LandSpot Case Study: Cash Sales and Google Ads | Fenix
Original client research · LandSpot × Fenix

How LandSpot Changed The Way It Sells Land Online

From Financing-Led Deposits To $2.4M In Cash-Sale Collections.

When we started working with LandSpot on February 10, 2025, selling land online was not simply a matter of bringing visitors to a property page and collecting a payment.

A buyer might reserve a parcel through Shopify with a $250–$500 deposit, speak to the LandSpot sales team and continue paying for the property through a structured financing arrangement. The online transaction was only one part of the commercial process.

Over the next 20 months, our work evolved around the actual ways people wanted to buy land. Financing remained an important option, while cash purchases became a separate buying path with a fixed $500 initial deposit and the remaining balance handled through the sales team.

This case examines the model, the buyer journey, the financial reporting and the decisions behind connecting online customer acquisition with actual payment collections.

Nenad Vasic
Founder & CEO, Fenix Network MediaFebruary 10, 2025 – October 15, 2026
Explore The NumbersSee How The Sales Model Works
  1. LandA buyer finds a property
  2. Deposit$250 to $500 through Shopify
  3. Sales teamNext steps handled by LandSpot
  4. CollectionsCash balance or installments
The business behind the checkout

A $500 Shopify Payment Does Not Tell You What A Property Sale Was Worth.

In conventional ecommerce, an order commonly represents a completed online purchase. In LandSpot's model, a Shopify transaction could represent the beginning of a much larger transaction.

The property might be reserved with a deposit. A salesperson might complete the next steps. The buyer might continue through scheduled installment payments or settle the remaining amount as a cash purchase.

That makes several familiar marketing metrics easy to misinterpret. A Google Ads conversion is not necessarily a completed property purchase. A Shopify order is not necessarily the full property value. A returning Shopify customer may be someone making another scheduled installment rather than buying another parcel of land.

If the marketing operation optimizes around those numbers without understanding the payment system, it can reward the wrong customer actions.

Ecommerce metrics and what each represents in LandSpot's model
Ecommerce MetricWhat It Represents In LandSpot's Model
Shopify checkoutAn online transaction, potentially a reservation/deposit
Shopify average order valueAverage Shopify-recorded order amount, not necessarily property value
Shopify returning customerMay include recurring installment activity
Google Ads conversionAn attributed action, requiring conversion-action qualification
Stripe payment volumeClient-reported payment activity, not necessarily audited net revenue
Completed land purchaseRequires actual transaction/sales confirmation

The measurement system must separate the first customer action from the commercial value that follows it.

Two phases of development

From A Financing-Led Journey To A Cash-And-Financing Model.

Phase 1 · February 10 – October 15, 2025

Building Around Financing-Led Buyers

The initial work centered on improving how buyers could move from discovering a property to making an initial payment and continuing through a financing arrangement.

The first-payment experience had to be small enough to support the financing model while still creating a meaningful commercial commitment. The sales team remained responsible for the next stage of the purchase process.

The business also had to distinguish between the customer who needed a monthly payment and the buyer who was prepared to pay for a property outright. Those customers should not necessarily see the same offer or follow the same journey.

$222,093.08Shopify Total Sales
149,028Shopify Sessions
230Completed Shopify Checkouts
0.15%Shopify-Reported Conversion Rate

Source: Shopify Analytics, February 10 – October 15, 2025. The 230 completed checkouts are not 230 sold properties.

Original Shopify reports, uncropped. Select an image to open the full-size version.

Phase 2 · October 15, 2025 – October 15, 2026

Expanding Beyond Financing

The second phase operated with distinct options for cash buyers and financing customers. Instead of forcing every prospect into a payment-plan conversation, LandSpot could support buyers who wanted to reserve a property and then complete the purchase in full.

The initial payment still provided a useful online transaction point, but the actual value of the sale could extend beyond that checkout.

Client-reported Stripe data for this period shows approximately $3.17M in payment volume, including $2.4M attributed to cash purchases and $770K attributed to financing collections.

