In the highly competitive world of e-commerce, acquiring new customers is a challenging feat. But what's even more important than acquiring new customers is ensuring their loyalty and driving repeat purchases. Repeat purchase rate (RPR) is a key metric that reflects how many customers return to make a purchase multiple times.

In this article, we will explore the significance of RPR and present five strategies to skyrocket repeat purchase rates for new e-commerce users.

Understanding the significance of repeat purchase rate

The repeat purchase rate is a metric that measures the percentage of customers who make repeat purchases from your e-commerce store. It goes beyond just acquiring new customers and focuses on building a base of loyal, returning customers.

RPR is a vital measure of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and the effectiveness of your marketing and retention strategies. By increasing your RPR, you can enhance customer lifetime value and drive sustainable growth for your e-commerce business.

When it comes to understanding the significance of repeat purchase rate, it's important to delve deeper into the key metrics that help measure and analyze this metric. These metrics provide valuable insights into customer behavior and can guide you in making data-driven decisions to improve your business.

Key metrics for measuring repeat purchase rate

To effectively measure your repeat purchase rate, you need to track essential metrics such as:

• Repeat purchase rate (RPR): This calculates the percentage of customers who make repeat purchases within a specific time frame. It helps you understand how successful your efforts are in retaining customers and encouraging them to come back for more.
• Customer retention rate (CRR): This measures the percentage of customers who continue to make purchases from your store over a defined period. It provides insights into the loyalty of your customer base and helps you identify areas where you can improve customer retention.
• Average order value (AOV): This indicates the average monetary value of each purchase made by your customers. By analyzing the AOV, you can identify opportunities to increase the value of each transaction and maximize your revenue.
• Customer lifetime value (CLV): This measures the projected value of a customer's relationship with your business over their lifetime. It takes into account factors such as average purchase frequency, average order value, and customer retention rate.

By analyzing these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into customer behavior, identify areas for improvement, and implement targeted strategies to boost your repeat purchase rate.

Why repeat purchase rate matters for e-commerce businesses

The repeat purchase rate is a pivotal metric for e-commerce businesses due to several reasons:

• Revenue growth: Higher RPR means more repeat customers, which directly translates to increased revenue and profitability for your e-commerce business. By focusing on retaining existing customers, you can tap into a reliable revenue stream and reduce dependency on acquiring new customers.
• Cost-effective marketing: Acquiring new customers can be expensive, requiring substantial marketing investments. Focusing on repeat purchases allows you to optimize your marketing efforts and reduce customer acquisition costs. By nurturing existing customers and providing them with a positive experience, you can encourage them to make repeat purchases without incurring additional marketing expenses.
• Brand loyalty: Customers who repeatedly purchase from your store have developed a sense of loyalty towards your brand. They are more likely to refer you to friends and family, write positive reviews, and become brand advocates. This word-of-mouth marketing can significantly impact your business's reputation and attract new customers organically.

Strategies to drive repeat purchases in e-commerce

Creating a seamless onboarding process for new users

The journey of a new customer begins with their first interaction with your e-commerce store. Ensuring a seamless onboarding process is crucial for capturing their attention and encouraging repeat purchases. Here are some key steps to follow:

1. Streamline registration: Simplify the registration process to minimize friction and create a positive first experience. Consider offering social media login options to expedite the process.
2. Personalize the onboarding experience: Tailor the onboarding process based on the user's preferences and behavior. Offer personalized product recommendations and relevant content to engage them from the start.
3. Provide clear instructions: Clearly guide new users through the purchasing process, ensuring they understand how to navigate your store, find products, and complete their first purchase effortlessly.

A smooth onboarding process sets the stage for a positive customer experience and lays the foundation for repeat purchases.

For instance, Flipkart uses coachmarks to onboard new users. It is used to introduce its new users to the core functionality as the user goes through making a purchase for the first time. By highlighting these core features, it would lead to quick activation and subsequently long-term retention.

