Most e-commerce brands spend 90% of their marketing budget on acquiring new customers. Logical, because growth feels like more customers. But the data tells a different story: an existing customer is 60-70% more likely to convert than a new visitor, and the cost per conversion is 5-7x lower.
The real value is in repeat purchases
Customers who buy a second time spend 31% more on average than on their first purchase. Customers who buy a third time spend 54% more. The cumulative effect is enormous: your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) determines how much you can spend on acquisition. A high LTV means you can advertise more aggressively on Meta Ads and Google Ads because you know every customer earns more back.
Four pillars of retention
Post-purchase communication is the first pillar. Don't just send an order confirmation, build a relationship. Tips about the product, care instructions, styling suggestions. After 14 days a review request. After 30 days a cross-sell. You automate all of this in Klaviyo.
Loyalty programmes are the second pillar. Points, tiers, early access, it gives customers a reason to come back. The third: community. A Slack group, Instagram close friends, or a VIP newsletter. The fourth: product launches. Always give existing customers first access.
Measuring what matters
Measure your repeat purchase rate, your average time between purchases, and your cohort retention (what percentage of customers from month X buys again in month Y). These metrics are at least as important as your ROAS. At OMNIAIR we increased email revenue by 30% by optimising the retention flows.