7 Proven Strategies to Skyrocket Your Repeat Purchase Rate

Many ecommerce brands are obsessed with getting new customers, so they spend too much money on ads and paid campaigns. But do you know where you should focus your efforts for consistent revenue? Your repeat purchase rate (RPR).

Your existing customers have the power to bring you more sales and new shoppers. They spend 67% more, and they are willing to share about your brand and products IF they are happy with their experience.

But what’s a good repeat purchase rate to target, and where should you start?

In this article, we’ll share how to check your current RPR, what a good repeat purchase rate is, plus proven strategies to increase customer loyalty and recurring sales. 

What Is the Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR)?

Repeat purchase rate is the percentage (%) of returning customers who buy from the same brand multiple times in a certain period. It’s usually interchanged with the repeat customer rate.

You can calculate it using this formula: (Number of Repeat Customers ÷ Total Number of Customers) × 100%.

Let me give you a real example to see in action. Let’s say you’re selling flavored sparkling water. It’s been a year since you focused on growing your revenue through existing customers, and you want to find out if your efforts are effective or not.

For the last 12 months, you’ve had 485 repeat customers and a total of 4,800 customers. So that’s: 485 ÷ 4,800 = 0.1010 0.10 × 100% = 10.10%

10.10% is your current repeat purchase rate. That means 1 out of 10 customers buy from you again. It’s kind of low if you really want to increase your recurring revenue.

But what’s a good repeat purchase rate anyway? How do we know if your RPR is higher than average or needs serious work? That’s what we’ll talk about next.

What is a Good Repeat Purchase Rate? Benchmarks by Industry

A good repeat purchase rate for an ecommerce business is anywhere between 20%-30%, according to Alex Schultz (CMO and VP of Analytics for Meta). So if you’re currently getting those numbers, you can continue using the same customer retention strategy.

But this can go a bit lower, depending on your industry. Here’s a breakdown of the average RPR in different ecommerce categories:

Food, supplements, and other consumables naturally get more repeat purchases compared to luxury or expensive items like jewelry, furniture, and designer products.

So, while it’s great to aim (and achieve) a higher rate, keep in mind that some items just don’t get bought as often.

Factors that Affect Repeat Purchase Rate

One study found that the customer’s decision to repurchase or not is affected by these five factors:

• Customer experience: Did the checkout process go smoothly? Was the product delivered on time?
• Buyer’s current emotions: A customer who is “shopping” to get their mind off a problem behaves differently than someone who’s actively (and excitedly) choosing clothes.
• Perceived product value: Does your product feel more premium and high-quality than the ones they can buy at Target?
• Customer satisfaction: Did your product match the expectations of your buyer… or was it underwhelming?
• Customer loyalty: Customers who bought your product every quarter are more likely to continue buying consistently than someone who has bought it twice.

We can’t control your customers’ emotions, but the strategies we’ll share will help you improve on the other factors. 

7 Proven Strategies for Increasing Repeat Purchases 

Strategy 1: Build Customer Loyalty with Loyalty Programs

Research from Salesforce shows that 84% of loyalty program members say these programs make them more likely to buy again from the same brand. Rewards give your customers that tangible reason to choose your store over competitors.

Besides better RPR, it also helps improve your customer retention rate and increase customer lifetime value. It allows you to maximize your revenue and also lower your spending on customer acquisition.

What type of loyalty program should you offer? Well, here are five common ones:

• Points-based programs: Your customers earn X number of points for each purchase (or when they reach a certain amount)
• Tiered loyalty programs: You provide different rewards based on your customer’s “spending level”
• Punch card loyalty: Buy X items, and you get one free (this is more common in physical stores)
• Paid membership programs: Your customers pay to enjoy exclusive perks
• Hybrid programs: This is a combination of multiple loyalty types

We wrote another article about successful brands’  loyalty programs. You can check it out for some inspiration.

Loyalty programs are truly effective in improving RPR. One of our clients, Nywow O (an Asian beauty brand), increased its redemption rate by 36% after two years. Plus, their average order value (or how much loyalty members spend per purchase) also jumped by 55%.

Strategy 2: Optimize the Post-Purchase Flow

How many customers do you think abandon a brand after a poor customer experience? Well, Emplifi found that 86% of them can leave because of bad service. And it doesn’t matter whether they are new or loyal customers. Once you mess up twice or thrice, there’s a high chance that they’ll move on. 

The good news? You can optimize the whole post-purchase experience by focusing on these areas:

• Real-time order tracking: Create a branded tracking page where your customers can view their order status and check other product recommendations while waiting. Plus, provide automated notifications for real-time updates.  
• Simple returns process: Write a clear return policy and make sure it’s accessible on your store’s site. You can also set up a self-service returns portal so your customers can initiate returns (on some items) without having to involve your team. 
• Shipping protection: Partner with a good insurance company and offer coverage for lost or damaged items… in exchange for a small fee. This can really improve customer experience and lessen revenue loss from delivery issues. 