$3.17MStripe-Reported Volume
$2.4MCash Purchases
$770KFinancing Collections
$491,125.15Shopify-Recorded Total Sales

Source: client-reported Stripe aggregates and Shopify Analytics, October 15, 2025 – October 15, 2026.

Original Shopify reports, uncropped. Select an image to open the full-size version.

The result was a broader commercial model serving different buyer payment preferences, not merely another advertising campaign.

The LandSpot purchase system

Three Buyer Journeys. Two Primary Payment Models.

The payment decision changes what happens after a customer finds a property. The qualification decision changes what information the sales team needs before contacting that buyer.

Path A: Owner Financing

  1. Property discovery
  2. Property selection
  3. $250–$500 Shopify deposit
  4. Sales-team contact
  5. Agreed financing terms
  6. Recurring installment collections

Financing allows a buyer to begin with an initial payment smaller than the full property price. The commercial relationship continues beyond the Shopify checkout through the agreed payment schedule.

That means the initial payment, scheduled future installments, and cash actually collected during a reporting period must be measured separately.

Client-reported financing-plan distribution

  • 67% 24-month arrangements
  • 33% 12-month arrangements

Client-reported financing distribution; not independently allocated by dollars collected or completed agreements. The denominator has not been independently established, so it is not converted into contracts or dollars.

Path B: Cash Purchase

  1. Property discovery
  2. Property selection
  3. $500 Shopify deposit
  4. Sales-team contact
  5. Remaining balance paid

The cash path allows buyers to reserve a property online and complete the remaining balance through the sales team. The initial Shopify transaction is therefore not the whole purchase amount.

Cash-purchase collections accounted for approximately $2.4M of the second-phase client-reported Stripe payment volume.

$2.4M
Phase 2 cash-purchase collections
Client-reported Stripe aggregate, rounded. Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026. About 75.7% of Phase 2 Stripe-reported volume.

Path C: Advisor-Assisted Selection

This is a qualification route, not a third payment method.

  1. Land buyer interest
  2. Location / property type
  3. Acreage / intended use
  4. Cash or financing
  5. Budget / timing
  6. LandSpot Advisor follow-up

Not every interested buyer knows which property they want. Some need help with access, utilities, restrictions, acreage, location, or whether cash and financing options fit their budget.

The LandSpot Advisor experience asks for those details before contact, allowing the sales conversation to start from buyer requirements instead of a generic inquiry.

See the LandSpot Advisor on landspot.com

What the advisor asks before contact
  • Location and property type
  • Acreage and intended use
  • Cash or financing
  • Budget and timing
No improvement in close rate or cost per qualified lead is claimed.
The actual reporting

$4.89M In Stripe-Reported Payments. But That Is Not A Google Ads ROAS Number.

LandSpot's commercial reporting cannot be reduced to one advertising dashboard or one Shopify sales total. Stripe, Shopify, and Google Ads measure different parts of the business.

Explore The LandSpot Reporting

Choose a period. Every figure keeps its source and date range.

Stripe-reported payment volume
$4.89M
Client-reported, rounded. Not audited revenue.
$0$4.89M

Both phases on one scale: Phase 1 (about 8 months, derived) then Phase 2 (12 months).

$4.89MStripe-reported payment volumeClient-reported aggregate, approximate. Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
$715,075.67Shopify total salesShopify Analytics, Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 16, 2026
$800,359.99Shopify gross salesShopify Analytics, Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 16, 2026
280,253Shopify sessionsShopify Analytics, Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 16, 2026

Not added together. Stripe and Shopify are shown side by side. Processor overlap has not been reconciled, so no combined total exists. The Shopify report ends one day after the Stripe period (Oct 16 versus Oct 15, 2026).

