For more repeat customers, focus on getting second orders

Customer buying behavior shows patterns when you look across your store as a whole.

One behavior that successful stores show is a high number of new customers coming back for a second order.

It makes sense too. Every loyal customer started out as a new customer who bought again and again. Getting that new customer to place their second order is a prerequisite to any sort of long-term loyalty. You can't build loyal customers without that second order.

Most loyalty programs often aren't as effective at this 1st-to-2nd order. The different ranks and levels usually don't kick in on the second order so they don't provide much incentive.

That's where you have to get creative and offer an incentive for that second order, especially with a long expiration date. It could be a guaranteed gift, free shipping, or a second-order coupon.

Putting that directly into your loyalty program is also a great idea. If a customer sees they'll start getting things early on, they'll be motivated to buy again sooner.

The point is to start getting new customers thinking about what they'll order and when they'll order next time.

If you'd like to see how well you're converting new customers to second order customers, the Order Sequencing report in Repeat Customer Insights breaks this down for you into an easy to understand percentage called the Repeat Purchase Rate.

Eric Davis

Segment your customers automatically with RFM

Segmenting your customers has always been touted as a powerful marketing tool but many stores avoid it because it can be time-consuming.
Repeat Customer Insights will automatically segment your entire customer base for you based on the valuable data Shopify has already collected for you. Ranging from 5 to 30 to over 125+ different segments using RFM and other models, you can pick how much power you want to harness.

Learn more

Topics: Customer loyalty Repeat customers

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