While purchasing some Christmas pressies online, it struck me that many e-commerce checkout Thank You pages don’t help market the merchant. And why should they? The customer’s already purchased, he or she’s done what you wanted them to do right? Transaction complete, thanks for coming.

Payment Complete Thanks You pages often have a lot of boring, but essential, information such as a payment receipt, shipping info and support contact details. But what a perfect time to make the most of that just purchased rush, that shopping high. It’s a great opportunity to leverage the shoppers sentiment and use it to help promote your business.

Referral business is often the best kind – when a friend, family member, or even social media contact, recommends someone or something, you’re often more likely to take heed compared to other marketing medium. That’s why social media is such a strong medium.

In this vein, a great way to make your shopping cart Thank You page work harder for you is to add a “Tweet This” or “Add to Facebook” style button. The button automatically posts an update saying something like “I just bought a/some Widget(s) from Widget’s Are Us: http://www.website.com”. Make it easy for your customers to recommend your products to others in their network.