  • Phase 1, derived ($4.89M minus $3.17M)
  • Phase 2, client-reported
~$1.72MStripe-reported volume, derived$4.89M minus $3.17M. Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
$222,093.08Shopify total salesShopify Analytics, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
149,028Shopify sessionsShopify Analytics, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
230Completed Shopify checkoutsNot sold properties. Shopify Analytics, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
0.15%Shopify-reported conversion rateShopify Analytics, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025

Derived, and a shorter window. Phase 1 Stripe volume is the engagement total minus Phase 2, not an independently supplied transaction total. The window is about 8 months, so it is not comparable year over year with Phase 2.

$3.17MStripe-reported volumeClient-reported aggregate, approximate. Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
$2.4MCash-purchase collectionsClient-reported Stripe aggregate, rounded
$770KFinancing collectionsDerived: $3.17M minus $2.4M
$491,125.15Shopify-recorded total salesShopify Analytics, Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
~$250KGoogle Ads spendGoogle Ads, approximate. Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
590.17Google-attributed conversionsNot completed property sales. Google Ads, Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026

No ROAS is calculated. Google conversions are attributed actions, and the conversion-action breakdown was not provided. Stripe and Shopify totals are not divided by ad spend.

  • Cash-purchase collections $2.4M
  • Financing collections $770K (derived)
A. The Stripe payment picture
$4.89MTotal engagement payment volume. Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
$1.72MDerived first-phase volume
$3.17MSecond-phase volume

Reported Stripe volume by phase

Phase 1About 8 months, derived. Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
Phase 212 months, client-reported. Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026

Bars use the same scale. The periods have different lengths, so this is not a year-over-year comparison.

Where LandSpot's Second-Phase Payment Volume Came From

  • Cash-sale collections, about $2.4M
  • Financing collections, about $770K (derived)

Client-reported Stripe aggregates, Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026. Rounded amounts.

Approximately 75.7% of the second-phase reported payment volume came from cash purchases. Financing collections accounted for approximately 24.3%.

These figures describe collected-payment categories. They do not explain which specific advertising campaign acquired each buyer.

B. What Shopify actually recorded
$715,075.67Shopify-recorded total sales. Feb 10, 2025 – Oct 16, 2026

From February 10, 2025 through October 16, 2026, Shopify recorded $715,075.67 in total sales and $800,359.99 in gross sales.

The Shopify sales-channel breakdown includes approximately $514.7K associated with ReCharge Subscriptions and $200.3K through the Online Store. Those are components of the Shopify total, not additional revenue.

These figures are important, but they do not independently represent all amounts collected in the property's payment journey.

We have not added Shopify's figures to Stripe's totals because the underlying transaction overlap has not been reconciled.

1,844Shopify orders (not a property-sale count)
280,253Sessions
$418.61Average Shopify order value (not property value)
47.68%Returning customer rate (may include installment activity)
Phase 1 report
$222,093.08
Shopify total sales, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
Phase 2 report
$491,125.15
Shopify total sales, Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026

Two separate reports, not an equal-period growth rate. The shared boundary day and the one-day later end of the full report mean the three totals do not reconcile by addition.

C. How Google Ads fits into the model
~$250KGoogle Ads spend, Phase 2. Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026
590.17Attributed conversions
2.43%Click-through rate
$424Reported cost per conversion

From October 15, 2025 through October 15, 2026, Google Ads reported approximately $250K in spend, 590.17 attributed conversions, a 2.43% click-through rate, and a reported cost per conversion of $424.

Those numbers describe Google's attributed conversion activity. They do not establish 590 completed property purchases or prove that all Stripe collections originated from Google Ads.

Without the conversion-action breakdown and sales-level reconciliation, it would be misleading to calculate a property-purchase CPA or claim a ROAS using business-wide payment volume.

D. Shopify-reported conversion performance
Phase 1
0.15%
Shopify conversion rate, Feb 10 – Oct 15, 2025
Phase 2
0.24%
Shopify conversion rate, Oct 15, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026

Shopify's second-phase reporting shows a 0.24% conversion rate, compared with 0.15% in the shorter first phase. Shopify also reports a +48% conversion-rate change and +88% total-sales change against its selected prior-year comparison window (sessions: -30%).

