You’ve optimised your website, created a slick checkout process, and convinced the customer to click the “buy” button. But the ecommerce customer experience doesn’t end as soon as the sale is made – this is just the beginning of the relationship.

This time of anticipation between when a customer checks out and when the product arrives is the new moment of truth for customers. This post-purchase customer experience is a tremendous opportunity for online retailers to deepen their relationships with customers, drive customer engagement, and build loyalty for their brands.

In this guide, we’ll explain the definition of a post-purchase customer experience in e-commerce, e-commerce customer experience trends, case studies, and 8 ways to improve your e-commerce customer experience in the post-purchase phase.

Let’s dive in.

The anatomy of e-commerce customer experience post-purchase

The post-purchase ecommerce customer experience includes any touchpoints a customer has with a brand from the moment they complete a transaction in your online shop. You may come across the term post-purchase customer experience as “post-purchase journey,” “customer post-purchase experience,” or “PPX”.

Brands understand the importance of the customer experience. According to Keap, brands that work to improve the customer experience see an average 42% improvement in customer retention, a 33% improvement in customer satisfaction, and a 32% increase in cross-selling and up-selling.

Getting it wrong can be a disaster for ecommerce businesses: 86% of consumers would leave a brand after as few as two poor experiences. However, many brands don’t invest enough in the customer experience after the purchase, a missed opportunity to grow an e-commerce business.

So, why pay attention to the post-purchase experience?

The post-purchase journey is when customers are open to receiving communications from your brand. They anticipate the product’s arrival and are keen to hear more from you through personalised emails or order-tracking text messages.

The product’s arrival is also a pivotal moment in the experience. Visual elements like packaging design and the all-important unboxing experience can transform how customers perceive your brand and create happiness.

With the right tactics and strategies, ecommerce businesses can create stellar post-purchase customer experiences that build trust, boost customer satisfaction, and drive repeat sales.

E-commerce customer experience trends

Let’s explore the latest ecommerce customer experience trends and how these trends shape post-purchase interactions:

1 Customers want personalised experiences

Customers want personalised shopping experiences throughout their ecommerce journey, right up to when they receive their products. Some 73%of customers prefer to buy from brands that use personal information to make shopping experiences more relevant.

Adding the personal touch to your post-purchase lets you make the customer feel special and start building a lasting relationship with your brand.

2 Shoppers expect a seamless shopping experience

No matter where they are or how they choose to shop, customers expect their shopping experience to be seamless. Most brands understand this, with 84% of retailers saying creating a consistent customer experience across channels is very important.

This extends to the post-purchase journey. Order Fulfillment is no longer a supply chain function separate from customer experience. With the rise of the omnichannel shopper, customers expect order Fulfillment and delivery to be a seamless part of their experience.

3 Returns are rising

According to Shopify, the average return rate for e-commerce is typically 20% to 30%. An Australia Post survey in 2023 revealed that a quarter of customers returned an online purchase in the last 12 months, with younger shoppers more likely to return items.

So, it only follows that shoppers want their returns to be as easy as possible.

Today’s customers want to control when, where, and how they return items. In research by Manhattan Associates, two-thirds (66%) of Australian shoppers stated they had a less than satisfactory experience with online returns in the past year, and 46% said they now negatively perceive a retailer following an online returns issue.

Here’s the kicker: 51% of shoppers were unlikely to continue shopping with a retailer should they encounter a complicated returns process.

The bottom line? It pays to get the returns experience right.

Case studies: Learning from the best e-commerce customer experiences

The best way to learn how to improve your ecommerce customer experience is to look to those already getting it right.

Let’s delve into some of the best customer experience ecommerce case studies:

Customer experience ecommerce case study #1: Sephora

Sephora’s customer experience is legendary and doesn’t stop at the checkout. This omnichannel retailer takes advantage of the post-purchase journey to delight customers and create loyal brand advocates.

