5 Ways to Turn Retail Buyers Into Customers You Can Reach

Retail and marketplaces can put your product in front of millions of customers.

The problem comes after the sale.

The retailer knows who bought. You usually do not. That makes it harder to earn the second purchase without paying to reach the same customer again.

Today:
We break down five ways brands turn retail and marketplace buyers into customers they can reach again, and show AI Launch Codes members how to turn their custom recommendation engine into a working Shopify app.

Earlier, we showed how Magic Spoon captures Kroger customers using a receipt-based rebate.

But cashback is only one way to identify customers who buy through retailers and marketplaces.

Here are five more.

e.l.f. Beauty Squad members earn points even when they buy from another retailer.

Customers upload their receipts, receive points and connect the retail purchase to their e.l.f. account.

The idea: Extend your loyalty program to retail purchases instead of rewarding only direct orders.

Momofuku’s packaging QR code opens product tips, storage guidance and recipes.

After helping customers use the product, the page offers a free recipe book for their email.

The idea: Give customers something useful before asking them to subscribe.

Sapporo’s Ghost of Yōtei packaging includes a QR code that unlocks a branded reward inside the PlayStation game.

Customers scan the package and register to claim it.

The idea: Put exclusive digital content behind your packaging QR code.

Chamberlain Coffee invited retail customers to upload their receipts for the chance to have Emma Chamberlain redesign their coffee corner.

Brij reports that the campaign captured nearly 9,000 email addresses with a 24% scan-to-registration rate.

The idea: Turn proof of purchase into entry for an experience customers cannot normally buy.

Customers complete HexClad’s registration form to activate their lifetime warranty.

The form connects the customer’s details with the products, purchase date and retailer. A separate checkbox collects consent for marketing emails.

The idea: Use warranty registration to identify retail buyers, then invite them to join your marketing list.

The QR code, receipt upload or registration form is only the bridge.

The reason customers cross it is the value waiting on the other side:

Find the moment when retail customers still interact with your brand. Then give them a compelling reason to identify themselves.

The sale may belong to the retailer. The customer relationship does not have to.

AI Launch Codes

Last issue, we used AI to decide which products should be recommended together.

Today, we turned those recommendations into a working Shopify app.

For our skincare brand, SOLUNE, we built a functional pairing engine. It recommends products that complete the customer’s routine instead of showing generic bestsellers.

Add the Mineral Sunscreen to your cart and it recommends:

Depending on the product you add, the recommendation changes.

Recommendation apps charge a recurring fee that can increase with orders, traffic or revenue.

A custom engine removes that monthly bill.

The recommendations are generated, approved and saved inside Shopify. The storefront reads those saved pairings without paying for a new AI request on every visit.

You also control the logic.

A skincare store can complete a routine. A fashion store can build an outfit. A food brand can suggest useful pairings. A replenishable product can predict what the customer needs next.

Because you own the engine, you are not restricted to an app’s widget.

The same recommendations can appear:

You can even add it on the post-purchase page or in customer emails.

You control the products, logic, design and placement.

Better recommendations without another permanent app subscription.

Paid members can continue below to build the Shopify app using the recommendation engine created in Part 1.

Join ADWEEK on Sept 16 at 1:00 PM ET for a live session digging into how top brands and agencies are approaching Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This session features research from Tatari, the CTV advertising platform that surveyed marketers across the industry on timing, budget, and channel strategy.

Highlights from the survey:


• 50%+ of brands are launching holiday campaigns by October
• 6 in 10 brands are increasing BFCM budgets this year

In addition to the survey results, this session will feature specific takeaways from a marketing leader at MANSCAPED, breaking down their channel mix and approach. If you want the playbook before the season hits, now's the time to grab a seat.

Retailers can now see how often their products appear across Google’s AI Mode and AI Overviews. Check the new AI performance report before holiday demand peaks and identify where your product data is losing visibility.

Muse can browse stores, fill out forms and complete approved purchases using Link, with Shop Pay coming next. Your product information must now make sense to shopping agents as well as human visitors.

Amazon Shipping will add per-package surcharges from October 25 through January 16, peaking between November 22 and December 26. Add the new fees to your holiday margin forecast before finalizing promotions and free-shipping thresholds.

Shopify’s social team chose violence.

Enjoy the meme.

Bachan’s collects emails by offering a recipe book instead of 10% off.

The recipes give customers more reasons to use the sauce. More usage means the bottle empties faster, which can bring the next purchase forward.

Steal it: offer content that helps customers use your product more frequently or get more value from it.

Review your recent support conversations and find the question customers ask most often before purchasing.

Add the answer to the relevant product page, close to the decision it affects.

Why this works:

Your rep:

Report “Question Answered.”

Every repeated question is a clue. Answer it before the next customer needs to ask.

Your PageSpeed report is lying to you

Learn why PageSpeed Insights can flag things that aren’t real performance problems—and which issues are actually worth fixing.

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