Crafting personalized post-purchase communication

Post-purchase communication is a powerful tool for driving repeat purchases and nurturing customer relationships. Here's how you can leverage it effectively:

1. Order confirmation: Send a personalized email or notification to confirm the purchase and provide details such as order number, product information, and estimated delivery date.
2. Shipping updates: Keep customers informed about the progress of their order through shipping updates. Provide tracking numbers and estimated delivery times to enhance transparency and build trust.
3. Post-purchase recommendations: Suggest related products or accessories based on the customer's purchase history to spark their interest and encourage additional purchases.

By maintaining a consistent line of communication, you can foster a personalized and engaging experience that encourages customers to return for future purchases.

Unlocking the potential of personalized mobile marketing

Personalized mobile marketing is a game-changer for boosting repeat purchase rates. Here's how you can leverage it:

1. Behavioral targeting: Analyze user behavior and preferences to deliver personalized product recommendations and offers that resonate with each customer.
2. In-app messaging: Engage users while they are actively using your app through contextual in-app messages. Provide personalized recommendations, exclusive offers, and limited-time promotions to drive repeat purchases. For example, Myntra nudges its users to check out the items they’ve added to their carts.

By harnessing the power of personalized mobile marketing, you can create a tailored and immersive experience that encourages repeat purchases and drives customer loyalty.

Harnessing the power of email newsletters

Email newsletters are a highly effective tool for engaging customers and driving repeat purchases. Here's how you can make the most of them:

1. Segmentation: Divide your customer base into different segments based on their preferences, purchase history, or demographics. This enables you to send targeted newsletters that resonate with each group.
2. Compelling content: Create engaging and relevant content that captures the attention of your subscribers. Share product updates, special promotions, industry insights, and exclusive offers to keep your audience eagerly anticipating your newsletters.
3. Call-to-action: Include clear and enticing calls-to-action (CTAs) within your newsletters to prompt readers to revisit your store and make a repeat purchase. Use persuasive language, limited-time offers, and personalized discounts to create a sense of urgency.

By consistently delivering valuable content to your subscribers, you can strengthen your brand and drive repeat purchases.

Implementing reward programs for loyal customers

Reward programs are an effective way to incentivize repeat purchases and foster customer loyalty. Consider the following strategies:

1. Points-based rewards: Offer points for each purchase that customers can accumulate and redeem for discounts or exclusive perks.
2. Exclusive access: Provide loyal customers with early access to new products, exclusive sales, or limited-edition items to make them feel valued and appreciated.
3. Referral bonuses: Encourage customers to refer your store to their friends by offering rewards such as discounts or freebies for successful referrals. This not only drives repeat purchases but also expands your customer base.

For example, the Cred app has an exclusive section for rewards that leads to frequent engagement of users with the app.

Expert guidance for mobile marketing success

Mastering mobile marketing is crucial for driving repeat purchases in the ecommerce landscape. Here are some expert tips to help you succeed:

• Monitor and analyze data: Continuously track and analyze your data to identify trends, preferences, and opportunities for improvement. Optimize your mobile marketing strategies based on data-driven insights.
• Test and iterate: Experiment with different marketing campaigns, messaging, and offers to find the most effective strategies for your target audience. Continuously iterate and refine your approach to maximize engagement and repeat purchases.
• Stay ahead of trends: Keep an eye on the latest mobile marketing trends and technologies. Embrace innovative techniques such as augmented reality, chatbots, or voice-activated shopping to provide a cutting-edge experience to your customers.

By staying informed and adapting to the evolving mobile marketing landscape, you can position your ecommerce business for long-term success.

How Plotline can help boost repeat purchases

With the assistance of Plotline and personalized mobile marketing techniques, you can elevate your ecommerce business to new heights.

Plotline is an in-app engagement platform that lets you create and deploy in-app messages that match your design theme to a targeted user cohort. We provide powerful event-based targeting and user segmentation to help the right user take the right action at the right time.

If you're interested in learning more about how in-app messages can help boost repaet purchases in e-commerce apps, book a demo with us.