From customer service to shipping and return logistics, your customers want a super convenient post-purchase experience. And you want to give them every reason to rave about your brand. 

Post-purchase platforms are designed to help you do just that. They can increase repeat purchases, enhance customer loyalty, drive customer retention and improve shopping experiences—even after the purchase is complete.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about post-purchase platforms: what they are, how they work, and why you need one for your business.

Enhance the post-purchase experience and create loyal customers with Route’s instant issue resolution and visual package tracking.

What is a post-purchase experience platform?

A post-purchase experience (PPX) platform is a software solution that optimizes the customer experience after a purchase is made. The goal is to increase customer satisfaction by giving them access to support, reducing shipping anxiety, and helping them to carry out post-purchase behavior like returns or reviews.

5 Benefits of using a platform for post-purchase customer experience

A post-purchase platform like Route can help you reduce support claims, enhance the customer journey, and improve customer retention. Let’s take a look at the benefits more closely.

1. Reduce support claims

Claims like “my package never arrived” or “I never received my refund” are time-consuming to resolve and can damage your brand reputation. A post-purchase customer experience platform can help reduce support claims and “where is my order?” (WISMO) queries by providing customers with real-time updates and notifications on their order status.

2. Boost sales

PPX platforms can increase sales through product recommendations, cross-selling, and upselling. You can set up engagement automations that are customized based on shopping data, so your customers’ needs are accurately met.

3. Improve customer retention

It costs seven times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. But a good PPX platform can build brand loyalty and lead to better customer retention. By keeping track of customer purchases and preferences, you can provide personalized communication, including product bundling and discounts tailored to each customer.

4. Higher customer lifetime value (CLV)

CLV is the total amount of money a customer spends on your products or services throughout their relationship with your brand. Knowing this number can help you identify how much to invest in existing customers vs. acquiring new customers.

Reward programs, loyalty programs, and other customer retention strategies can all increase CLV. Use shopping data to establish key post-purchase touchpoints throughout the buyer journey and use your PPX platform to reach out at the perfect moment.

5. Improved crisis management and delivery experience

Lost in transit, damaged, or delayed orders can all lead to customer service disasters. A good PPX platform proactively addresses package anxiety and reduces support tickets by sending real-time shipping notifications across multiple channels and touchpoints. 

For example, when a customer’s order ships, they’ll receive an email, text message, or push notification with all the relevant tracking information. Or if their order is delayed, they’ll receive an update with a new estimated delivery date.

With Route, you can also offer instant issue resolution and package protection to protect your brand reputation and keep customers happy (more on this later!).

What to look for in a post-purchase platform

Features like order tracking, customer profiles, and post-purchase communications are essential for customer engagement. But there are a few other things to keep in mind when choosing a platform for your business:

1. Package tracking

Real-time updates on order status keep customers informed and alleviate any anxiety they may have about their purchase. Route’s visual package tracking feature ensures customers know where their packages are at every stage of the supply chain. This reduces customer queries and takes the pressure off your support team.

2. Omnichannel shipping notifications

Sending omnichannel notifications means important updates will go wherever your customer is most likely to see them, whether it’s push notifications, SMS, or email. This ensures that your customers always have the most up-to-date information about their purchases. 

You can control and set triggers for each type of notification, and decide when and how often your customers receive updates. For example, you can set a trigger to send an email notification when an order is shipped and a push notification when the order is delivered.

3. Integrations with your ecommerce stack

A post-purchase customer experience platform should integrate with the other systems you use to run your business, such as your ecommerce platform, logistics provider, and CRM. You can automate processes and save time by eliminating manual data entry.

For example, Route offers a suite of integrations with popular ecommerce platforms in its Merchant Install marketplace. The API also allows for custom integrations, so you can connect Route to any other system you use.

4. Package protection

When customers purchase high-value items, they expect a certain level of care and protection. Offering package protection helps instill confidence in your customers and show that you’re committed to their satisfaction.

With Route, you can add a simple widget to checkout allowing customers to opt in for package protection. If their purchase is lost, stolen, or damaged in transit, a replacement or refund will be covered by Route (meaning a second sale for you!). We’ll also cover the cost to make your shipment carbon-neutral.

5. Shipping and delivery analytics 

Data-driven decision-making is essential for any business. Analytics like total orders, issues per order, engagement rate, and customer satisfaction help you track your performance and identify areas for improvement in the post-purchase journey.

Look out for a PPX platform that gives you analytics like: 

You should also be able to set roles and permissions for your support team, so they can access the data they need without getting lost in other business metrics.

6. Create your brand identity

Your post-purchase customer experience is an extension of your ecommerce brand. This is your opportunity to show customers who you are, what you stand for, and how much you care about their satisfaction. You should be able to customize your PPX platform to match.

Route: The next-gen post-purchase experience platform transforming ecommerce

Optimizing the post-purchase experience can improve customer satisfaction and retention which ultimately leads to more sales and a stronger bottom line for your business. It’s a chance to turn a one-time buyer into a lifelong fan.

Route beats most post-purchase experience platforms out there because we combine package tracking, package protection, and customer engagement all in one app. When you partner with Route, you get a whole suite of PPX features, including:

The best part? Route is built for growth, so you can easily scale your business with us.

Create loyal customers with Route’s instant issue resolution and visual package tracking experience.

Frequently asked questions about post-purchase experience platform