An-Hacking : episode 9 🛰️
Post-purchase strategies, Shopify apps, Perplexity Shopping, Augmented Reality on product pages, and the welcome sequence of PATYKA with Tom from Standard Ecom.
Hello everyone! 👋
We’ve made it: this is the final episode of An-Hacking for 2024, and it’s undoubtedly the most ambitious in terms of vision. It perfectly wraps up this year of e-commerce insights by tackling topics that, in my opinion, will define the major trends of the coming months. 🏄♂️
Thank you all for your support and feedback! I plan to take advantage of December and the holiday season to reflect on the future of this newsletter (big announcements coming early 2025!).
Before diving into this episode, I need your help—this is a fully organic project, and we already have 422 readers (with an open rate of ±70% and 1K views for the previous episode). My goal is to reach 500 subscribers by 12/31, so don’t hesitate to share An-Hacking with your teams and contacts!
Best 🫶
On the agenda today:
Post-purchase: A new growth lever?!
My final Shopify app medley of 2024 😍
Perplexity Shopping has landed 🔥
Interlude musical
Augmented Reality with Shopify 🧑🚀
The PATYKA case with Standard Ecom 😎
Bonus: An e-book to close out the year 💡
Let’s go 👇
1. Le post purchase : new growth lever ?
I wanted to kick off this episode with a hot topic: post-purchase.
Let’s start by answering the question in the title of this section: NO! Post-purchase is not a new growth lever—it’s actually a lever that has always existed.
The goal of this section is to explore the new uses tied to post-purchase 🤓
Historically, post-purchase refers to the experience brands deliver after a purchase, encompassing all actions aimed at fostering customer satisfaction and, consequently, retention. These actions validate everything worked on before the purchase—like reassurance (return policies, delivery times), good targeting, consistent landing pages, and relevant product information—helping consumers feel increasingly confident and reassured about their recent purchase. This typically includes:
👉 A branded tracking page
👉 Customer support availability
👉 Notifications for shipping and delivery tracking
👉 Ease of return management
But post-purchase has also seen new use cases emerge in recent months, aimed at helping brands capitalize on the act of purchase itself, particularly to increase the AOV at a time when consumer interest in the brand is at its peak.
Here are two "new" post-purchase use cases to explore: 👇
🔹 Post-purchase upsell flows to increase AOV:
Yes, upsell flows have existed for a long time, but they’ve traditionally been embedded on-site, meaning they appear immediately after payment validation. Personally, I always leave the site once my purchase is confirmed, which doesn’t give the brand time to propose adding a product to my order.
This issue was discussed by Guillaume from WAX, who featured in the previous episode. He highlighted a solution for brands to increase AOV with an off-site upsell flow, solving the problem of users leaving the site after payment.
Concrete example:
A consumer completes their payment, having entered their personal information (phone number, email address, etc.), and then exits the site. Shortly after, they receive a WhatsApp message informing them they can add product C to their order #1078, which already includes products A and E. The order is temporarily “held” for 30 minutes at the logistics center, providing a window for adding products.
With an open rate of over 90%, there’s a 9-in-10 chance the customer will open the message (then it’s up to the brand to optimize the message and offer).
🔹 Converting one-off purchases into recurring orders:
One of the major challenges with subscription models is what could be called “passive orders”—where the subscriber passively shows interest in the brand, as they’re already convinced. Retention is naturally easier in these cases, so the focus should be on leveraging upcoming orders (i.e., the next subscription cycle).
The goal is to create a dedicated upsell flow for consumers whose next subscription delivery is approaching. The flow would recommend additional products—preferably complementary items and/or those that could transition to recurring plans—to be added to the upcoming delivery.
This approach helps reduce relative logistical costs by increasing the AOV of an already placed order that hasn’t yet been shipped or “paid for” (since the card details are already saved, the consumer won’t need to re-enter them).
2. Last Shopify app medley of the year
This year, I’ve shared numerous Shopify applications with you—the result of constant monitoring and exploration on the Shopify App Store (which, let’s be honest, desperately lacks a “list” feature to save apps for later).
