Top 13 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' Automation Tools to try for Scaling Your DTC Brand in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
You’ve done it. You’ve mastered the ads, nailed the targeting, and converted a curious browser into a paying customer. The Shopify "cha-ching" sound is music to your ears. But if you think the journey ends there, you're leaving a mountain of money on the table. In 2025, the most successful DTC brands aren't just acquiring customers; they're mastering the art of keeping them.
The moment a customer clicks "buy" is not the finish line—it's the starting gun for the most crucial part of their journey: the post-purchase experience. This is where you transform a one-time transaction into a long-term relationship. I call this the 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' funnel. It’s the art and science of turning the excitement of receiving a package into a powerful engine for loyalty, repeat purchases, and skyrocketing Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). As I've often discussed with clients and on my own platforms, Goh Ling Yong has always emphasized that true scale comes from retention, not just acquisition.
But how do you automate this deeply personal experience without losing the magic? You build a powerful tech stack. Today, we’re diving deep into the 13 essential automation tools that will form the backbone of your 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' strategy. These aren't just shiny objects; they are the gears that will help you scale your DTC brand efficiently and profitably in the year ahead.
1. Wonderment
What it is: A proactive shipment tracking and customer experience platform.
Think about the most common question your support team gets: "Where is my order?" Wonderment tackles this head-on by transforming bland, carrier-generated tracking pages into beautiful, branded marketing assets. Instead of sending customers to a UPS or FedEx black hole, you direct them to a page you control, complete with your brand's look and feel, product recommendations, and educational content.
But its real power lies in proactive communication. Wonderment monitors shipments in real-time and can trigger automated email or SMS alerts (via Klaviyo or Postscript) for any delays or issues before the customer even knows there's a problem. This turns a potentially negative experience into a moment of trust-building, dramatically reducing support tickets and delighting customers with your transparency.
Pro-Tip: Embed a "getting started" video or a link to your community page on your branded tracking page. The customer is highly engaged at this stage, so use that attention to deepen the relationship.
2. noissue
What it is: A platform for designing and ordering custom, sustainable packaging.
The unboxing is your brand's physical handshake. It’s the first tangible experience a customer has with you, and a generic brown box simply won’t cut it. noissue makes it incredibly easy for brands of any size to create beautiful, eco-friendly custom tissue paper, mailers, tape, and stickers. This isn't just about looking good; it's about communicating your brand's values.
A memorable unboxing experience is practically begging to be shared on Instagram or TikTok. By investing in custom packaging, you’re not just shipping a product; you’re creating a shareable moment and fueling your User-Generated Content (UGC) engine. In a world of digital noise, this tangible "wow" factor sets you apart and makes your brand unforgettable.
Pro-Tip: Use your packaging to tell a story. A small message printed on the inside of the box, like "You're going to love this," or a fun fact about your brand can create a powerful emotional connection.
3. Flowcode
What it is: A dynamic and customizable QR code generator.
That beautiful package insert you designed is a dead end without a call-to-action. Enter the humble QR code, supercharged by a platform like Flowcode. A QR code is the simplest, most effective bridge between your physical product and your digital world. Flowcode allows you to create branded, trackable QR codes that you can update on the fly without reprinting your materials.
Don't just link to your homepage. Get creative! A QR code on a product insert can lead to an exclusive video tutorial, a special discount on their next purchase, a link to leave a review, or an invitation to your private Facebook group. It turns a static piece of paper into an interactive gateway, guiding your customer to the next step in their journey with you.
Pro-Tip: Create a unique Flowcode for each product that links to a "How to Use" or "Style It" landing page. This adds immediate value and helps the customer get the most out of their purchase, increasing satisfaction and the likelihood of a positive review.
4. Klaviyo
What it is: The gold-standard email and SMS marketing automation platform for e-commerce.
If your tech stack is an engine, Klaviyo is its central nervous system. It’s absolutely non-negotiable for executing the 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' funnel. Klaviyo’s deep integration with Shopify allows you to trigger hyper-personalized communications based on customer behavior, from what they bought to how many times they’ve purchased.
Your post-purchase flow is where the magic happens. This isn't just one "thank you" email. It's a carefully orchestrated sequence:
- Order Confirmation: Reassure them and build excitement.
- Shipping Confirmation: Link to your Wonderment tracking page.
- Out for Delivery: Build anticipation.
- Review Request: Ask for feedback 7-14 days after delivery.
- Cross-Sell/Upsell: Recommend a complementary product a few weeks later.