Post-purchase platforms like ParcelPanel offer all the features you need to cover these three. One of our clients, Pipeliners Cloud, achieved a 70% open rate on their shipment notification emails and generated a 625% ROI by adding product recommendations to their tracking pages.

Strategy 3: Simplify Reordering for Consumables

As I mentioned earlier, consumables have higher repeat purchase rates than other product categories. You can take advantage of that by making it easy (or automatic) for your customers to reorder the same items.

Imagine your product is makeup. You sell lipstick, foundation, blush, and other basic items. You could provide your customers with an option that sends their favorite products every two or three months. We call this “replenishment subscription.”

Buyers sign up once and receive regular deliveries of your product in a certain period. You can use subscription apps like ReCharge that connect with your ecommerce platform.

Take Bite Toothpaste Bits as an example. It’s a brand that offers eco-friendly toothpaste tablets.

Its customers can choose to buy one-time, but it also offers a “Subscribe and Save” option for a 4-month supply of toothpaste bits at a discounted price. 

We find it effective because it’s cheaper than making solo purchases four times. Plus, it saves customers’ time as they don’t have to place an order every month (and they get the freedom to pause or cancel anytime). 

Strategy 4: Master Cross-Selling Techniques

Cross-selling is another great strategy to improve your repeat purchase rate. It’s easy to apply, and it gives your other products the spotlight they deserve. Plus, they work because you suggest items that complement what your customers have checked out.

For example, if your customer bought an electronic bike from your store, you can offer a helmet and bike lock as cross-sells.

Some of the techniques you can use to increase your conversion here are to bundle items and offer them at a discounted price, and personalize the suggestions based on what they’ve bought before. You can also display “frequently bought together” sections on your product pages (or send follow-up emails with related items).

PRO-TIPS:

• Time your cross-sells right: Present additional items during checkout for impulse purchases, or wait 2-4 weeks post-purchase when customers are happy with their original item.
• Use the “rule of three”: Don’t overwhelm customers with too many options. Show 2-3 carefully selected complementary products, maximum.
• Focus on solving problems: If someone buys a laptop, suggest a sleeve to keep it safe during travel. This addresses a real need they’ll have with their new purchase.

Strategy 5: Ensure Top-Notch Customer Service

Bad customer experiences destroy repeat purchases and spread negative word of mouth that can hurt your brand reputation.

Here are some simple and effective tips on how you can improve customer service right away:

• Respond to customer inquiries within 2-4 hours during business days
• Create detailed and relevant FAQ sections on your product pages, return policy, and shipping information
• Set up live chat and make it available during peak shopping hours so customers can get help when they need it most

Chewy built a $7 billion business on exceptional customer service. They do their best to answer calls in 4 seconds, have real people (not bots) handle interactions, and really push their team to deliver the best experience for their buyers. 

Just look at how they treated one of their customers when she planned to return a sealed product because of a sad event: 

Now, this is a perfect example of “going above and beyond.”

Strategy 6: Gather and Act on Customer Feedback

You know what’s funny? Most ecommerce owners spend hours analyzing Google Analytics, but never actually ask their customers why they stopped buying.

Customer feedback tells you exactly what’s wrong in your customer experience and what keeps people coming back. To do this, you may send post-purchase surveys 7-14 days after delivery using tools like Typeform or Google Forms.

Ask specific questions like “Which part of our checkout process do you think we can improve?” and “What would convince you to recommend us to a friend?” You can also monitor social media mentions and review sites to see what people say when they think you’re not listening. 

Of course, when you receive feedback, you have to actually use it and fix problems. Most brands collect all this data, only to leave it on read and not take any action.

Strategy 7: Make Use of Data-Driven Insights

For the last strategy, we want to introduce RFM analysis. It’s one of the most effective ways to get to know your repeat buyers and encourage repeat purchases.

RFM breaks down your customer data into three simple categories: when they last bought (Recency), how often they purchase (Frequency), and how much they spend (Monetary Value). You can use the info here to group your paying customers into segments… so you can target each differently.

For example, customers who bought recently but only once might need a discount to make their second purchase. Your most loyal customers who buy frequently might respond better to early access to new products or exclusive perks.

You can also track which products lead to additional purchases. If customers who buy coffee beans from your ecommerce store tend to reorder every two weeks, you can set up automated messages to remind customers when their supply is running low.

Conclusion: Turning Buyers into Repeat Customers

What’s your favorite strategy from the ones we shared?

We covered seven ways to increase your repeat purchase rate: loyalty programs, optimized post-purchase experiences, subscription models, cross-selling techniques, exceptional customer service, customer feedback systems, and data-driven insights.

It’s time to put these strategies into action. Start by picking one or two that fit your business model and current resources.

Ready to improve your repeat purchase rate? Channelwill helps ecommerce businesses with post-purchase optimization, loyalty programs, and review management. Our tools work together to increase customer satisfaction and drive repeat purchases.

Book a demo with our team to get a personalized solution.