For this final episode of 2024, I wanted to share one last medley of 3 apps that stood out to me (there’s no particular order of preference):
1️⃣ Intelligems : if there’s one topic that has dominated 2024, it’s A/B testing—the growing drive among brands to test two purchasing journeys, two different CTA positions, four alternative wordings… and so much more!
Intelligems addresses numerous merchant needs and allows you to:
Test themes, content, and landing pages: this ensures the purchasing journey is continuously optimized and as relevant as possible.
Test pricing: Not just for products but also for delivery fees, allowing you to analyze and pinpoint critical "thresholds" (e.g., does free shipping from €50 have a significant impact compared to €80?).
Understand and analyze metrics: Identify which journey generates the highest revenue, measure the impact of Journey A on AOV, and calculate revenue per visitor—there are over 100 metrics to track on a dedicated dashboard.
2️⃣ Essential Announcement Bar (+1400 5/5 reviews and only 2 rated 1 🤯): the banner has become a must-have in e-commerce. It displays a reassuring message that serves as a leverage point throughout the purchasing journey, such as free shipping above a certain amount or highlighting "Made in France" production (brand DNA emphasized from the get-go).
The actual message matters less here; what’s critical is how banners are designed and positioned to act as conversion drivers. EAB offers the ability to:
👉 Create various banner types: Fixed, scrolling (less recommended nowadays), rotating announcements (like a carousel), or animated/sliding banners.
👉 Personalize banners: From templates to colors (simple or gradients with angle options), typography, embedded CTA color, and even adding icons from a self-serve library.
👉 Position banners almost anywhere on the site: In the header on the homepage, on the cart page, or even on product pages.
👉 Automatically translate banners based on consumer geolocation.
All of this is natively mobile-friendly, with pricing starting at just $7/month 🥵
3️⃣ Carro : those who know me well (or at least those with whom I discuss these topics) know that the 'Collective' feature is, in my view, the most groundbreaking innovation coming to Shopify (already available in the US). It enables brands to transform into marketplaces by selling products from other Shopify merchants.
This is exactly what Carro offers through its application: becoming a marketplace by connecting to other DTC brands and allowing them to feature their products on your site, with a fully integrated split payment system.
For example: I am Brand A and sell products for curly hair, and I want to partner with Brand B to offer a cross-sell opportunity with their hairbrush directly on my site.
By enabling this interconnection between Shopify stores, Carro creates an additional sales channel while eliminating the 'shipping' aspect, which remains managed by the original brand owner. It’s a major innovation!
FYI: the Blendjet brand increased its AOV by 80% by activating Carro – they cross-sell their products (like the blender) with products from other Shopify merchants (such as protein powder from the Happy Viking brand) 👇
3. Perplexity Shopping has landed
Perplexity has undoubtedly given me one of the best online experiences of my life, thanks to their latest innovation: Perplexity Shopping.
First, a little background: Perplexity is a conversational search engine that uses LLMs (Large Language Models) to recognize and generate text. The free version of the tool generates responses based on an in-house LLM model, while the PRO version also integrates GPT-4, Claude 3.5, Llama 3, and Grok-2. Founded in 2022, Perplexity now boasts 15M monthly users.
Earlier this year, Perplexity raised $165M, boosting its valuation to $1B+ (among its investors: Nvidia, Databricks). Just a few days ago, it raised another $500M, raising its valuation to over $9B+ 🥵.
The reason I’m sharing this with you today is Perplexity’s latest innovation, the Shopping feature. This new conversational browsing experience does more than just provide answers to my query, such as “I’m looking for a waterproof backpack.” It also presents a product listing, compares the items by highlighting pros and cons, and includes CTAs that direct me to the websites offering these products, like this 👇
The most exciting innovation linked to Perplexity Shopping (and of particular interest in the context of An-Hacking), available exclusively through the Perplexity PRO plan, is the integration between the platform and Shopify Plus merchants' websites (currently US-only).
Let me explain: if I ask Perplexity PRO to identify a sunscreen for me, and it suggests the Invisible Shield SPF50 by Glossier, and if Glossier (a Shopify Plus merchant) has connected its store to Perplexity, I will be able to complete my purchase in one click directly from Perplexity via ShopPay! Payment is also available in one click, natively through Perplexity using the Pay by PRO option.
