Disco has launched Disco Pre-Purchase, a commerce media advertising format that places advertiser-funded cash-back offers directly inside ecommerce checkout flows. The format allows shoppers to opt in to receive up to $30 back on an order they are completing, while participating merchants earn advertising revenue from eligible checkouts.
The launch extends Disco’s commerce media platform beyond its existing post-purchase placements into a point in the shopping journey where purchase intent is already high. Initially available on Shopify, Pre-Purchase is designed to create an additional monetization opportunity for ecommerce merchants without requiring them to fund the cash-back incentive themselves.
According to Disco, merchants earn approximately $3.50 per eligible checkout, and the company reports that the format has lifted conversion rates by 3% or more. These figures are company-reported; the announcement does not provide the pilot sample size, testing methodology or independent evidence needed to assess whether the results generalize across merchants.
How Disco Pre-Purchase Works
Pre-Purchase appears within the merchant’s checkout experience through a native Shopify checkout extension. Shoppers see a cash-back offer and can opt in using a checkbox before completing their purchase. The reward claim process takes place after the transaction.
The advertiser funds the cash-back incentive, allowing merchants to generate media revenue while retaining the order value rather than directly financing the offer through their own promotional budgets. Disco positions this model as a way to monetize checkout activity while giving shoppers an immediate financial incentive.
The format supports desktop and mobile checkout and uses a drag-and-drop installation process. Disco is onboarding merchants directly during the launch phase, with self-service onboarding still in development. Expansion to additional ecommerce platforms is planned, but the company has not announced a rollout timetable.
For merchants already using Disco’s post-purchase advertising placements, Pre-Purchase introduces another inventory opportunity rather than replacing existing formats.
Commerce Media Moves Into Checkout
Commerce media platforms connect advertising with shopping activity, giving retailers and ecommerce businesses ways to monetize customer interactions and offer advertisers access to audiences closer to purchase. Checkout has traditionally been treated primarily as a transaction-completion interface, making new advertising placements there a balance between monetization and customer experience.
Disco’s approach attempts to address that tension by keeping the offer within the existing checkout flow and limiting the interaction to a single line and checkbox. The advertiser-funded incentive is intended to give shoppers a reason to engage without requiring merchants to discount their products directly.
The model could interest ecommerce operators seeking additional revenue from existing traffic, particularly those already using commerce media or post-purchase advertising tools. Advertisers may gain access to shoppers during active transactions, although the announcement does not specify targeting capabilities, participating advertiser categories or how offer eligibility is determined.
The commercial trade-off is checkout friction. Even a short additional interaction can affect completion rates if shoppers find the offer distracting, unclear or difficult to claim. Merchants will therefore need to evaluate incremental revenue alongside conversion, abandonment and customer-experience metrics.
Measurement and Merchant Economics
Disco says merchants can run Pre-Purchase behind a holdout test to measure performance on their own traffic. This is an important feature because conversion outcomes can vary by product category, customer mix, device and checkout design.
A controlled test could help merchants distinguish incremental effects from purchases that would have happened anyway. Evaluation should consider checkout completion, order value, reward redemption, incremental media revenue and any changes in customer behavior, rather than treating the reported conversion lift as proof of universal performance.
The announcement does not disclose advertiser pricing, the economics of reward redemption, detailed attribution rules or independent test results. Those details will help merchants assess the format’s net value and advertisers understand the relationship between incentive spending and incremental purchases.
Strategic Outlook
Pre-Purchase expands the competition for commerce media inventory into the checkout interface itself. If the format can generate incremental revenue without materially increasing abandonment, it could provide merchants with a new way to monetize shopping sessions while offering advertisers a purchase-adjacent placement.
Its wider adoption will depend on measurable merchant-level results, transparent reward terms, integration simplicity and the ability to maintain a frictionless checkout. Shopify availability gives Disco an initial distribution channel, but expansion beyond that ecosystem will be important to its longer-term reach.
For commerce media buyers and sellers, the central question is whether checkout advertising can deliver incremental value for all three participants: merchants, advertisers and shoppers.
Top Insights
- New advertising placement: Moves commerce media into the pre-purchase checkout experience.
- Advertiser-funded rewards: Shoppers can opt in to receive up to $30 back on eligible orders.
- Merchant monetization: Disco reports approximately $3.50 in revenue per eligible checkout.
- Conversion claims require validation: The company reports a lift of 3% or more but provides no detailed test methodology.
- Shopify-first rollout: The format uses a native checkout extension, with broader platform expansion planned.
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