Crafting A Checkout Experience That Encourages Repeat Purchases

A lot of brands' checkout flow kind of comes off like a used car salesman. "Buy more!" "Don't leave!" "Last chance!" I get it. You've worked hard (and spent a lot) to get that customer there. But here's what we learned at Obvi this year - your checkout flow should act more like a trusted advisor than a pushy sales rep. Think about it: The customer is already interested. They've added something to cart. Now they're looking for validation, education, and maybe a little reward for taking the plunge. At this moment, you have 2 paths: - You can hammer them with aggressive upsells and urgency... - Or you can guide them toward the best possible experience with your brand. We figured out how to build path 2, and it changed everything. Here's how we think about it →  First, we educate. Our checkout shows relevant reviews that speak to specific results and experiences. Not just "great product!" but real stories from our 250,000+ customers about their journey. Next, we validate.  Every product in-cart gets paired with our guarantee, FDA certification, and "Made in USA" badges. But we also explain WHY these matter for supplements. Trust isn't just about logos - it's about context. Then we reward smart choices.  Instead of just offering random bundles, we show volume discounts that actually make sense. "Get 3 months supply, save 20%" hits different when you've just read reviews from people talking about their 90-day transformations. The results have been eye-opening 👀 - Higher AOV (because people are choosing bundles that fit their goals) - Better retention (because they're starting with the right products) - Fewer support tickets (because we're answering key questions up front) But the biggest win? People are actually excited about spending more with us. The checkout isn't friction - it's part of their journey to better health. You CAN use scarcity and urgency and all that kind of stuff to up purchase intent. But you have to do it right. AfterSell by Rokt has been crucial for testing and optimizing all of this for us. Remember: Your checkout flow isn't just about moving product. It's about helping the customer buy the right stuff for them and building the foundation for a long-term relationship. Educate. Validate. Reward. Make it helpful, not pushy.  Guide, don't grind.

Here's the exact reason why 70%+ of carts are abandoned and forgotten: Imagine your customer is ready to buy something online, credit card in hand, and then... · The payment process is a nightmare · Their preferred payment method isn't available · The transaction gets declined for no apparent reason Guess what happens next? Cart abandoned. Customer lost. Game over. The solution? Having a payment orchestrator. Payment orchestration allows your company to provide a smooth, seamless experience that keeps customers coming back. Here's how: 1. Simplifying the checkout: → One-click payments → Guest checkout options → Autofill features Did you know that 70.19% of carts are abandoned due to complicated checkouts? That's a lot of lost revenue. 2. Enabling multiple payment options: → Credit cards (still king in many places) → Mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Wallet) → Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) → Subscription billing Fun fact: BNPL is projected to account for 13% of global e-commerce payments by 2024. That's huge. 3. Increasing security and trust: → Advanced encryption → Tokenization → Multi-factor authentication 64% of consumers are worried about online security. Show them you've got their back. 4. Adding personalization: → Tailored recommendations → Custom discounts → Personalized payment plans McKinsey says this can deliver 5-8x ROI on marketing spend. The results our clients are seeing: · Higher conversion rates · Increased customer loyalty · Expanded market reach · Boosted revenue In the world of e-commerce, the payment experience can make or break you. It's not enough to just accept money anymore – it's about creating an experience that customers love.