In summary, for a Shopify Plus merchant connecting their store to Perplexity, the Perplexity platform becomes a new sales channel, similar to Mirakl for B2B orders or a POS system for physical stores.
The dual benefit for brands lies in:
1️⃣ Leveraging Perplexity’s powerful AI to recommend products in response to user queries.
2️⃣ Capturing sales through a new acquisition channel.
For now, this connection is live only in the US, but I’m keeping an eye on it and will keep you updated as soon as it becomes available elsewhere. 🏄♂️
Musical interlude
For this 9th and final episode of 2024 (the next one will be out at the beginning of January), I wanted to share with you a very personal track, because, in a way, it’s the one that made me “fall in love” with the genre 🫣.
As I mentioned in a previous episode, I’m passionate about electronic music—techno is and always will be my first love. And as with every musical genre, I always remember the one track that pulled me in: One Day by Jeru the Damaja for hip-hop, or Time Space by Aux88 for electro.
In the case of electronic music, the styles are incredibly diverse. Assault by Daft Punk (produced in 1994, before they released their Homework album) is probably my all-time favorite techno track. On the other hand, Hackney Parrot by Tessela (aka Ed Russell)—whom some of you might know better by his alias Overmono, a project he shares with his brother—was my gateway into jungle, a style that emerged in the early to mid-1990s from the hardcore and techno scenes (don’t worry, I’ll circle back to “hardcore” another time—I don’t want to lose you just yet!).
I first heard Hackney Parrot in 2013, in a club, played by a friend—and for me, it was a revelation. That moment marked my plunge into electronic music. This track is absolutely monumental, with a bassline so characteristic of UK electronic artists, although I must warn you, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea!
More than just good listening—I hope this is a great discovery for all of you 👇
4. Product pages and Augmented Reality
Like me, you’ve probably come across several posts recently highlighting the opportunities linked to the rise of augmented reality (AR)—Apple has already made waves with VisionPro, which we’re expecting big things from in the coming years.
E-commerce isn’t being left behind, with significant advancements in augmented reality (AR) technology. So, I thought it would be important to shed some light on the developments I’ve discovered over the past few weeks 👇
a) RAINS introduces AR on its product pages
The brand was featured in a LinkedIn post and then in an entire chapter of Episode 6 of An-Hacking, following the launch of their brand-new site, powered by Grafikr (tech) and Good City (design) on a Shopify environment 🖤
RAINS has taken the mobile experience even further by offering a visualization of a product in 3D, directly in the room where the user is located. All you need to do is visit a product page and toggle between 3D (viewing the product from any angle), Video, and finally AR—which is the feature we’re focusing on.
The AR functionality allows users to open a 3D model on their mobile devices and view the product via their phone’s photo/video capture interface. The product appears in the image with astonishing texture and remains fixed in the depth of field (if you move your device, the product stays precisely where you initially placed it). You can also move it around to imagine its size in the space. It's fascinating—the dimensions of the product are perfectly maintained!
b) Atelier Loupiote lets you visualize a light fixture in your living room
Another brand integrating AR into its shopping journey is Atelier Loupiote, a French lighting brand created by my friend Maxime Dubois.
I came across this innovation in one of Maxime's recent posts and immediately recognized how relevant this feature is for the brand. It’s much harder to imagine how a light fixture will look in your living room compared to, say, trying on a pair of shoes. The 3D view of the product allows you to examine it from every angle and visualize it in the room of your choice via a simple QR code (if navigating on desktop, which redirects to mobile).
For this innovation, Atelier Loupiote partnered with Viewly, a 3D studio that enables brands to showcase all product variations, drastically reduce shooting costs, and provide a 3D visualization experience (with no file downloads required on the consumer side). You can check out a preview of the desktop experience right here 👇
And for those using Shopify as their CMS, I recently discovered Arty, a solution available on the app store.
Built on a plug-and-play model that we all love, Arty offers an entry-level plan at €19/month, allowing you to upload 3D files for up to 50 products. There’s no limitation on the number of views, and it supports all major 3D model formats, including obj, fbx, stl, 3ds, json, gltf, and glb.