The global beauty giant has developed a personalised, streamlined customer experience post-purchase across all channels: digital, mobile, and brick-and-mortar stores. After they click “buy,” customers receive a branded delivery tracking page to see their order status easily.

Sephora also sends personalised recommendations, deals and educational content to keep customers excited about their new products before they arrive.

Sephora’s returns process is seamless, too, giving customers an easy process to follow while providing the retailer with precise information about what is coming back, when, and why.

Takeaway: Create a seamless branded experience across channels to build brand loyalty and engagement from the start.

Customer experience ecommerce case study #2: Who Gives A Crap

How do you build customer loyalty when you sell toilet paper? Australian brand Who Gives A Crap has reimagined the post-purchase experience for the most functional, boring household purchase and created an experience that’s worth talking about.

Who Gives a Crap launched via a Shopify store in 2013, and throughout its significant growth and change, the brand has honed in on its quirky humour to delight customers at every stage of the customer experience.

One of the best parts of the post-purchase experience is the product packaging. The box is a brilliant marketing tool that the customer, delivery driver and neighbours can enjoy – there’s even a special note for delivery drivers. The cheeky copy gives customers ideas for what to do with the box (like building a spaceship), encouraging creative reuse and recycling.

At the bottom of the box, the company packages the rolls to remind the customers that it’s time to reorder. It’s a clever tactic to generate loyalty and far more effective than an email as it grabs the customer right at the moment of need (literally!).

Takeaway: Pay attention to the small things. Look at minor, low-cost tweaks that can delight customers and improve the customer experience.

Customer experience ecommerce case study #3: Booktopia

A home-grown ecommerce success story, Booktopia focuses on providing a post-purchase customer experience that delivers customers with convenience and certainty. Booktopia uses cut-to-fit packaging, which improves the delivery experience for customers by ensuring products arrive unharmed and reduces the environmental impact.

The e-commerce company has learned that certainty is more important to customers than same-day delivery. So, they provide customers with a delivery timeframe and enable users to enter their postcode for a more accurate delivery estimate.

Overcommunication is another element of the Booktopia post-purchase experience. The tracking code is automatically sent to the customer as soon as the order is processed, reducing the number of contacts to the customer service centre and giving customers more trust in the brand.

Takeaway: Know what your customers want in their post-purchase experience and find ways to give it to them. Like Booktopia customers, they might not want the fastest delivery but focus more on accurate timeframes and quality packaging.

The e-commerce customer experience map: navigating post-purchase

Creating the best ecommerce customer experience post-purchase starts with mapping the customer journey specifically for the post-purchase phase. By creating an e-commerce customer experience map, you can identify key touchpoints and opportunities to enhance your customer experience after purchase.

Mapping the journey means you can identify where customers are most likely to experience negative outcomes, such as late shipments, returns or exchanges, and design processes and content to address each problem and enhance the customer experience.

You can also see opportunities to promote relevant content. For example, you could use post-purchase tracking communications to provide content that helps customers easily set up their new purchases.

Once you’ve mapped out your customers’ post-purchase journey, think about:

What do they need at different stages of the post-purchase phase?
How can you best deliver what they need?
How can you give them more value in these moments to encourage further engagement?

Metrics that matter: Measuring post-purchase customer experience in e-commerce

The challenge with investing in the post-purchase journey is that the value can be difficult to quantify. Sometimes, there may not be an immediate impact you can see and quantify, but it might lead to an increase in spending, increased advocacy, and improved customer lifetime value.

Can you measure the post-purchase customer experience?

The answer is yes — but you need to use the right combination of customer experience metrics if you’re going to truly understand the experience and track your progress.