12 months ago, they were just another beauty brand, scraping by with $15K monthly revenue from 2 products. Not great. Today, they've: - Shot repeat purchases through the roof - 42xed their revenue, hitting $637K/month - Ballooned their subscriber base from a few 100 to 100,000+ This growth wasn't luck or a fluke. Here’s how we helped Trybello blow up: When Alex first reached out in 2023, TryBello was fresh out the gate, and grappling with 3 big issues: 1.⁠ ⁠Low customer repeat rates 2.⁠ ⁠Insufficient revenue to launch new products 3.⁠ ⁠Ineffective email marketing setup They wanted to be more than just a one-time purchase brand. They wanted loyalty. So, we got to work & quickly saw the cracks in their system. It was bare bones. A single abandoned checkout email from Shopify & zero automated post-purchase comms. No surprise their revenue from repeat purchases was low. Plus, their marketing was 100% acquisition-focused—aggressive pop-ups, discounts, ads. Great for getting first-time buyers, awful at keeping them. So here’s the playbook we ran: 1.⁠ ⁠A/B-tested offers for lead nurturing Started with a simple 10% off on pop-ups and then tested our way to “the one." We also began collecting ZPD via Formtoro’s forms with the goal of understanding our customers better. Unsurprisingly, their conversion rate went up by 2x. 2.⁠ ⁠Built trust post-purchase Created an end-to-end post-purchase flow. Added shipping updates, usage tips, and even a way to book a call with a skincare specialist. This didn’t just improve product usage; it opened doors for upsells. 3.⁠ ⁠Made abandoned checkouts strategic We treated first-time and repeat customers differently. This helped us to tailor our messaging, save margins by avoiding aggressive discounting and focus on strategic cross-sells. 4.⁠ ⁠Got smarter with data We tapped into tools like Retention & FormToro (a huge shoutout to Adam & 🏌🏼♂️Jon for these gems) to decode customer behavior. This let us launch products & campaigns that actually mattered to their buyers. 5.⁠ ⁠Optimized like crazy Every campaign we ran, good or bad, was a lesson. We studied the data, adjusted our strategy, and kept scaling what worked. Since then we’ve: - Sent 300+ email campaigns - ⁠Implemented 14 automated flows in Klaviyo - Collected zero-party data, which helped them to understand their audience better & inspire new product ideas. This wasn’t just a win for them. It was a win for us too. Their high standards & constant requests for “more emails, better designs, and sharper copy” pushed us to bring our A-game. Every single day. And every time we raised the bar for them, we raised it for ourselves too. The takeaway: Don’t just chase new customers. Double down on the ones you already have. Invest in their experience & they’ll come back for more. A huge shoutout to Alex for an incredible collab. Always rooting for you guys. PS: We’ve helped 150+ eCom brands do exactly this. Hit me up if you want to be the next.

When building a checkout flow, don’t just think about your offers, your USPs, or how much you’re trying to increase your AOV. Think about what your customer might be feeling at that moment. Then, try to build your experience around that. Here are the 4 common emotions to consider when trying to get a customer across the finish line: - Confusion - Trust - Anxiety - FOMO Confusion is an easy one. If your UX and checkout flow isn’t clear, some folks are going to abandon. Make sure things like costs, shipping times, and discount codes are direct, obvious, and easy to use. If you have in-cart offers, free shipping thresholds, and upsells, test them to be sure they aren’t clogging up your checkout and driving people away. Trust is big, especially for first-time purchasers. If they haven’t bought from you before and don’t know the brand, you’ll need to assure them you’re legit. You can battle this with trust badges and social proof. Trust badges can range from payment/security or payment badges, to “guaranteed money back” promises. Social proof can include “as seen in…” logos that list coverage of your brand by influencers or mainstream media. Or you can also add 5-star reviews that talk about how much they love the product or brand. Price anxiety is one of the most common listed reasons for abcarts. But it can go a bit deeper than that. No one wants to regret a purchase they’ve made once it arrives. That’s called cognitive dissonance, and you want to combat the anxiety around this for your potential buyers. This is a challenge in DTC because the person can’t physically interact with your product. So there’s that extra, subconscious layer of “Is this really for me?” Counter price anxiety with offers like free shipping thresholds and discounts. But you can also add things like a Free Gift With Purchase to increase the perception of value for money. Segmenting your audience and personalizing your messaging is a huge unlock here as well, which we are able to pull off with AfterSell by Rokt. If it feels like your product was made FOR THEM, you can get past the “not sure it’s for me” feeling. Last is fear of missing out (FOMO). If you’ve done your job, then hopefully the user is excited about buying. But even then they can sometimes use a little push. Scarcity or urgency messaging works here. Add a countdown timer for any bonus offers they may have opted into. Or talk about how quickly their SKU sells out. You can also encourage them to start their new journey TODAY so they can get to where they want to be faster. To sum it up: Confusion - clear, low-friction UX Trust - badges, social proof Anxiety - offers, discounts, personalization FOMO - scarcity & urgency If you aren’t testing ways to leverage these emotions in your checkout flow, you’re leaving money on the table.