Customer Retention: where profitable ecommerce is actually made
Retention is the difference between an ecommerce business that scales profitably and one that funds the ad platforms. Every point of repeat rate over 35% adds 8-12% to LTV and lets you outbid every competitor for first-time buyers.
Acquisition is the visible metric. Retention is the profitable one. The brands that scale past £5m/year profitably almost always have a 40%+ repeat rate because the second, third, and fourth order pay for the first click.
This hub covers the retention stack: LTV modelling, subscriptions where they fit, loyalty programmes, winback flows, and the cohort reporting that keeps retention improvements measurable.
Guides, playbooks and case studies
Cohort CLV, predictive CLV, and the finance model behind CAC decisions.
Recharge vs Skio vs Loop pick the right subscription stack for your category.
Points, tiers, and paid membership when each format actually earns its keep.
30/60/90-day segmented flows that reactivate lapsed customers profitably.
How to identify, reward, and grow the top 5% of your customer base.
Tracking pages, delivery updates, and review requests wired to retention lift.
Refersion, Friendbuy, and Mention Me mechanics that survive audit scrutiny.
The monthly retention dashboard every operator should read on the first of the month.
The playbook, step by step
- 01Cohort baseline
Pull the last 12 months of first-order cohorts, plot repeat rate at 30/60/90/180 days, and set targets by product category.
- 02Retention flows
Post-purchase, winback (30/60/90), replenishment, and VIP each with segmented copy and clear conversion goals.
- 03Subscription or loyalty layer
Add subscriptions for consumables; add a paid or tiered loyalty programme where subscriptions don't fit the category.
- 04VIP programme
Identify top 5% by margin, build a private list, and invest in relationship (early access, samples, human outreach).
- 05Monthly cohort review
First-of-month retention dashboard reviewed by the whole growth team, tied back to acquisition source and first SKU.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good ecommerce repeat rate?
35-45% at 12 months is healthy for most DTC categories. Consumables should target 50%+; considered purchases (furniture, appliances) 15-25%.
Do subscriptions work for every brand?
No they work best for consumables and predictable-reorder categories. Forcing them onto considered purchases hurts brand and lifts churn.
Is a loyalty programme worth building?
Yes, once repeat rate is above 25% and you have >20,000 customers. Below that, invest the same energy in flows and VIP outreach.
How do we improve LTV fast?
Fix the second-order rate. Post-purchase flow, replenishment SMS, and a clean VIP tier typically add 15-25% LTV inside 90 days.