Here are some of the most essential ecommerce customer experience metrics to track:

Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS measures how likely a customer is to recommend your products. Measured on a scale from 0 to 10, the NPS question asks: How likely are you to recommend (this brand/product) to a friend? You can also ask a follow-up question to determine why they gave that score. It is a good representation of how satisfied customers are.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): The CSAT score focuses on customer satisfaction with your products. It is measured using customer feedback surveys and scored as a percentage,
Customer Effort Score (CES): This metric measures how easy it is to deal with your business. You can determine your CES through a survey asking shoppers to rate the ease of their interaction from “very easy” to “very difficult.”
Order accuracy rate: This metric measures how often your orders are filled correctly and without errors. The higher your order accuracy rate, the more satisfied customers you will have. When orders are fulfilled accurately, customers are more likely to return for future purchases and to recommend you to others.
On-time delivery: The on-time delivery metric measures the percentage of orders delivered on or before the promised delivery date. This critical metric helps you improve your customer experience post-purchase.

Enhancing customer experience with technology: e-commerce innovations

Technology plays a huge role in improving the post-purchase customer experience, from providing data insights about your customers and processes to helping you manage seamless deliveries and returns.

Here are some examples of technologies that can help you elevate the ecommerce customer experience post-purchase:

1 Customer relationship management (CRM)

CRM software helps you improve the customer experience by enabling you to understand your customers. A CRM system allows you to store and manage customer data in one central location, so you can use it throughout the customer journey to improve their experience. There’s no end to the number of ways you can use a CRM to improve the customer experience, from creating personalised post-purchase communications to speeding up the response time for customer queries and creating a more consistent experience across channels.

2 Returns management

Returns management software helps make the returns process easier for customers and e-commerce businesses. For example, eStore’s returns platform allows you to view all returns in one place and update customers in real-time when returns are received.

3 Order management

An order management platform ensures you know precisely the stage of every customer order. With eStore’s order management system, you can view lists of all customer orders and their status, see tracking numbers for orders in progress, and edit orders directly. This visibility ensures you can streamline order Fulfillment, provide tracking updates, and improve the customer experience.

4 Warehouse management system (WMS)

A warehouse management system helps ensure better accuracy when it comes to picking and packing items. This speeds up order Fulfillment, meaning customers receive their orders faster and without errors. eStore’s best-in-class warehouse management system enhances the accuracy and speed of order Fulfillment. Sales orders can be automatically integrated into the WMS and scheduled for picking and packing, which improves order Fulfillment efficiency.

Practical strategies: How to improve ecommerce customer experience post-purchase

Let’s dive into some strategies and tactics you can implement quickly.

Here are 8 ways to improve your post-purchase ecommerce customer experience:

1 Create a seamless returns process

‍Returns are an inevitable part of e-commerce, but returning a product doesn’t mean you’ve completely lost the customer. By offering hassle-free returns, you can improve the e-commerce customer experience and increase the chances of a repeat purchase: As many as 92% of consumers say they will buy from a brand again if the returns process is easy the first time around.

What does a seamless returns process look like? Self-service returns, clear return policies, and hassle-free return shipping labels will make returns easier for customers.

Getting this right comes down to your Fulfillment capabilities. For example, eStore is a 3PL provider that takes the pain out of returns management for ecommerce businesses. eStore tailors returns processes to your specific requirements and manages everything through our returns portal, simplifying the returns shipping process for your business and customers.

2 Double down on order tracking

The biggest factor in post-purchase success is communication, starting with order tracking. Customers want updates about their orders as they become available:83% expect regular communication about their orders, and 34% want that communication to come in a format other than email, such as SMS or messenger apps.

Ease customer stress by sending updates at critical moments of the Fulfillment process, such as when an order has been packed and when it’s with the delivery driver.

Tracking communications provides transparency to your customers, builds trust, and provides an opportunity for personalised marketing. Why not include personalised product recommendations, exclusive discounts, and loyalty program information to drive repeat purchases?

3 Send personalised emails before unboxing…

While customers eagerly await the delivery of their products, it is the best time to talk to them about their products and your brand, especially if your communications are personalised.

