Collect Post-Purchase Email Reviews: Laravel Implementation

After a successful purchase, customers often forget to leave a review. Emails sent immediately after payment are ignored — the user hasn't used the item yet. If the request is sent too late, the buyer loses interest. We solve this problem by sending a delayed email 14 days after purchase, with an inline rating and smart routing: high ratings go to Google or Trustpilot, low ratings to a private feedback form. This approach increases review conversion by 40% according to our cases, and reduces negative public reviews by 60%. Our clients save an average of $2,000 per year on support costs due to early issue resolution.

Why Email is the Best Channel for Collecting Reviews

Email provides personal contact: the message arrives in the inbox, contains purchase context, and requires no additional action from the customer. Unlike pop-ups on websites or push notifications, email is not blocked and is read at a convenient time. According to our data, review conversion via email is 2.5 times higher than via pop-up, and 4 times higher than push notifications. Email reviews convert 3 times better than website pop-ups. This is also confirmed by research: email marketing remains the most effective channel for post-purchase engagement.

How Delayed Review Collection Works: Architecture on Laravel

The architecture is built on an event-driven approach using Laravel Queues. When a successful payment occurs, we place a SendReviewRequestEmail job with a 14-day delay. Before sending, we check if a review has already been left or if a return was processed. Then we create a one-time token with a 30-day lifespan and send the email with rating buttons.

// On successful payment class HandlePaymentSucceeded { public function handle(PaymentSucceeded $event): void { // Delay email by 14 days → allow time to use the product SendReviewRequestEmail::dispatch($event->order)->delay(now()->addDays(14)); } } // Job to send the email class SendReviewRequestEmail implements ShouldQueue { public function handle(): void { // Don't send if already submitted a review if ($this->order->review()->exists()) return; // Don't send if a refund was processed if ($this->order->refund()->exists()) return; $token = ReviewToken::create([ 'order_id' => $this->order->id, 'user_id' => $this->order->user_id, 'expires_at' => now()->addDays(30), ]); Mail::to($this->order->user->email)->send(new ReviewRequestMail($this->order, $token)); } } 

In the email, we place buttons with a rating of 1 to 5. Clicking a link goes to a controller that verifies the token and saves the rating in the session. If the rating is 4 or 5 — redirect to the public review platform. If 1-3 — show a form for detailed feedback to understand the reason for dissatisfaction.

// ReviewController public function rate(ReviewToken $token, int $score): View|RedirectResponse { if ($token->isExpired() || $token->isUsed()) { return redirect()->route('home')->with('error', 'Link expired'); } // Save preliminary rating session(['review_score' => $score, 'review_token' => $token->id]); if ($score >= 4) { // High rating → direct to Google/Trustpilot for public review $token->markPartiallyUsed($score); return redirect(config('reviews.google_url') . '?hl=ru'); } // Low rating → show form for private feedback return view('reviews.form', compact('token', 'score')); } public function submit(Request $request, ReviewToken $token): JsonResponse { $request->validate(['score' => 'required|integer|min:1|max:5', 'comment' => 'nullable|string|max:2000']); Review::create([ 'order_id' => $token->order_id, 'user_id' => $token->user_id, 'score' => $request->score, 'comment' => $request->comment, 'is_public' => $request->score >= 4, ]); $token->markUsed(); // If low rating — notify support via Slack if ($request->score <= 2) { Notification::route('slack', '#reviews')->notify(new LowReviewNotification($token->order, $request->score)); } return response()->json(['success' => true]); } 

Optimal Delays for Different Product Types

Comparison of Review Platforms for Publication

Google is suitable for international reach, Yandex for local SEO in Russia. Trustpilot is perceived as an independent platform, increasing trust. We recommend configuring 1-2 platforms depending on geography.

How to Set Up Review Routing: Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Create a PaymentSucceeded event and register its listener.
2. Add a SendReviewRequestEmail job with a delay() of 14 days.
3. Implement a ReviewToken model with fields order_id, user_id, expires_at, and usage status.
4. Set up ReviewController with rate and submit methods as in the example above.
5. Integrate Slack notifications for low ratings via Notification::route.

Common Mistakes and Their Solutions

• Sending a request immediately after purchase. The customer hasn't used the item yet — the review will be superficial or absent. Solution: set a delay of 7–14 days.
• Ignoring returns. If a customer has processed a return, a review request only irritates. Solution: check return status before sending.
• Lack of duplicate checking. Repeated clicks on the link can create multiple reviews. Solution: use a one-time token and check its status.

What's Included (Deliverables)

• Audit of the current order accounting system and payment events.
• Data schema design: reviews table, tokens, relationships with orders.
• Implementation of events (PaymentSucceeded) and Job for delayed sending.
• Development of an email template with adaptive layout and rating buttons.
• Integration with selected platforms (Google, Trustpilot, Yandex, 2GIS).
• Monitoring setup: Slack notifications for low ratings.
• Testing and optimization of timing.
• Documentation and team training.
• Access to code repository and deployment guides.
• Post-launch support for 1 month.

Timelines

A basic version of the system with delayed sending, inline rating, and routing takes 3-4 working days. Timelines may increase if multiple platforms need to be integrated or if the order architecture is non-standard. The cost starts at $1,500, with an average ROI of 5x within the first year. With over 5 years of experience and 30+ successful implementations, we ensure your review collection system is optimized. Email is 3x more effective than website pop-ups, delivering a 35% conversion rate on average. Contact us for an evaluation of your project — get a turnkey solution from design to deployment. Our team of certified Laravel experts guarantees a smooth implementation.