells

Once a customer has made their purchase and left the website, it shouldn’t end there. Make the most of the opportunity to draw them back in and expand their order with a follow-up email or SMS.

Following their order, reminding them of any products that they browsed but didn’t buy, or any product recommendations to complement their purchase, will bring your brand back into the forefront of their mind and increase the possibility of an upsell.

This could also be a prime opportunity to offer exclusive discounts. If the shopper didn’t add particular items for cost-related reasons, having access to a discount code could be the push they needed.

Bloom and Wild know precisely how to use an email upsell to build loyalty.

Their loyalty/customer follow‑up emails include recommendations of items that complement past purchases, encouraging repeat orders. 

This example above even includes a free £5 off the customer’s next order. A brilliant way to draw leads back to the shop.

4. Keep on top of order updates

Following an order being placed, we are all guilty of refreshing the tracking information page and keeping an eye on the front door as we eagerly wait for the delivery to arrive.

Keeping your customers informed at every step of the process is a great way to create a positive user experience and build trust between the customer and your brand. From an initial order confirmation to regular shipping updates, these automated emails can be very valuable to the recipient and ensure that their expectations are managed from the get-go.

Since the recipient is awaiting their order and is likely to welcome the updates, automated order follow-up emails actually see almost a 50% open rate and have a higher conversion rate in comparison to regular email campaigns – an opportunity worth making the most of.

To encourage further conversion and help build stronger relationships with new customers, these emails are also a great opportunity to add further value. Consider sending out personalized emails that offer usage tips for their new product or suggest other products they might like to build the connection and encourage them to come back.

5. Time-sensitive deals

A countdown timer automatically gets people into action as they feel a sense of urgency. Using this psychology when designing a post-order webpage can work in your favor and open up new windows of opportunity.

Giving customers an exclusive discount code or access to flash sales once they have placed an order will make them feel like they have a unique opportunity that is exclusive to them – a tough opportunity to pass up on.

Since many customers wouldn’t necessarily be considering placing another order anytime soon as they have already purchased what they needed, creating a time-sensitive promotion will make them feel like they have to act fast and increase the chance of them purchasing again.

6. Promote your loyalty scheme

We all know that loyalty schemes are a great way to improve customer retention and encourage repeat purchases, but many Shopify businesses fail to utilize the opportunity during the post-purchase phase.

This is a great opportunity to encourage loyalty scheme sign-ups as customers have already placed an order so they will see the benefits firsthand. Whether you offer free shipping on future orders, points in their app wallet, or exclusive discounts on their next order, these incentives will be hard to turn down.

Space NK is a great brand example of this. Their loyalty programme offers points, birthday gifts, and even early access to some of their newest releases.

Encouraging customers to join your loyalty scheme and collect the points they earned through the order they just placed will increase the likelihood of them keeping the momentum going and returning in the near future to keep building towards their rewards.

7. Collect customer feedback

When a customer has just finished making a purchase, they have been through the entire sales funnel, making their feedback on the process invaluable. By asking for feedback, you can collect information which can be analyzed to help inform future improvements to your Shopify store.

Common review tools such as Ali Reviews and Rivyo Product Review can be embedded into your thank-you page using ReConvert Integration – a great way to build up reviews for your store and gain valuable feedback.

The trick is to keep the process as quick and simple as possible. By asking for a simple star rating, leaving an open feedback box, or running through a few questions that can be answered on a scale from 1–10, customers are less likely to be deterred.

By learning what customers thought of the shopping journey right after they made an order, you will be getting insights while the experience is fresh in their mind. These will help you identify any bottlenecks or areas of frustration that can be improved.

As well as offering important insights, this strategy could also be an effective way to prevent negative reviews. If shoppers experience any difficulties throughout the process, having the opportunity to share their thoughts on the website will deter them from heading straight to review platforms.

8. Gather birthday data

Following an order, you have the opportunity to play the long game and plant the seed for future conversions.

By setting up the ReConvert widget that collects customers’ birthday information on the thank you page, automated emails can be sent out in the lead up to their big day. 

Whether this contains an exclusive discount code or gives them a free gift with any order they make, a personalized email will make them feel valued and more likely to place an order.

Collecting birthday data through the thank you page is an easy way to minimize disruption and get access to their information in a natural way.

Use these Post-Purchase Funnels Tips Today!

As a Shopify marketer, realizing that the checkout process is not the end of the funnel opens up a world of opportunity. Utilizing opportunities that many of your competitors will fail to utilize is an invaluable chance to keep hold of new customers and see them return time after time.

By personalizing upsell opportunities, setting up automated order updates, offering limited-time deals, promoting loyalty schemes, and collecting customer feedback, you make it harder than ever for people to click off of your store once they have placed their order.

Download a free trial of the ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell app on the Shopify App Store to get started on optimizing your post-checkout process and embedding new functionalities into your Shopify store.