Use customer purchase data from your CRM to provide tailored product recommendations and educational and inspirational content based on their purchase. Selling beautiful homewares? Send inspirational pictures from other customers. Did the customer buy pet food? Share recommendations on other treats that their pet will love.

4 … and after

When you know the package has been delivered, send personalised emails to complete the post-purchase customer experience.

Some ideas include:

Send personalised tips on how to use and care for their new products.
Encourage customers to leave reviews and feedback — make it easy by including direct links and thanking them for their input.
Offer discounts on future purchases.
Deliver a how-to guide or tutorial on how to use or get the best from the product.

5 Use packaging inserts to drive engagement

Don’t rely on email to communicate with customers. Packaging inserts are a great way to add a personal touch to the unboxing experience and drive engagement.

Here are some ideas for packaging inserts:

Personalised greeting cards and thank you notes
Vouchers for their next purchase
Flyers with QR codes linking to a landing page or video specific to the purchase
Special instructions for using the purchase or recycling the packaging

This doesn’t need to add extra pressure on your team either. When you work with a 3PL provider, like eStore, you can send orders with branded and custom packaging with personalised greeting cards, freebies, promotional flyers, and more.

6 Create an exceptional unboxing experience

There’s nothing like the feeling when you open that package you’ve been excited about – or even one you’re not excited about (like Who Gives A Crap’s toilet paper!). As an ecommerce retailer, the unboxing experience is an incredible opportunity to create a lasting impression on customers.

As Booktopia has found out, even something as simple as choosing the right size of packaging can go a long way. Customers don’t want oversized packaging—it not only means the product may have been damaged by bumps during transit, but it also implies you don’t care about sustainability. On the other hand, the right-sized packaging tells customers that you care about their purchase arriving safely and sustainably.

Another big part of the unboxing experience is branded boxes, as Who Gives A Crap has shown. Be bold and creative with your boxes to show off your brand personality and create a memorable experience. Some 3PLs, like Amazon, will restrict you to their standard boxes, but others, like eStore, offer you many ways to express your brand and fulfil your promise.

7 Give customers the support they need where they want it

Give customers the support they need, the way they want it. Data from Microsoft shows that 66% of consumers have used at least three different channels to contact customer service. Some customers will still want to talk to a customer service representative on the phone, but others are more interested in live chat, messenger, or email.

Giving your customers the flexibility and convenience to choose the best channel for their needs is essential in building the best ecommerce customer experience.

Providing support on the channel the customer wants is only good enough if you have access to the latest information to give them. When a customer asks where their order is, your team needs the most up-to-date information and the technology to solve problems.

For example, eStore’s Express Platform gives you full transparency over stock availability and the status of deliveries and returns so you can satisfy customers’ enquiries. It also allows your team to edit orders directly. So, if a customer contacts you explaining that they urgently need to change their order because they typed the wrong delivery address, your team can log into the platform and make these changes yourself.

This kind of responsive, helpful service will drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.

8 Ask for feedback

Today’s customers want to be heard, and they want to hear other customers’ opinions. So, ask for their feedback. Reviews are a major purchase decision factor and a great source of ideas for improving customer experience.

The best time to send a feedback request is when the customer has just received their product and is in the honeymoon period. Be careful to ask for feedback only after the product has been received so you don’t risk a lower score.

Summary: the future of post-purchase customer experience in e-commerce

The post-purchase customer experience carries lots of untapped potential for ecommerce brands to connect with their customers, build brand loyalty, and drive repeat purchases. By streamlining order fulfillment, engaging shoppers, and creating moments of delight, ecommerce businesses can convert one-time shoppers into lifelong brand advocates.

At eStore, we know deliveries are a critical moment in the post-purchase customer experience, so our comprehensive warehousing and order Fulfillment solutions provide everything you need and everything your customers value – from branded packaging to multiple delivery options and returns.

Find out how our warehousing and Fulfillment solutions help you fulfil your brand promises and lift your customer experience.

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