Strategies to Increase Repeat Purchase Rate in Your Shopify Store

Most stores don’t grow from first-time buyers. They grow from customers who come back again and again. That means you need to know how to increase purchase rate (Shopify). If your repeat purchase rate is low, you’re missing out on the most reliable path to long-term revenue.

Why Repeat Customers Are Worth More

Getting a new customer can be expensive—ads, content, SEO, email flows. But getting an existing customer to buy again usually costs far less. And they tend to buy more too.

Repeat customers often:

• Spend more per order
• Buy more often
• Refer others to your store
• Are less sensitive to price

How to Know If You Have a Repeat Buyer Problem

Look at your customer breakdown. If 80–90% of your revenue is coming from new customers, that’s a warning sign. A healthy store often sees 30–50% of revenue from return customers.

You can use your First-Time vs Returning Customers report to track this breakdown over time.

Repeat Purchase Triggers That Work

Not all buyers return on their own. You need to give them a reason to come back. These tactics work because they feel natural—not pushy:

• Follow-up emails based on the product lifecycle (e.g. skincare reorders after 30 days)
• Low-friction upsells (like offering a refill pack a week after delivery)
• Surprise discounts for 2nd orders after a good review
• Reminder emails before a subscription renewal or product restock

Timing Matters More Than You Think

Many stores wait too long to re-engage. The longer you wait, the colder the customer becomes.

Use your data to estimate when a repeat purchase is most likely. For some brands, that’s 7 days. For others, it’s 60. Your store’s ideal timing depends on the product and your customer’s habits.

Use Customer Segments to Target Smarter

Your second-time buyers aren’t all the same. Some bought because of urgency. Others loved the experience.

Segment your audience based on behavior:

• Buyers who’ve reordered within 30 days
• Buyers who haven’t returned in 90 days
• Buyers who gave a 5-star review

Make the Second Purchase Feel Easier

The first transaction takes the most trust. The second one should feel easy.

Remove obstacles by pre-filling fields, offering one-click reorders, and using email flows that show previously bought items.

Keep reading

If you want the full picture on cohort analysis and retention, start with the cohort analysis framework.

Related reading: How to Improve First-Time Customer Conversion in Shopify, Maximizing Customer Value with Cohort Retention Analysis and Analyzing Product Repurchase Rate Effectively.

By the Numbers builds this into the dashboard. See cohort analysis.