Little Stream Software

Break-time

2025-01-03T07:00:00Z

I've decided to take a break from my daily Shopify Tips newsletter.

It's been going for almost seven years now and the last few months have taken a toll.

My hope is to use this break to rest, research a few things, and pursue some complementary interests. I'm not sure how long the break will be.

When I'm ready to resume, I'll publish in the same places so you don't have to do anything to find me again (e.g. the email newsletter, website, the RSS feed).

Until then, you can always browse my archives as a whole, search for something specific, or go through them by topic. I'll also still be available to reach over email and still improving/supporting Repeat Customer Insights.

Eric Davis

Analyze your customer's behaviors before they defect

Your customers aren't yours forever. Some might have defected today, never to be seen again.
You need to analyze your customer behavior so you can reach them before they defect.

Learn more

Getting a better view on last year's performance

2025-01-02T07:00:00Z

Yesterday I started doing my own year-end review.

What went well?
What went poorly?
What was a surprise?
What will I do next?

The point of this exercise is to try to get a perspective on the year as a whole. Something beyond the easy to measure metrics like revenue, AOV, etc.

The big metric for me is retention, represented by Repeat Purchase Rate. Since Repeat Customer Insights is a subscription app, tracking how many customers stay around from month-to-month is a key measurement.

It's a key metric for your Shopify store too. If you sell subscriptions it's probably the top metric you're watching. For everyone else, it's important for making sure customer acquisition costs are kept low.

Directive: Review how your year performed.

Eric Davis

When are your customers defecting?

Are your customers defecting? Use Repeat Customer Insights to find out where in their lifecycle you're losing them.

Learn more

Happy New Year

2025-01-01T07:00:00Z

Happy New Year to you and yours.

With this new year, I'm hopeful new opportunities become available for your business.

Eric Davis

Happy New Years Eve

2024-12-31T07:00:00Z

This year's almost over.

Good times.

Bad times.

Interesting times.

You got to take them all. Tonight try to have fun and reminisce (or try to forget) about the year.

Happy New Years Eve.

Eric Davis

Take note of how you think your holiday performed

2024-12-30T07:00:00Z

Today, take the time to make a list of what holiday campaigns/promotions you ran and how you felt like they performed.

Don't worry about collecting the actual performance data yet, just make a list of your thoughts on them. What went well. What didn't work. What brought in a lot of orders. What wasn't worth the effort.

You'll want to do all of this while they are fresh in your memory.

Put this list someplace you'll see it when you actually begin to analyze the year and holiday season. At that time you can compare your gut to the actual performance to help calibrate your gut feel. Done right, you'll be able to improve your in-the-moment decisions in the future.

Directive: Collect your thought on how specific promotions performed this year.

Eric Davis

Analyze your customer behavior

A quick and automatic way to measure your customer behavior is with Repeat Customer Insights. It'll automatically import your Shopify data and run a number of analyses to highlight different customer behavior.

Learn more

Wrapping up in the final week of the year

2024-12-27T07:00:00Z

Now that the last week of December has started, most ecommerce stores are starting to shift back to regular mode.

Returns and exchanges will be the focus for the coming month but the big sales season is wrapping up.

That said, there's still the potential for a final bit of holiday shopping. Some winter holidays are still going and there's always self-gifters who might be buying.

This time is also good to start analyzing how your season and year performed. You can compare how holiday customers performed in prior years with Repeat Customer Insights Cohort Report.

Directive: Review how your year performed.

Eric Davis

Analyze your customer's behaviors before they defect

Your customers aren't yours forever. Some might have defected today, never to be seen again.
You need to analyze your customer behavior so you can reach them before they defect.

Learn more

Celebrate this year's wins

2024-12-26T07:00:00Z

The year's almost wrapped up now.

What wins did you have this year?

(And more importantly) Did you celebrate those wins when they happened? If not, celebrate today and this weekend with your teams.

We all need to make our successes more visible, at least to ourselves and those close to us.

Eric Davis

Get started getting more from your repeat customers

If you haven't signed up for Repeat Customer Insights, it's an easy process. Just give it your Shopify store url and it'll walk you through the setup, import, and analysis process automatically. No code needed.

Learn more

Merry Christmas

2024-12-25T07:00:00Z

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Hopefully you're able to take some well-deserved time off today (or soon). Work can wait for awhile.

Eric Davis

Run an end-of-year promotion

2024-12-24T07:00:00Z

With the year ending soon, I'm starting to figure out if there's any end of the year business purchases I need.

I take a look at this time every year for tax purposes but also because a lot of companies still have their winter holiday sales. They aren't Black Friday-ish but still worth picking up things I'll need next year.

It can be difficult for stores to target business customers though, especially if they are small businesses. That's why I'd recommend putting a prominent message on your homepage (e.g. hero, banner, etc).

Unless you're a pure B2B shop, avoid using too much copy mentioning B2B or wholesale. Sometimes a business might want something for their own usage (e.g. a new coffeemaker) so mentioning POs, invoicing, or bulk pricing in all of your copy might give them the wrong impression.

A simple "Business orders of any size accepted. Bulk discounts available." as a banner might be all you need.

The year will be over soon but you can get a head start analyzing how you did with Repeat Customer Insights. It'll measure how your year is doing and compare it to prior years (and your overall benchmarks).

Directive: Make it clear if you accept business orders of any size.

Eric Davis

Learn which products lead to the customers who spend the most

You can use the First Product Analysis in Repeat Customer Insights to see which products lead to the customers who spend the most. Going beyond best sellers, it looks at the long-term purchasing behavior of your customers.

Learn more

Don't forget about end-of-the-year business orders

2024-12-23T07:00:00Z

With Christmas fast approaching, much of the winter holiday sales season is wrapping up.

But don't forget about your business customers. There's still two weeks left in the year and many businesses like to make year-end purchases for tax reasons.

This might be your standard B2B pitches but could take other forms too:

employee gifting
prepayments for goods needed next year
factory/store/office supplies and equipment

Sometimes you don't even need to offer an incentive, just a reminder that the year is ending and that you accept business orders.

These can be a good way to slide into the new year and lessen the January slump.

Directive: Cater to business customers stocking up for their next year.

Eric Davis

Track down which customer cohorts perform the best

Different groups of people behave differently. Repeat Customer Insights creates cohort groups for you automatically to see how your customers change over time and spot new behavior trends.

Learn more