In this guide, you’ll get the exact formula for calculating repeat purchase rate, where to pull the numbers from, how to read the result against category norms, and the specific levers that move the number — from replenishment timing to loyalty programs and post-purchase experience.

Quick Answer

Repeat purchase rate = (number of customers who bought two or more times in a given period ÷ total number of customers who bought at least once in that period) x 100. Pick a time window (often 90 days, 6 months, or 12 months), count how many customers ordered more than once during it, and divide by everyone who ordered during that same window.

How to Calculate Repeat Purchase Rate, Step by Step

Start by choosing a measurement window that matches your typical repurchase cycle — a fast-consumable product (coffee, skincare, supplements) might warrant a 90-day window, while apparel or electronics often make more sense measured over 6-12 months. Pull order data for that window from your ecommerce platform’s analytics, your CRM, or an email/loyalty tool like Klaviyo, Yotpo, or Shopify’s own customer reports.

Next, count unique customers with two or more completed orders in the window (the numerator), then count all unique customers with at least one order in the same window (the denominator). Divide and multiply by 100. Example: if 100 customers purchased in the last 90 days and 28 of them ordered again, your repeat purchase rate is 28%.

Be careful with two common calculation traps: don’t count orders instead of customers (a single customer with three orders should still count once), and keep the numerator and denominator tied to the exact same time window — mixing windows inflates or deflates the number in misleading ways.

What Moves the Number: Strategies That Improve Repeat Purchase Rate

Time your outreach to the buying window that matters. Most one-time buyers who come back tend to make their second purchase within the first few months of the first — after that, re-engagement gets harder and more expensive. Set up automated post-purchase flows (order confirmation, delivery follow-up, a check-in a few weeks later, then a relevant offer or replenishment nudge) rather than relying on generic newsletter blasts.

Use purchase history for personalization. Product recommendations and replenishment reminders based on what a customer actually bought consistently outperform generic promotions, especially for consumable or replenishable products where you can predict roughly when they’ll run out.

Give people a reason to come back beyond price. A loyalty or rewards program only moves repeat purchase rate if the perks feel worth the effort — think early access, free shipping thresholds, or faster delivery, not just a points balance nobody redeems. For naturally recurring products, a subscribe-and-save or subscription option removes the need for the customer to remember to reorder at all.

Fix friction, not just messaging. A clunky checkout, slow customer support, or a poor first delivery experience will quietly suppress repeat purchases no matter how good your email flows are. Exceptional post-sale support — fast resolutions, easy returns — is frequently the deciding factor in whether a first-time buyer becomes a repeat one.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t compare your repeat purchase rate against a single universal benchmark — it varies a lot by category. Fast-consumable categories like food, beverage, and supplements tend to run meaningfully higher than considered-purchase categories like electronics or furniture, simply because of how often people naturally need to reorder. Compare yourself against your own category and your own historical trend rather than a generic industry average.

Avoid confusing repeat purchase rate with customer retention rate or repurchase rate over the customer’s full lifetime — they’re related but calculated differently and answer slightly different questions. Also resist the urge to chase the metric with constant discounting; a repeat purchase driven by relevance, timing, and good experience is far more durable than one driven purely by a coupon, and discount-trained customers tend to churn once the discounts stop.

Explore more: More customer loyalty strategies.

Repeat Purchase Rate FAQs

What is a good repeat purchase rate for an ecommerce store?

It depends heavily on category. Consumable and replenishable products (food, supplements, personal care) typically see notably higher repeat purchase rates than considered or infrequent purchases like electronics or furniture. Rather than chasing a universal number, track your own rate over time and benchmark against similar businesses in your category.

How is repeat purchase rate different from customer retention rate?

Repeat purchase rate measures the share of customers who bought more than once in a given window. Customer retention rate typically measures whether customers who were active in one period are still active (purchasing) in the next period. They’re related metrics but use different math and answer slightly different questions about loyalty.

How often should I calculate my repeat purchase rate?

Most stores review it monthly or quarterly, using a rolling window (like trailing 90 days or trailing 12 months) that matches how often customers realistically reorder. Checking it too infrequently makes it hard to spot the impact of new retention tactics quickly.

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