How do you calculate repeat purchase rate?

Divide the customers who ordered more than once by all customers, for the same period, and multiply by 100. 1,400 repeat customers out of 5,000 is a repeat purchase rate of 28.0%.

Is repeat purchase rate the same as Shopify's returning customer rate?

Close, but not the same. Shopify counts a customer as returning if their order history holds more than one order, including orders placed before the period. A rate counted only inside the period is never higher than Shopify's.

What is a good repeat purchase rate?

It depends on what you sell and how often people need it: coffee is bought again sooner than a sofa. Compare your rate with your own earlier periods of the same length rather than with another store's.

What period should I use?

One long enough for a second order to happen, given how often your customers buy. Whatever you pick, keep it, so this year's rate compares with last year's.

How is repeat purchase rate different from retention rate?

Repeat purchase rate asks whether a customer ordered more than once. Retention follows a group of customers over time and asks what share is still buying in each later period, which also shows when they drop off.

Why must orders be at least customers plus repeat customers?

Because every one-time buyer placed one order and every repeat customer placed at least two. Fewer orders than that means the counts come from different periods or different sets of customers.

Repeat Purchase Rate Calculator

Result

Fill in customers, customers with two or more orders to see the result.

How it works

Repeat purchase rate is the number of customers who ordered more than once, divided by all customers, for the same period. The rest are one-time buyers.

With the period's orders, the calculator also splits the order book. Each one-time buyer placed exactly one order, so every other order came from a repeat customer. That shows how much of your business rests on customers you already have.

repeat purchase rate =
  customers with 2+ orders
  ÷ customers × 100

one-time buyers =
  customers - repeat customers

orders from repeat customers =
  orders - one-time buyers

orders per customer =
  orders ÷ customers

What each term means

Customers: Everyone who placed at least one order in the period.
Repeat customers: Of those, the ones who placed two or more orders in the same period.
Orders: All orders those customers placed in the period. It is at least customers plus repeat customers, since every repeat customer ordered at least twice.
Repeat purchase rate: Repeat customers as a share of all customers.
Repeat order share: How much of the period's order book came from customers who ordered more than once.

Two ways to count a returning customer

This calculator counts orders inside the period: a customer is a repeat customer if they ordered twice or more in it. Shopify's returning customer rate counts a customer as returning if their order history holds more than one order, including orders from before the period. So Shopify's rate is never lower than this one, and a store with loyal customers from past years can show a high returning rate in a month when few people ordered twice.

The window decides the answer

A month catches fewer second orders than a year, because a second order takes time. Pick a window that fits how often people buy what you sell, and keep it, so the rate compares from one period to the next.

Worked example

Example numbers, round on purpose. They are not a real store.

Customers: 5,000
Customers with two or more orders: 1,400
Orders: 7,200

1Repeat purchase rate: 1,400 ÷ 5,000 = 28.0%
2One-time buyers: 5,000 - 1,400 = 3,600, which is 72.0%
3Orders per customer: 7,200 ÷ 5,000 = 1.44
4Orders from repeat customers: 7,200 - 3,600 = 3,600
5Share of orders from repeat customers: 3,600 ÷ 7,200 = 50.0%
6Orders per repeat customer: 3,600 ÷ 1,400 = 2.57

Fewer than three customers in ten ordered twice, yet they placed half of all orders. Losing them would cost far more than the 28.0% suggests.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate repeat purchase rate?
Divide the customers who ordered more than once by all customers, for the same period, and multiply by 100. 1,400 repeat customers out of 5,000 is a repeat purchase rate of 28.0%.
Is repeat purchase rate the same as Shopify's returning customer rate?
Close, but not the same. Shopify counts a customer as returning if their order history holds more than one order, including orders placed before the period. A rate counted only inside the period is never higher than Shopify's.
What is a good repeat purchase rate?
It depends on what you sell and how often people need it: coffee is bought again sooner than a sofa. Compare your rate with your own earlier periods of the same length rather than with another store's.
What period should I use?
One long enough for a second order to happen, given how often your customers buy. Whatever you pick, keep it, so this year's rate compares with last year's.
How is repeat purchase rate different from retention rate?
Repeat purchase rate asks whether a customer ordered more than once. Retention follows a group of customers over time and asks what share is still buying in each later period, which also shows when they drop off.
Why must orders be at least customers plus repeat customers?
Because every one-time buyer placed one order and every repeat customer placed at least two. Fewer orders than that means the counts come from different periods or different sets of customers.

Next: which channels bring customers who come back?

A channel that wins buyers who return is worth more than its first orders show. Your GA4 export already holds how long your buyers take and which channels they touch. First finding free, in your browser; the full read is €99.

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