The Ecommerce Side Hustle: A Retailer’s Guide to Post-Transaction Advertising

Consider the moment a customer completes a purchase: the sense of satisfaction is set. The consumer is greeted by a confirmation page and maybe a “thank you” message. Typically, this is where the interaction ends. But what if this is just the beginning?

If you treat the post-checkout experience as a formality or afterthought, you’re missing out on an opportunity to monetize prime digital real estate. With post-transaction advertising, relevant offers served at the moment of purchase can deliver additional value to customers and unlock new profit streams for business owners.

What is Post-Transaction Advertising?

As a subset of the larger commerce media trend, post-transaction advertising serves targeted ads to consumers on ecommerce confirmation pages. The strategy is to leverage the precise moment when a customer has just made a purchase and is likely still in the buying mindset.

How Does Post-Transaction Advertising Work?

Post-transaction advertising allows publishers to target customers with ads that are relevant to their needs and interests. After the checkout experience, the customer receives tailored offers based on signals like demographics, buying history, and contextual data (i.e., information about the environment in which the ad is set to appear). These ads surprise and delight consumers with incentives like discounts, lower-cost or free shipping, or a free trial offer. 

Benefits of Post-Transaction Advertising

Helping to increase revenue and enhance the customer’s shopping experience, post-transaction advertising is a win-win for businesses and consumers alike. 

What Types of Businesses Can Launch a Post-Transaction Ad Offering?

If you’re an ecommerce company or publisher that facilitates online transactions (e.g., purchases, registrations, etc.) you’re likely a good candidate to launch post-transaction ads. Here’s a list of the most common types of retailers and publishers who can employ this offering:

• Retail/Ecommerce: Following the purchase of clothing, electronics, home goods, etc., customers receive ads for complementary products or exclusive membership offers.
• Travel and Booking: After booking a flight, hotel, or rental car, customers receive offers for travel insurance, activity bookings, or upgrades.
• Subscription Services: Upon signing up for a media streaming service, software subscription, or box subscription, users see ads for premium features or related services.
• Online Ticketing: After purchasing tickets for a concert or sporting event, customers receive offers for hotels, flights, and rental cars.
• Resale Marketplaces: Platforms where various sellers offer goods (e.g. Mercari or Poshmark) use post-transaction ads to promote similar or popular items, extended warranties, or seller-specific discounts.

Finding Success with Post-Transaction Advertising

Event ticket exchange and resale platform Vivid Seats has been employing post-transaction ads for several years. But without the right resources, managing this type of inventory  — from ensuring a cohesive brand experience to aligning offers to a consumer’s specific mindset — can seem a bit daunting. 

When Malik Chabou, Senior Partnership Manager at Vivid Seats, and his team implemented adflow – Fluent’s post-transaction advertising solution — they found that the ease of implementation made the difference. 

The ability to modify advertiser offers without subsequent code updates on our end was attractive,” said Chabou. “We were able to roll out to 100% of web traffic immediately after implementing and testing. The Fluent team continued to make UI adjustments and monitor performance on our behalf to maximize our take rate.”

Next Steps for Launching a Post-Transaction Ad Offering

With McKinsey & Company projecting that commerce media could drive $1.3 trillion of enterprise value in the US by 2026, a great opportunity lies ahead for ecommerce businesses and publishers. The good news is that post-transaction advertising offers a turnkey solution for building a commerce media muscle (minimal effort and resources required!). Here are our tips for launching your strategy:

• Establish clear goals. Are you looking to improve customer engagement? Increase average revenue per session on your site? Having a clear objective in mind will help to inform your post-transaction strategy. 
• Find a trusted partner. Partner with a company that will customize and test with you to ensure your integration is set up for success. Turnkey solutions (like adflow) that open new revenue streams without extensive in-house capabilities can help expedite the process. 
• Test and learn. Having insight into session metrics (e.g., views, clicks, and revenue) is crucial for optimizing ad units to better serve your audience and, ultimately, your bottom line.

Maximizing Revenue with Post-Transaction Advertising 

At its core, post-transaction advertising is about recognizing the value of each customer interaction and elevating its potential. It’s time for ecommerce businesses to start seeing their confirmation pages not as the end of a conversation but as a strategic asset that can drive additional value and deepen customer relationships.

Watch the video below to see how Fluent is helping brands drive value and unlock loyalty through the power of post-transaction advertising:

Ready to join Vivid Seats and dozens of other commerce partners driving incremental revenue with adflow? Get in touch with us here.

Check out more resources to get fluent in:

Commerce Media | Post-Transaction Advertising | Contextual Data