Customer retention needs to be one of your top goals if you own a Shopify store. In addition to being less expensive than acquiring new ones, loyal consumers are also more likely to recommend your business to others and make more purchases.
It’s wonderful to attract new clients to your Shopify online store. It demonstrates the need for your goods or services and indicates that your marketing is working.
We’ll go over some practical methods for maximizing Shopify customer retention.
Customer Retention Rate Definition
Customer retention rate can be defined as the number of users who repeatedly utilize your product or service over time. This metric measures how effectively your company can keep customers from switching to other brands, thereby promoting repeat business or habitual usage of your product and ensuring the long-term profitability of your company.
Why Is Customer Retention Important for Your Shopify Store?
On Shopify, customer retention is crucial since it enables you to increase sales while spending less on marketing. A loyal customer base that is pleased with your product or service needs little to no convincing to keep visiting your Shopify store.
It is far simpler and less expensive to keep current consumers than to find new ones. Recurring consumers are inclined to spend more money, recommend the company to others, and make repeat purchases.
On the flip side, losing clients can be detrimental to a company, resulting in reduced sales, unfavorable reviews, and a tarnished reputation.
To increase client loyalty, lower customer turnover, and ultimately promote long-term success, e-commerce enterprises should prioritize customer retention.
Measuring Customer Retention
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
The typical sum of money you anticipate earning from a customer throughout their business relationship with you is known as customer lifetime value. CLV provides you with all the information you require regarding how successfully your product connects with your audience, your strengths, and your areas for development. It’s an important statistic to use when figuring out your business model’s long-term prospects and return on investment (ROI).
According to their business model and the availability of data, Shopify store owners can utilize a variety of algorithms to determine CLV. In general, it is a crucial indicator that can assist Shopify store owners in making data-driven decisions that, over time, improve customer experiences and boost revenue.
Repeat Purchase Rate
Your repeat purchase rate serves as an estimate for the percentage of your existing consumers who make subsequent purchases.
Additionally known as your rate of repeat business, reorders, or even client retention, it will always be in the range of 0% and 100%, with a higher number being ideal.
A rate of 0% indicates that no customers are returning, while a rate of 100% indicates that every consumer returns and buys again from your store.
One of the formulas that can be used to determine repeat purchases is the following:
(The number of customers who have made repeat purchases divided into the total number of customers for a certain period) multiplied by 100 is the repeat purchase rate.
Purchase Frequency
The average number of orders placed by each consumer is represented by purchase frequency. It is a vital measure that e-commerce companies should monitor because it has an immediate impact on the company’s sales and profitability.
You must divide your total number of orders by your total number of distinct clients using the same period as your average order value calculations to get it.
Average Order Value
One of the most crucial variables for online retailers is average order value (AOV), which affects everything from advertising spending to shop design to product pricing. Online retailers utilize this statistic as a benchmark, as a result, to better understand the purchasing patterns of their clients.
To find the average order value for your business, divide total revenue by orders. Instead of using sales per customer, AOV is calculated using sales per order. The average quantity of each customer’s orders is determined separately for each purchase, even if they make multiple purchases.
Best Techniques to Improve Customer Retention
Get Rid of A Customer’s Ache
Although they may offer comparable goods and services, if you prefer one brand over another, it’s generally because you have a special need that they satisfy. It could be accessibility, price, comfort, product and service quality, and more.
If you want to differentiate your Shopify company from the rest of the competition in the market, you can use this approach.
Identify a customer need in your sector, then satisfy it. You’ll be astounded by how dramatically your retention rate increases.
Implement A Customer Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs encourage customers to stick with your brand. When your customers reach a level in your loyalty program, give them a cash-back incentive or a special gift. Give them something as a token of appreciation for their devotion once they’ve reached a particular level or accumulated a certain number of points.
An excellent strategy to promote customer retention is through effective loyalty programs.
Customize Product Suggestions
By making the products that your consumers would be particularly interested in visible throughout your Shopify store, you may enhance the customer experience. It would appear like your catalog fits your clients’ wants and preferences if you displayed product recommendations that match their preferences. Because customers don’t have to waste time looking for the things they are interested in, it also improves the customer experience.
