KPIMarketing

Repeat Purchase Rate

Percentage of customers who make more than one purchase within a defined time window

What is Repeat Purchase Rate?

Repeat purchase rate is the percentage of customers who have bought from you more than once. It shows how many customers come back after their first order.

It is a direct measure of loyalty and satisfaction. Repeat customers usually cost far less to win than new ones and spend more over time, so a rising rate improves the whole economics of the business.

How this KPI is measured

Function: Marketing
Sub-function: Customer Retention
Industry: All Industries
Type: Lagging
Impact: Revenue
Unit: %
Measurement frequency: Monthly / Quarterly
Formula: (Customers with 2+ purchases / Total customers) × 100

How to calculate it

Divide the number of customers with two or more purchases by the total number of customers, and multiply by 100.

For example, if a shop has 20,000 customers and 5,000 of them have ordered at least twice, the repeat purchase rate is (5,000 / 20,000) x 100 = 25%.

Decide on the group of customers and the period you measure. A common approach is to follow a cohort of customers who first bought in a given month and see how many buy again within a fixed window, such as 90 days.

Where it is used

Measuring loyalty
See how well the business keeps customers after their first purchase.
Evaluating retention activity
Test whether emails, loyalty schemes and service changes bring customers back.
Improving acquisition decisions
Find which channels bring customers who come back, not just those who buy once.

How to improve it

Make the first order excellentDelivery, packaging and follow-up shape whether customers return.
Follow up after purchaseSend helpful, well-timed messages that suggest the next purchase or reorder.
Reward loyaltyOffer a loyalty scheme or benefits that give a reason to come back.
Recommend relevant productsUse past purchases to suggest items the customer is likely to want.
Track by cohortFollow groups of customers over time to see how quickly and how often they return.

Tips and common mistakes

The right measurement window depends on the product. A weekly grocery and a sofa have very different natural repeat cycles.
Compare cohorts of the same age, since older customers have had longer to buy again.
Look at repeat rate by acquisition channel to find where the best customers come from.

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