By automating these touchpoints, you stay top-of-mind, gather crucial social proof, and strategically guide customers toward their next purchase.
Pro-Tip: Create a segment of "First-Time Buyers" and put them on a dedicated welcome journey that educates them about your brand's mission, highlights your best-selling products, and offers a small incentive for their second purchase.
5. Tolstoy
What it is: An interactive video platform to create "face-to-face" conversations at scale.
Want to truly stand out? Replace a plain text email with a personal, interactive video. Tolstoy allows you to easily record and embed clickable, conversational videos across your site and in your emails. Imagine a customer finishing their checkout and immediately seeing a video of your founder saying, "Hey [Customer Name], thanks so much for your order! We're so excited for you to get it."
In the post-purchase phase, this is a game-changer. Use a Tolstoy in your "thank you" email to walk them through the product. Use another one a week later to ask for a video testimonial, where they can reply with a video of their own right from the widget. It humanizes your brand, breaks through the inbox clutter, and fosters a genuine connection that text alone can't replicate.
Pro-Tip: Place a Tolstoy on your post-purchase "thank you" page asking a simple multiple-choice question like, "What are you most excited about?" This small interaction starts the conversation and gives you valuable data.
6. Fairing (formerly KnoCommerce)
What it is: A post-purchase survey tool for collecting zero-party data.
How did your customers really hear about you? Relying on ad platform attribution is like driving with a foggy windshield. Fairing lets you ask them directly with simple, elegant surveys that appear on the order confirmation page. The "How Did You Hear About Us?" (HDYHAU) survey is its most powerful feature.
The insights you gather are pure gold. You might discover that a specific podcast, influencer, or offline event is driving high-value customers, allowing you to double down on what’s actually working. This zero-party data (data customers give you willingly) is becoming increasingly vital in a world with more privacy restrictions. It helps you build better customer personas and make smarter marketing decisions.
Pro-Tip: Don't stop at attribution. Use Fairing to ask about their motivations for buying, who they're shopping for, or what other brands they love. This qualitative data is invaluable for product development and marketing messaging.
7. Okendo
What it is: A powerful customer marketing platform for collecting reviews, UGC, and Q&A.
Social proof is the currency of e-commerce. A product page with zero reviews feels like an empty restaurant—no one wants to be the first to try it. Okendo is a robust platform that automates the collection of rich customer reviews, including photos and videos, which are significantly more persuasive than plain text.
Okendo goes beyond just reviews. It allows you to build out Q&A sections on product pages, showcase customer photos in beautiful on-site galleries, and syndicate reviews to Google Shopping and Facebook. By integrating review requests into your Klaviyo flows, you can systematically build a mountain of social proof that new customers will rely on to make their purchasing decisions.
Pro-Tip: Use Okendo’s "Attributes" feature. If you sell skincare, you can ask reviewers to include their skin type (e.g., oily, dry, combination). This allows new shoppers to filter reviews and find feedback from people just like them, increasing conversion rates.
8. Gorgias
What it is: A customer service helpdesk built specifically for DTC brands.
Excellent customer service is not a cost center; it's a retention engine. A single negative support experience can lose a customer forever, while a fast, empathetic resolution can create a customer for life. Gorgias is a central hub for all your customer communications—email, live chat, social media comments, and DMs—all in one place.
Its deep integration with Shopify is what makes it so powerful. When you view a support ticket, you can see the customer's entire order history, shipping status, and more without switching tabs. You can issue refunds, edit orders, and apply discounts directly from the helpdesk. This speed and efficiency allows your team to turn potential problems into delightful experiences that foster loyalty.
Pro-Tip: Create "Macros" in Gorgias for frequently asked questions. A macro can pull in the customer's name and order details automatically, allowing your team to send personalized, detailed responses in just two clicks.
9. Rebuy Engine
What it is: An AI-powered personalization, cross-sell, and upsell platform.
If you want to maximize your Average Order Value (AOV) and LTV, you need Rebuy. This powerful engine uses AI to analyze your store's data and recommend the right product to the right customer at the right time. It can power everything from in-cart recommendations to one-click post-purchase upsell offers.
The most underutilized but powerful placement for Rebuy is the post-purchase journey. Use it to create a "smart" thank you page that offers a personalized, time-sensitive upsell. You can also embed its intelligent product recommendations directly into your Klaviyo emails or on your Wonderment tracking page. Instead of a generic "You might also like..." block, Rebuy shows customers what they are actually likely to buy next.
