Definition
Repeat purchase rate is the share of customers who have made more than one purchase. If 35% of customers have come back, the repeat purchase rate is 35%.
Also called: Repeat purchase rate, Repeat Purchase Rate, RPR, Repeat rateFollow the same customers over time.
customers buying in month 3. Each column shows the time since acquisition.
01Group customers by the date of their first purchase.
What the repeat purchase rate tells you
The repeat purchase rate is one of the earliest and most honest indicators of product-market fit. If people come back, the product delivers, and then there's a foundation to build CLTV on. If they disappear after the first purchase, there's a leak no amount of acquisition can fix.
It's also a cheap growth lever, because repeat purchases are won through email, flows and retention — not through expensive ad euros. A lift in the repeat purchase rate feeds straight into CLTV, and thus into what you can afford to pay for new customers.
How to raise the repeat purchase rate
Post-purchase flows that trigger a second purchase sooner, replenishment reminders for consumables, relevant cross-sell and an assortment that gives a reason to come back are the strongest levers. For some brands, subscription is the most effective repeat mechanic there is.
Follow the repeat purchase rate in cohorts and over time: if it rises for newer customers, the retention effort is working; if it falls, something in the product or experience needs fixing before more acquisition makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the repeat purchase rate matter?
Because it's an early indicator of product-market fit and a direct driver of CLTV. Repeat purchases are won cheaply through retention rather than expensive ads, so a higher repeat rate raises customer value without raising acquisition cost.
How do I increase the repeat purchase rate?
With post-purchase flows that pull the second purchase forward, replenishment reminders, cross-sell and possibly subscription. And by following it in cohorts, so you see whether the effort actually moves newer customers.
From insight to action
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About the author
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen
Growth hacker and fractional CMO with 10+ years' experience and hundreds of millions in managed ad spend behind him. Background from larger Danish and international scale-ups, and from the agency world.
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