Learn how you can Unlock Limitless Customer Lifetime Value with CleverTap’s All-in-One Customer Engagement Platform.
Customer acquisition is often the primary focus of marketing. But to grow sales, companies should focus more on retaining existing buyers. Measuring your ecommerce users’ repeat purchase rates tells you the percentage of customers you’re retaining. Higher retention rates increase the lifetime value of customers, increasing your return on investment (ROI) on initial acquisition costs while also boosting sales.
CleverTap’s 2022 Ecommerce App Engagement Benchmark Report shows an average repeat purchase rate of 10% during the first week for new ecommerce app users.
However, there are ways to increase your customer retention rates. Optimizing customer outreach, reducing friction in your onboarding experience, and sending personalized messages can all increase the likelihood of additional purchases.
The repeat purchase rate refers to how many customers make at least one additional purchase from your store after their initial order.
To calculate this percentage, start by determining the date range you intend to measure. Then, divide the number of customers that made more than one purchase by the total number of customers within that date range.
Your ecommerce users’ repeat purchase rates are a key indicator of your customers’ loyalty to your brand and satisfaction with your products. Loyalty increases customer lifetime value. The more customers know and trust your brand, the easier it is to make additional sales with them.
Returning customers demonstrate that they see value in your brand, meaning they’re often willing to spend more on purchases. Plus, loyal customers drive revenue in two ways: through their purchases and through word-of-mouth marketing. Ultimately, retention is the key performance indicator (KPI) to watch closely.
Once you’ve decided to focus on retention rates, you must then determine how to optimize customer touchpoints to encourage additional sales. There are several tried-and-tested methods you can use to keep more existing customers engaged with your brand.
Many of these techniques focus on elevating your existing customer messaging and streamlining your storefront. Here are some of the most impactful retention-increasing strategies:
Seamless onboarding increases retention by offering customers a better experience from start to finish. This is largely done by improving your ecommerce site. You want to show your products in the best light and reduce the amount of friction on your users’ end.
In addition, Implement advanced personalization campaigns that capture the individual interests of your ecommerce users through data. Then send them messaging that aligns with their unique tastes. This targeted approach will increase repeat sales by improving the ecommerce site experience and by leading with personalized messaging that’s more likely to strike chords with your customers.
Repeat customers often stay engaged with your brand after their purchase. If you want to increase retention, continue your outreach efforts after an initial sale. These messages can be related to their purchase. For instance, you might send a tutorial or demonstration, which would add value to the product.
Or you could send promotional messaging about similar products. The goal is to continue the budding relationship with the individual customer and keep them engaged. Customers who feel connected post-purchase are more likely to buy your products in the future.
The email campaign is one of the most well-established and effective ecommerce promotional methods. Sending out consistent emails with targeted messaging is a low-cost way of keeping your audience up-to-date with your brand. Personalize emails to remind customers of their abandoned carts or update them when items are in stock. You can also send re-engagement incentives like discount codes to ecommerce users who haven’t purchased from your site in a while.
However, don’t limit yourself just to email—reach out directly to customers’ phones. Push notifications are highly impactful, as is in-app messaging. Both are great ways to promote products based on a customer’s searches and former purchases.
When you want to encourage customers to perform an action, ask yourself, “What incentives could I offer?” Point-based rewards programs that provide deals, discounts, or free items gamify interacting with your brand. Basically, you’re offering prizes to customers that continue to buy from you.
Boosting your repeat purchase rate is the best way to increase the lifetime value of your customers. By retaining more customers, you’re increasing sales and making each individual customer more valuable to your brand. Ultimately, optimizing your ecommerce site and marketing outreach to keep existing customers engaged adds value to your business.
To find out if your ecommerce app measures up to industry standards, download our Ecommerce App Engagement Benchmark Report: Top 10 Metrics Marketers Need to Know.