Pro-Tip: Use Rebuy to create personalized "Reorder" landing pages. Send an email to a customer who bought a consumable product 30 days ago, linking them to a pre-populated cart with their last order, making it incredibly easy for them to purchase again.
10. Smile.io
What it is: A platform for building loyalty, rewards, and referral programs.
A loyalty program formalizes the relationship with your best customers. It gamifies the experience of shopping with you and gives customers a clear incentive to choose your brand over a competitor. Smile.io is a leader in this space, making it easy to create a beautiful, on-brand program where customers can earn points for purchases, social follows, reviews, and birthdays.
The real power of a loyalty program is in its ability to change customer behavior. By offering VIP tiers with exclusive perks (like free shipping or early access to sales), you encourage customers to spend more to reach the next level. The referral component also turns your most passionate customers into an army of brand advocates, driving high-quality, low-cost customer acquisition.
Pro-Tip: Name your points something unique and on-brand. Instead of "Points," a coffee brand might use "Beans," and a beauty brand might use "Glow." It’s a small detail that makes the program feel more integrated and special.
11. Skio
What it is: A modern, powerful subscription management app.
The ultimate upsell is turning a one-time purchase into a recurring subscription. For brands with consumable products (coffee, supplements, skincare, pet food, etc.), subscriptions are the holy grail of predictable, recurring revenue. Skio is a best-in-class platform that makes the customer experience seamless, which is the key to reducing churn.
Skio's customer portal is a standout feature. It allows customers to easily swap products, skip a delivery, or change their frequency without having to contact support. It even offers passwordless login, removing a major point of friction. By making it ridiculously easy for customers to manage their own subscriptions, you build trust and keep them subscribed longer.
Pro-Tip: Offer a small "subscribe and save" discount (e.g., 10-15%) as the primary call-to-action on your product pages. Frame the one-time purchase as the alternative, not the default.
12. Peel Analytics
What it is: An automated data analytics platform that gives you a clear view of your metrics.
You can't improve what you don't measure. While Shopify Analytics is okay for basics, Peel gives you the deep, actionable insights you need to truly understand your business and customer behavior. It automatically crunches your data and visualizes it in easy-to-understand dashboards.
Peel is essential for the 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' funnel because it helps you answer the most important questions: What is the LTV of a customer who buys Product A vs. Product B? How long does it take the average customer to make their second purchase? Which marketing channel brings in the most valuable long-term customers? The answers to these questions, which I often see brands like the ones Goh Ling Yong advises struggling to find, will dictate your entire retention strategy.
Pro-Tip: Dive into Peel's "Cohort Analysis" reports. A cohort is a group of customers who first purchased in the same month. By tracking their LTV over time, you can see if your retention efforts are actually improving month-over-month.
13. Canva
What it is: An incredibly user-friendly graphic design platform.
This might seem like an odd choice next to powerful SaaS tools, but Canva is the creative glue that holds your entire post-purchase experience together. Brand consistency is key to building trust, and Canva empowers you and your team to create stunning, on-brand assets without needing a professional graphic designer for every little thing.
Think about all the visual touchpoints in this funnel: the package insert with the QR code, the headers for your Klaviyo emails, the social media graphics celebrating UGC, the banners for your loyalty program. Canva allows you to create templates for all of these, ensuring your visual identity is cohesive and professional from the moment they open the box to the moment they buy again.
Pro-Tip: Create a "Brand Kit" in Canva with your logos, color palettes, and fonts. Then, build a set of templates for all your post-purchase assets. This saves countless hours and ensures anyone on your team can create on-brand materials.
From Transaction to Transformation
Building a scalable DTC brand in 2025 is less about shouting into the void and more about whispering to the customers who already love you. The 'Unboxing-to-Upsell' funnel is your framework for doing just that. It's a system designed to create delight, build trust, and foster a community around your brand.
These 13 tools are not just individual solutions; they are interlocking pieces of a powerful retention machine. Wonderment creates a great delivery experience, noissue delivers the "wow" factor, Klaviyo automates the follow-up, and Rebuy intelligently asks for the next sale. When they work in harmony, you create a seamless customer journey that feels personal, valuable, and incredibly effective.
Start by auditing your current post-purchase experience. Where are the gaps? Which of these tools could make the biggest impact for you right now?
Now I want to hear from you. Which post-purchase automation tool is a non-negotiable part of your tech stack? Share your favorites in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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