5. PATYKA case with Tom from Standard Ecom
For this final episode of the year, I wanted to hand the pen to an expert, giving them full freedom over the topic to be discussed—the overarching theme being marketing automation 💌
Today, it’s Tom from Standard Ecom, whom many of you likely already know and follow on LinkedIn, here to share insights about PATYKA 👇
PATYKA: Doubling Revenue from Their Welcome Sequence
In email marketing, the key to achieving outstanding performance lies in crafting relevant communications. The goal? Sending the right email, to the right person, at the right time.
And the secret ingredient? Segmentation.
Case Study: The cosmetics brand PATYKA reached out to us to overhaul their email sequences. On their website, a pop-up targets new visitors with an incentive for their first purchase. After entering their email address, subscribers receive a welcome sequence comprising several emails introducing the brand, showcasing best-sellers, and more.
The Problem: Since these visitors are only prospects, PATYKA lacked information about them, making their welcome sequence generic and less relevant.
Objective: Deliver a personalized experience to prospects to boost conversions from the welcome flow.
The Solution: We added a second step to the pop-up, asking visitors about their primary skincare concern. Collecting this additional data after the initial step doesn’t negatively impact the submission rate. Even if the prospect skips Step 2, the email is still captured.
With this extra data, we could tailor the content to match the visitor’s response, making communications far more precise. For example, if a visitor's skincare concern is “Imperfections,” one of the emails in the welcome sequence would be titled: “Flawless Skin in 5 Steps.”
By basing the content on their primary skincare concern, everything—offers, email content, and subject lines—becomes significantly more relevant to the recipient.
The Result for PATYKA: A 2x increase in revenue from their welcome sequence 🤯
View the full case study 👈 (FR content)
Standard Ecom - CRM & Email Marketing Agency
Our Clients: Chloé, The Bradery, JIMMY FAIRLY, Mustela, Balibaris, NV GALLERY, PATYKA (and 50+ others)
Bonus : an e-book to end the year
The sheer volume of content produced by solution providers, agencies, and players in the e-commerce and retail ecosystem is absolutely massive. It can quickly become overwhelming for those who haven’t yet mastered the art of filtering through it all (myself included!).
This is, in a way, one of An-Hacking’s missions: to uncover the best hacks (and content), summarize them, and share them with you 🤓.
So, I couldn’t wrap up this episode without mentioning this excellent e-book, created by the team at Piment, a Shopify agency based in Bordeaux. It’s packed with tips to help e-retailers maximize their revenue during the holiday season. This guide is a true treasure trove for anyone looking to quickly optimize key aspects of their onsite purchase journey, and it’s incredibly comprehensive!
Here are three highlights I found particularly valuable:
🔹 Different Types of Bundles:
A fixed bundle with a pre-set mix defined by the brand (allowing the consumer to adjust product options).
A multipack that includes multiple units of the same product (again, with the option to adjust).
A mix-and-match option that lets consumers build their own bundle. 😎
🔹 Collections Tailored for Gift Purchases:
The holiday season is prime time for gift buying (unlike most of the year, when we shop primarily for ourselves). Creating “gift ideas” collections is highly relevant, segmented by recipient type, possibly with a budget filter, and featuring labels like “best seller” or “recommended” to catch visitors’ eyes.
Bonus: Boost your traffic with seasonal keywords like “gifts for her” or “gifts under $X”, which perform particularly well during the holidays.
🔹 Integrating Reassurance Elements:
Many orders are placed at the last minute. Clearly communicate a cut-off date for guaranteed delivery by December 25th (which falls midweek this year). Be transparent about potentially extended shipping times due to the season’s volume—better to set expectations than disappoint.
Remember, a well-executed reassurance strategy across the purchase journey can significantly reduce pressure on your customer support team by preemptively answering common visitor questions onsite!
To read the full e-book, you can find it here 👈 (FR content)
And if you’ve made it this far, it means you’ve read it all (and that’s amazing!) – next episode drops at the end of January! Thank you so much for your support, and don’t hesitate to let me know what you thought of this Episode 9 😍