Those figures should be interpreted as Shopify-reported signals, not a controlled measurement of individual campaign or CRO impact. The analytics system also introduced a definition change late in the period: the Shopify notice visible in the original screenshots says sessions and related metrics may shift beginning Sept 21, 2026.

A useful acquisition report should make it easier to connect cost to customer quality and actual collections, not confuse attribution totals with business revenue.

Source evidence

The original reports, uncropped

Nine screenshots, preserved as supplied. Each opens full size with keyboard focus, Escape to close and a written transcript of the visible figures. No Stripe screenshot is published.

Primary evidence

Google Ads overview, full Phase 2

Source: Google Ads
Period: Oct 15, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026
Click-through rate2.43%
Cost per conversion$424
Conversions (Google-attributed)590.17
Cost$250K

Shopify Analytics overview, entire engagement

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Feb 10, 2025 to Oct 16, 2026
Total sales$715,075.67
Gross sales$800,359.99
Orders1,844
Sessions280,253
Average order value$418.61
Returning customer rate47.68%
New customers388
Conversion rate0.19%
ReCharge Subscriptions$514.7K
Online Store$200.3K

Shopify total sales, entire engagement

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Feb 10, 2025 to Oct 16, 2026
Total sales$715,075.67
Gross sales$800,359.99
Returning customer rate47.68%

Shopify conversion rate, entire engagement

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Feb 10, 2025 to Oct 16, 2026
Conversion rate0.19%
Sessions280,253
Added to cart3,060
Reached checkout3,381
Completed checkout555

Shopify total sales, Phase 1

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Feb 10, 2025 to Oct 15, 2025
Total sales$222,093.08
Gross sales$261,194.37
Returning customer rate53.39%

Shopify conversion rate, Phase 1

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Feb 10, 2025 to Oct 15, 2025
Conversion rate0.15%
Sessions149,028
Added to cart1,489
Reached checkout1,661
Completed checkout230

Shopify total sales, Phase 2

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Oct 15, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026
Total sales$491,125.15
Gross sales$539,265.62
Returning customer rate52.64%

Shopify conversion rate, Phase 2

Source: Shopify Analytics
Period: Oct 15, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026
Conversion rate0.24%
Sessions131,589
Added to cart1,571
Reached checkout1,720
Completed checkout326
Supplementary

Google Ads overview, partial period

Source: Google Ads
Period: Oct 15, 2025 to Sep 15, 2026
Click-through rate3.76%
Cost per conversion$397
Conversions (Google-attributed)456.17
Cost$181K

Covers an earlier end date than the full-period view above, which replaces it as the main evidence.

From inquiries to buyers

A Cheap Land Lead Is Not Automatically A Valuable Land Buyer.

A buyer planning to pay cash, a buyer who needs financing, and someone still researching a future property may all complete an inquiry form. They should not necessarily receive the same follow-up, sales priority, or advertising treatment.

LandSpot's advisor journey asks about the property the buyer wants, where they want it, how they plan to pay, the size of their budget, and how soon they are ready to move forward.

Those answers create a much stronger starting point for the sales conversation than collecting contact information alone.

The objective is not to make a longer form for its own sake. It is to collect information the sales team can actually use.

Buyer qualification signals and what each helps establish
Buyer SignalWhat It Helps Establish
State preferenceMatch with available inventory
Property purposeResidential, recreational, investment, RV, or other uses
AcreageWhether the property size matches the plan
Road access and utilitiesImportant suitability questions
Cash versus financingPreferred payment model
Cash budgetApproximate immediate purchase capacity
Comfortable monthly paymentFinancing affordability
Down-payment capacityInitial commitment feasibility
Purchase timelineSales follow-up priority
Remaining objectionsWhat needs resolving before a purchase
What the case teaches

Six Things Land Sellers Should Measure Before Increasing Acquisition Spend

  1. A Deposit Is Not The Full Sale

    When a customer reserves land with a small initial payment, distinguish the deposit from completed transaction value and actual cash collected.

  2. Cash And Financing Buyers Have Different Economics

    Their preferred payment structures affect the offer, sales process, revenue timing, and way acquisition cost should be evaluated.

