17-04-2025
The Checkout Can Be Your Next Big Commerce Media Opportunity
Matt Conlin, Fluent's CCO & Founder, drives sales, marketing and partnerships. EY Entrepreneur of the Year, DMN's 2018 40 Under 40.
The checkout experience is one of the most undervalued opportunities in commerce media. While many businesses view it as the final step of the customer journey, it's actually a critical touchpoint to drive lasting engagement. By reframing the post-purchase moment, companies can leverage it to deliver high-intent, personalized offers that not only captivate customers but also unlock new revenue streams.
Here's how it works.
While on-site retail media traditionally focuses on pre-checkout placements like search and display ads, post-purchase ads create a unique opportunity to enhance the shopping experience—seamlessly extending engagement without disrupting the sale.
At checkout, shoppers are engaged in a buying mindset and have expressed trust in your brand. This is a natural time to deliver relevant, personalized offers that complement the shopper's purchase. For example, delivering an ad for a free trial of a music streaming service after a shopper has just purchased headphones.
Why do these ads resonate so strongly? When done right, post-purchase ads should align seamlessly with consumer intent and behavior. By leveraging first-party data (such as items in the cart and browsing history) and contextual signals, companies can craft tailored offers that feel like a natural extension of the shopping experience.
The bottom line? With shopper expectations for personalization on the rise, post-purchase ads deliver. According to a recent survey from my company, 63% of shoppers who encounter post-purchase ads after every online purchase report that these ads enhance their overall shopping experience.
Here is where the real value lies for companies embracing post-purchase advertising strategies:
• Increased Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): Targeted offers meet heightened consumer demand for more personalized brand experiences. Nearly nine in 10 consumers who describe post-purchase ads as improving their shopping experience through personalization or brand discovery are more likely to return for future purchases, driving continued engagement and increasing LTV.
• Incremental Revenue: Post-purchase ads can help increase average revenue per transaction, allowing retailers to monetize the checkout experience without interrupting the shopping journey. This is an effective way to drive incremental revenue growth while delighting shoppers with offers that deliver added value.
• Premium Brand Partnerships: The checkout is a great time to display non-endemic ads, which promote products or services outside of a retailer's core industry or product category. This ad strategy allows companies to both diversify offerings and unlock new revenue streams by partnering with new brands.
• Seamless Integration: Post-purchase ads offer an easy-to-implement option for retailers that may not have the time or resources to build out their own retail media network. And for retailers with an existing commerce media offering, post-purchase ads integrate seamlessly into the checkout experience.
To maximize the commerce media opportunity, it's important to use the checkout experience to prove you understand your customers.
My number one piece of advice is to prioritize personalization. Tailor offers to each shopper and avoid flooding them with irrelevant ads—something that deeply frustrates 67% of Americans. Focus on what will be a value-add to the shopper every time.
Next, design your checkout experience so that post-purchase ads are seamlessly integrated. They should feel native to your site, not intrusive.
Finally, experiment. Test various approaches—different offers, different messaging, etc.—and see what resonates the most with your audiences. Refine strategies based on performance data. This will be an ongoing process with continuous opportunities for optimization as consumer behaviors and preferences shift.
The checkout is no longer solely transactional. It's a strategic touchpoint in the customer journey. Companies that recognize this fundamental shift and innovate with thoughtful, data-driven advertising will be well-positioned to redefine customer engagement and drive sustainable growth. With post-purchase advertising, retailers can make the checkout experience much more engaging for consumers, build loyalty and boost revenue.
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