Even better, you could provide product suggestions depending on how customers have previously explored your store. Making your consumers’ lives easier and demonstrating that you offer what they need by using tailored recommendations will keep them coming back to your shop and eliminate the need for them to go elsewhere.
Create A Mobile App
Customers may easily communicate with your company through a mobile app, which offers them the convenience they require.
But keep in mind that just making an app with a better user experience is not sufficient. To encourage new customers to return, integrate it with your loyalty program and provide incentives and rewards. Prioritize simplicity as well, and at every turn, provide in-app suggestions to help users become familiar with your app. All of these techniques guarantee that you keep your clients for a very long time.
Launch A Subscription-Based Service
One of the best and simplest ways to improve your Shopify retention rate is to include a recurring purchase option. Every user who registers instantly converts to a repeat user. This is the reason why subscription-based goods are so popular.
Look for products on your product list that consumers frequently require, and think about providing them as subscriptions.
Leverage User-Generated Content
Instead of being produced by the company or brand itself, user-generated content is content that is made for a brand by the customers who interact with it.
Customers are more likely to purchase when they see other positive evaluations, particularly those that come with consumer photographs since they trust one another much more than they do a business.
You can increase your customer acquisition by doing this. Many clients will seize the chance to talk about their experiences utilizing your good or service.
Ask clients for feedback to learn about their concerns, levels of satisfaction, and suggestions for change.
Invest In A-Class Customer Service
If you treat potential consumers well, they’ll be more inclined to remain faithful. If you mistreat them, you run the chance of permanently losing them.
Customers can receive prompt answers to their inquiries from chatbots and other automated solutions. Also helpful are comprehensive product papers and FAQ sections. However, interaction with a live person is frequently required for an immersive user experience. When you make sure customers can do that whenever they need to, you’ll create a shopping experience that encourages them to return.
Use Email Marketing and Social Media
Other powerful methods for increasing retention include social media and email marketing. By interacting with clients on social media and via email, you can foster relationships, boost your brand, and generate repeat business.
You can send tailored and targeted messages to your customers using email marketing, such as welcome emails, reminders for abandoned shopping carts, thank you emails, and discounts. Use compelling subject lines and content, categorize your email list based on consumer behavior and preferences, and increase the effectiveness of your emails. Include offerings that are pertinent to your clients as well as clear calls to action.
On the other hand, to use social media effectively, you should figure out which platforms are most used by your target demographic and establish a significant presence there. In addition, you may utilize social media to promote user-generated content, hold giveaways and contests, and provide your followers with only available deals and promotions.
FAQs
Do Internet Communities Help Businesses Retain Customers?
These are merely electronic platforms for word-of-mouth. People are likely to compliment you online if you offer superior goods or services and excellent customer support.
However, if your product doesn’t work as expected or you don’t offer the kind of experience customers desire, online groups may become overrun with complaints, which could harm your company’s reputation.
Control online forums and address grievances whenever you can. You’re more likely to win over those who are seeing how you handle the interaction if you respond when individuals are upset.
How Do You Get Referrals to Improve Your Customer Retention?
Ask a consumer to spread the word about your items in their communities once the sale is complete. Social media sharing can be tracked, but private chats could have a more profound effect. When a consumer purchases something from your Shopify store that they might use every day (such as a productivity tool), follow up with an email asking them to recommend the product to others.
Being aggressive is unnecessary, and if you are, your Shopify client retention rate may suffer. But all it might take is a straightforward request to get customers to spread the good word.
What Phases Comprise the Cycle of Customer Retention?
The five stages of the customer lifetime include reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty. The customer lifecycle, while similar to the buyer’s journey, also considers the customer’s experience, or what occurs after a prospect makes a purchase.
The Wrap-Up
Effective customer service, issue-solving, appreciation, feedback, timeliness, and openness are essential to running a successful online store. You may enhance the shopping experience for customers on your Shopify store and raise customer retention rates by using these techniques. You may improve the long-term sustainability and profitability of your ecommerce by having a high retention rate.
