Sales are the lifeblood of any Shopify store. If you can’t convert customers and make sales, your store’s design, promotional activities, and traffic will all be for naught.

But suppose you’ve just launched your Shopify store, and sales are pouring in. Is that sufficient for e-commerce success? If you’re looking for long-term success, the answer is no. Initial sales from new customers are simply insufficient. What you require here are repeat sales.

Repeat sales result from customer loyalty and trust, which are critical for long-term success. If you own an eCommerce business, you know how important it is to increase your average repeat purchase rate. What, however, causes a buyer to become a loyal repeat customer?

This blog post will go over the advantages of increasing your repeat purchase rate before showing you how to do it yourself. If you use all of the strategies in this post, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your revenue can grow when you tap into your existing customer base.

What Are Repeat Sales and Why Do They Matter?

Repeat sales occur when a customer purchases a product from a Shopify store and returns to the store repeatedly to drive more sales. Returning customers drive repeat sales, and these customers are essential for every Shopify store.

Why?

• Returning customers spend twice as much as new customers.
• Returning customers helps to keep your revenue stable.
• It is simpler to sell to returning customers.
• Customers who return boost your word-of-mouth marketing (WOM)
• Returning customers can help you easily acquire new customers.

So you now understand the significance of returning customers to a Shopify store. The only way to get repeat customers is to persuade them to trust your store. And the best way to do so is to implement these six simple strategies for increasing repeat sales.

Why prioritize increasing repeat purchase rate over getting new customers?

The majority of eCommerce businesses spend 80 percent of their marketing budget on acquiring new customers. But did you know that only 8% of an average eCommerce store’s customers generate 41% of its revenue?

When you first start, you’ll need to acquire new customers, and as you grow, you’ll require new customers. However, many eCommerce businesses would benefit from allocating more funds to customer retention.

What is the average rate of repeat purchases?

Most studies show that eCommerce companies’ average repeat purchase rates range between 40 and 50%. If you can get 30–60% of your customers coming back every month and making a purchase from you, you should do pretty well, says Alex Schultz, former vice president of growth at Facebook. This figure corresponds to Shopify’s 27 percent average repeat purchase rate for first-time customers.

But here’s the kicker: once a customer returns, their likelihood of purchasing again jumps to 45 percent, according to Shopify. When a customer returns four times, the chances of purchasing again increase to 56%!

7 Proven Methods for Increasing Repeat Sales in Your Shopify Store

According to reports, a new customer has a 29 percent chance of returning to a store to make a second purchase. And the strategies listed below will assist you in capitalizing on that opportunity.

1. Cross-sell and upsell

According to reports, upselling and cross-selling accounted for one-third of all e-commerce sales. It can be a powerful tool for doubling your sales when used correctly. It is similar to Next order coupons, but it does not include coupons. If you want your customers to spend more money in your store, give them a reason to do so by recommending products.

Cross-selling is persuading a customer to buy a product that complements another item in their shopping cart. If a customer has purchased a shoe, begin suggesting complementary products such as laces socks to encourage them to spend more money.

Upselling is very similar to cross-selling. If a customer added a product to their cart, recommend a better product. This can assist you in developing trust with your customer and then cross-selling products related to the product you previously upsold. Using these two tactics, you can drive repeat sales.

2. Programs of Loyalty

Special deals and benefits are consistently profitable. Inform your subscribers about loyalty programs. Not all loyalty programs are remunerative. You can also give out points and rewards that regular customers can redeem for vouchers. Loyalty programs are critical for increasing lifetime customer value (LCV), as they encourage repeat purchases. It provides a reason for your regular customers to return to your Shopify store. Another method of developing loyalty programs is through subscription.

Customers can subscribe to essentials when using a subscription model. Once completed, it opens the door to recurring revenue. Ensure an automated renewal option for products and services that have an expiration date. Customers will also look for special deals and benefits with subscription models.

3. Best Regards for the Celebrations

Customers nowadays seek bonding and connection. They will increase their earnings if they feel connected. While discounts and deals are appealing, they only work to a certain extent. The larger picture necessitates brand relatability.

You can now interact with customers more personally, thanks to advancements in technology. And by creepy, I don’t mean creepily. This means you should send customers personalized and timely messages. You have to set up the automation and schedule the sending. Birthday and anniversary messages are typical examples of this. The person who receives these messages feels valued and cared for; it is a special day for them. This allows you to remind the customer of previous shopping experiences indirectly. This increases your chances of receiving another purchase order.

4. Provide exclusive discounts

We saved the most straightforward and most commonly used instrument for last.

Customer satisfaction is the key to driving repeat sales, and the best way to satisfy your customers is to offer exclusive discounts.

According to reports, one of the leading causes of cart abandonment is a lack of discounts. Don’t let this happen to your business. Many stores nowadays use the first order discount strategy.

When a customer visits your store for the first time, all they need is a special deal that is better than what other e-commerce stores are offering. As a result, offering a discount on their first purchase will encourage them to return to your store.

You can offer discounts, but you can also give away freebies such as a phone case if the customer buys a smartphone or a pouch if the customer buys a headphone. How about free shipping while we’re on the subject of freebies? Most customers abandon their shopping carts due to high shipping costs. Automate your shipping procedure while providing customers with a top-notch delivery experience.

Offering free shipping or delivery for a customer’s current or future purchases will assist you in gaining their trust. And they will return to drive repeat purchases in your store.

5. Initiate a Referral Program

Nowadays, almost every e-commerce customer expects their favorite e-commerce store to offer a Refer a friend program. Running a Referral program in your Shopify store will encourage your customers to refer new customers and earn rewards.

What effect will this have on repeat sales? Simply put, it all boils down to the incentives you provide. If you offer flat cash rewards, there is no way to drive repeat sales, but offering a fixed amount or percentage discount will bring the customer back to the checkout.

Customers can refer their friends, earn a discount, and you can increase sales. Remember that you can turn your loyal customers into brand advocates by implementing a referral program. This is yet another method for increasing WOM marketing and acquiring new customers at a low cost to increase organic sales.

6. Notifications after purchase

If you want to keep a customer, you must first understand and get to know them. And the most effective way to do so is to keep the conversation going even after they’ve made the purchase. Most eCommerce businesses prioritize a simple on-site journey that leads directly to checkout with few detours. It is wise to reduce friction. 

However, there is radio silence after checking out. Businesses must take control of the delivery experience by informing their customers of any shipment event updates. This increases shoppers’ trust in the brand and their purchases. More importantly, a memorable delivery experience encourages customers to return to the same brand.

7. Review collection after purchase

Do you have any interesting facts? Customer reviews are one strategy that can assist in converting casual browsers into eager purchasers and then into regular customers. As a result, you should develop a strategy for gathering feedback from current customers and plan to expand your business.

So, I propose an app that will encourage your customers to leave reviews. Reviewbit is an app that encourages your customers to leave reviews by providing incentives.

This tool allows businesses to collect customer reviews via WhatsApp with more than a 30% conversion rate and easily publish them on product pages.

Summary

There are many aspects of the post-purchase experience that are frequently overlooked, but hopefully, after reading this post, you will be better prepared to face the challenge and increase your average repeat purchase rate higher than ever this year.