  3. Scheduled Installments Are Not Collected Revenue

    An installment agreement may define future payments, but the amount actually collected during a reporting period is a separate metric.

  4. A Shopify Order Is Not Always A Property Purchase

    Subscription or installment activity can create Shopify transactions that should not be mistaken for additional land sold.

  5. Buyer Qualification Matters After The Click

    Knowing location, budget, payment preference, intended use, and purchase readiness gives the sales team more useful information than an unqualified inquiry.

  6. The Reporting Systems Must Be Reconciled

    Google Ads, Shopify, payment processors, and the sales team each capture different events. The commercial picture becomes clearer when those events are connected accurately.

These lessons apply beyond land. Any high-ticket business taking online deposits before a later sales-assisted transaction faces similar acquisition and measurement decisions.

Check your own setup

Are You Measuring The First Payment Or The Entire Sale?

1. How do your customers purchase?
2. What does your primary conversion event represent?
3. Where do you verify revenue?
4. What is the main acquisition constraint?

Answers stay in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored, and nothing on this page depends on completing the check.

Direct answers

LandSpot, Land-Sales Marketing And Payment Models

What did Fenix do for LandSpot?
Fenix worked with LandSpot from February 2025 through October 2026 on its land-buyer acquisition and commercial buying system. The engagement involved financing-led purchase paths, the development of a separate cash-buying option, paid acquisition, customer qualification, and the relationship between online transactions and later payment collections.
How much Stripe payment volume did LandSpot report during the engagement?
Client-supplied Stripe reporting shows approximately $4.89M from February 10, 2025 through October 15, 2026. That amount represents reported payment volume, not independently audited net revenue or profit.
How did the LandSpot cash-purchase model work?
A cash buyer could reserve a property by making a $500 Shopify payment. LandSpot's sales team then contacted the buyer to coordinate the remaining balance. In the second reporting phase, cash purchases accounted for approximately $2.4M of client-reported Stripe payment volume.
How did LandSpot use owner financing?
Financing buyers could begin with an initial Shopify deposit, commonly $250–$500, followed by a sales-team conversation and agreed installments. The client-reported financing mix for the second phase includes 12-month and 24-month arrangements.
Why doesn't Shopify show LandSpot's total property revenue?
Shopify reports transactions recorded through its own systems. LandSpot also had payment activity associated with additional collections and financing arrangements. Because payment sources can overlap, Shopify and Stripe should not be added together without transaction-level reconciliation.
How much did LandSpot spend on Google Ads?
For October 15, 2025 through October 15, 2026, Google Ads reported approximately $250K in spend, 590.17 attributed conversions, and an average cost per reported conversion of $424. The conversion count does not independently prove an equal number of completed property sales.
How should land sellers measure Google Ads performance?
Google Ads should be evaluated against verified conversion actions, qualified buyers, deposits, completed transactions, and collected revenue where reliable tracking is available. Platform-attributed conversions alone are not enough to establish actual property-purchase profitability.
Why are cash and owner-financed land buyers different marketing audiences?
Cash buyers and financing buyers have different payment preferences and may respond to different offers. Cash buyers may focus on total price and completion, while financed buyers may focus on down payment, monthly affordability, terms, and long-term commitment. Those distinctions can influence advertising messages, website flows, qualification, and follow-up.
Related research

More on measuring leads and buyers

Work with Fenix

Your Ad Account May Only Be Measuring The First Payment.

If your business sells through deposits, payment plans, sales conversations, subscriptions, or larger transactions completed after the initial checkout, the numbers inside an advertising account may not explain the entire commercial result.

Fenix looks beyond the campaign structure to understand how customers are acquired, qualified, converted, and measured against business outcomes.

If that is the problem your company needs solved, let's determine whether there is a fit.

Book A Meeting With FenixExplore More Fenix Work

LandSpot is the client in this case study ( landspot.com ). Figures are client-reported payment aggregates and platform-reported performance; they are not audited. Case published with the client's approval status to be confirmed before release.

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