Who owns your customers after checkout? (Hint: It might not be you)
Your checkout runs smoothly. Orders confirm, payments clear, customers are happy — until they’re not. Because right after the sale, you quietly hand over your customer experience to third parties. Here’s how that hidden moment shapes loyalty, trust, and the real ownership of your customer relationships.
The quiet handover no one talks about
You’ve nailed your checkout. Carts are converting, payments go through fast, everything runs smooth. But what happens next — after the sale — can quietly undo it all.
But the moment your customer clicks “confirm order”, something subtle happens: you hand them off. To your payment provider. To your delivery service. To a system of third parties that now shape their experience more than you do.
That’s the quiet shift no one talks about — the point where your brand ownership starts to slip away.
The loyalty leak hidden in plain sight
Most webshops focus on getting the sale. But what happens after the sale matters just as much. Research shows that when customers get clear updates, tracking links, and transparent delivery communication, 88% say they’re highly satisfied. Without those touchpoints, loyalty drops fast:
· 71% of consumers contact customer service due to delivery issues.
· 58% abandon a brand entirely after three shipping delays.
Even the smoothest checkout can’t save a brand from a broken post-purchase experience. And this is where payment strategy, instant payments vs. paying later, matters more than people realize.
Payments can build loyalty (or break it)
In a recent webinar, Riverty’s Product Lead Steven Piet put it simply:
“Instant payments close the sale. BNPL keeps the relationship going — with reminders, updates, and support messages your customers value. Riverty handles the communication, but your brand stays the hero. You stay the name they remember.”
Why this matters more than ever? Returning customers spend 67% more than first-timers and convert at 60–70% (compared to just 1–2% for new ones). Bain & Company found that most online shoppers only become profitable after their fourth purchase.
So loyalty isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s survival.
If you lose control of those post-purchase touchpoints, your brand connection fades. Someone else gets the credit for a great experience — and next time, your customer might not come back.
From checkout thinking to loyalty thinking
The real finish line isn’t the checkout page. It’s the next purchase. Winning that next sale means staying visible, consistent, and emotionally connected after payment — even when third parties are involved.
That means:
· Keeping brand control across every post-purchase interaction.
· Thinking in terms of loyalty optimization, not conversion optimization.
The brands that get this right don’t just deliver products — they deliver experiences customers want to return to again and again.
Want to go deeper? Explore our whitepaper: Beyond the purchase button. Your guide to building loyalty after the buy.