Latest / The Retention Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Email, SMS, and Loyalty for Repeat Customers / How a Pet Brand Uses Post-Purchase SMS to Boost Repeat Rate by 30 Percent
Transcript
- Lucas: You order a bag of dog food, it shows up on your porch, you bring it inside, and then… silence. Most brands treat the moment after delivery as mission accomplished. But one pet brand we looked at this week realized that the 24 to 48 hours after a package lands is actually the most valuable window they weren't using. Luna: And you're talking about Paws & Co., right? The DTC pet food company that started in like 2019? Lucas: Exactly. Paws & Co. They sell premium dog food and treats, subscription and one-off. In early 2025, they noticed their repeat purchase rate among one-time buyers was stuck around 22 percent. That's not terrible for pet food, but they wanted it closer to 40. So they looked at their post-purchase flow and realized they had nothing after the 'your order shipped' email. Luna: So they built an SMS sequence that triggers when the package is delivered. What did they put in those first texts? Lucas: They tested three different approaches. The first was a simple 'thanks for your order, here's a 10 percent off coupon for your next bag.' The second was a product care message — how to store the food properly, how to transition your dog's diet. And the third was a hybrid: a care tip plus a surprise reward that wasn't a discount — it was a free sample of a new treat included in the next order. Luna: And the hybrid won. I read the case study — they saw a 30 percent increase in repeat rate within 90 days from that group. Lucas: Yeah, the care tip plus surprise reward outperformed the discount by almost 2 to 1. The pure discount lift was about 12 percent. The care tip alone was around 18 percent. But the hybrid — care tip plus the promise of a free sample — hit 30 percent. And the key detail is timing: they sent the text 24 hours after delivery, not immediately. They tested same-day, 24 hours, and 72 hours. The 24-hour window was the sweet spot. Luna: That makes sense because the customer has already used the product once or twice, so the care tip is actually relevant. If you send it right away, they haven't even opened the bag yet. Lucas: Right. And if you wait three days, the moment has cooled off. Their data showed that engagement — click-through rate on the SMS — peaked at 24 hours. The care tip about transitioning food — 'mix old and new gradually over 7 days' — had a 34 percent click rate. People actually wanted that info. Luna: So the care tip built trust, and the surprise reward gave them a reason to come back without feeling like they were being sold to. That's smart. What was the surprise reward exactly? Lucas: It was a sample pack of a new flavor of soft chews — not something they'd normally buy. The SMS said something like: 'Your pup's food is here. Quick tip: store in a cool, dry place to keep it fresh. Also, we've added a free sample of our new chicken soft chews to your next order — just add any item to qualify.' The 'add any item' part was important — it made the reward feel earned, not automatic. Luna: Okay, so the customer has to place another order to get the freebie. That's a re-purchase trigger. Did they also track how many people added just the cheapest item to get the sample? Lucas: They did. About 40 percent of the people who came back for the sample bought only the cheapest item — a $6 bag of treats — just to get the free sample. But here's the thing: once those customers were back in the flow, the brand then hit them with an upsell email a week later. And 18 percent of those 'cheapest item' buyers upgraded to a full-size bag within 30 days. Luna: So the sample was a loss leader that opened the door to a bigger sale. That's a classic funnel, but applied to retention. How did they handle the SMS opt-in? Did they have to get permission first? Lucas: Yeah, Paws & Co. already had SMS opt-in at checkout — about 35 percent of new customers opted in. But they also added a post-purchase email asking people to join the SMS list for 'delivery updates and tips.' That pushed opt-in to about 50 percent. The key was framing it as a service, not marketing. Luna: So the SMS list grew organically. And the texts themselves were short — no links to a landing page with a form, just a simple text with a link to the product page. What was the average conversion rate from the SMS? Lucas: The hybrid sequence had a conversion rate of 8.2 percent — meaning 8.2 percent of recipients placed an order within 7 days of receiving the text. That's high for SMS. Industry average for promotional SMS is around 3 to 4 percent. Luna: And the repeat purchase rate lift to 30 percent — that's cumulative over 90 days. So the program didn't just spike once; it built a habit. Lucas: Exactly. And Paws & Co. expanded it to their subscription customers too. For subscribers, they sent a similar text after the first delivery — not to get a repeat order, but to reduce churn. They measured a 22 percent reduction in cancellations within the first 60 days among subscribers who received the care tip SMS. Luna: So the same tactic works for both acquisition retention and subscription retention. That's a big takeaway. Let's talk about the copy for a second — they avoided any urgency language, right? No 'limited time' or 'while supplies last'? Lucas: No urgency at all. The tone was helpful and generous. They used phrases like 'just a heads up' and 'we thought you'd like this.' The sample reward was framed as 'our way of saying thanks.' It felt like a relationship, not a transaction. That's probably why it worked better than the discount. Luna: Discounts can train customers to wait for sales. But a surprise sample feels like a gift. And the care tip adds value independent of any purchase. So the brand is providing utility even when they're not asking for a sale. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing: they A/B tested the sender name. They tried sending from 'Paws & Co.' versus from a person's name — 'Megan from Paws & Co.' The person's name had a 12 percent higher click rate. So that's another easy tweak. Luna: Megan from Paws & Co. — that's so simple. It humanizes the text. And since SMS is already perceived as more personal than email, using a real name doubles down on that. Lucas: Yeah. So the playbook is: wait 24 hours, send a useful tip, include a surprise reward that requires a minimum purchase, use a real sender name, and avoid discounting. And then track the repeat rate over 90 days. Luna: I want to ask about the integration. How did they know when the package was delivered? Did they use a carrier API? Lucas: They used a third-party logistics platform called ShipStation that sends a webhook to their email service provider, Klaviyo, when a package is marked delivered. Klaviyo then triggers the SMS via their SMS add-on. So it's automated end to end. No manual work. Luna: Good. So it's scalable even for a smaller brand. You don't need a custom engineering team. Lucas: Not at all. The whole setup took their marketing team about two weeks. And the cost per SMS is negligible compared to the lift in revenue. Luna: It's interesting that this works best in the 24-hour window. I wonder if that's specific to pet food or if it applies across categories. Lucas: We've seen similar patterns in other verticals. A beauty brand we covered a while back — they did a post-purchase SMS with a skincare tip 48 hours after delivery and got a 15 percent lift in repeat rate. The activation window probably varies by product cycle. But the principle is the same: catch the customer when they're using the product. Luna: And before the excitement fades. For pet food, the bag lasts a month, so the 24-hour window is early in the usage cycle. For something like a moisturizer that lasts three months, maybe the window is longer. Lucas: Exactly. Brands should test their own timing. But the starting point is: send something within the first 48 hours after delivery. Luna: You know, this kind of episode is exactly why I love working on this show. We're digging into real data, practical tactics, and we don't have to interrupt it with ads. We keep it ad-free on purpose because we think the content should speak for itself. Lucas: Yeah, and that's only possible because some listeners choose to support us. If these conversations have sparked an idea you've actually used, and you want to keep them coming without commercial breaks, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option. Luna: And it genuinely helps. We're a small team, and every bit of support lets us spend more time on episodes like this one. Lucas: Alright, back to Paws & Co. One more number I want to share: the average order value for repeat purchases from the SMS sequence was actually 8 percent higher than the average first order. So not only did people come back, they spent more. Luna: That's the opposite of what you'd expect from a discount-driven campaign. Usually repeat buyers spend less. But here, because there was no discount, they bought full-price items plus added the sample. Lucas: Exactly. The sample was a reward, not a price cut. So the perceived value of the brand stayed high. And that's the real lesson: if you can build a post-purchase experience that feels like a service, you can drive repeat purchases without eroding margins. Luna: So the next time you order something online, pay attention to what happens after it arrives. If it's silence, that brand is leaving money on the table. Lucas: And if you're running a brand, you now have a blueprint. Start with a care tip, add a surprise reward, send it 24 hours later, and watch your repeat rate climb.