No one likes a one-hit wonder; the same goes for eCommerce sales. No one wants someone to purchase once and then jump ship. But it’s not on the customer; it’s on you as a brand to nurture them to become repeat purchasers.
Of course, every large eCommerce brand will have loyal customers, and you may have already noticed who they are — but many factors make up your most loyal customers. You want to put most of your effort into these customers, but how do you find out who they are?
One of the metrics you should take a look at when finding your most loyal customers is Purchase Frequency.
How To Calculate Purchase Frequency
Purchase Frequency (PF) is the number of times a customer will buy from your brand within a specific period. Of course, the higher the PF, the more loyal your customers are and the higher the chance of them returning. The goal with those customers is to ensure nothing stands in their way.
There is a calculation you can do to find your customers’ PF, which looks like this:
Remember that your brand’s Purchase Frequency is influenced by your industry and the products or services you sell.
You may wonder why this is important. After all, if these customers keep coming back, there’s nothing to fix, right? Wrong.
What holds one customer back may not be noticed by another. All your customers have different driving forces behind their actions, and it’s your job as an eCommerce leader to guide them to where they want to be.
The PF metric will demonstrate how loyal your customers are and their level of engagement with your brand. You can use the data you’ve collected through Purchase Frequency to target specific groups based on their score with personalised marketing, helping you to nurture your already loyal customers.
Another excellent way of utilising this data is to ask high Purchase Frequency customers questions to find out what they love about your brand. Doing this will not only allow you to improve on these aspects even further but can literally give you the copy for your marketing.
For example, if your most loyal customers love that your website makes ordering easy, you won’t want to push your affordable prices. Focus on what your customers love about your brand and use that in your marketing copy — ‘Quick & Easy to Order!’
(Bonus hint: your Purchase Frequency can be automatically calculated, and data can be easily utilised using Omniconvert’s REVEAL)
Stack Your Metric Against Benchmarks
It’s good to remember that stacking your Purchase Frequency metric against that of industry benchmarks (on Shopify) isn’t always a hit-and-run. Many things influence this metric, and your target audience can differ from that of a competitor.
Focus on your industry as closely as possible — you will need to look at multiple factors like purchasing behaviour based on your particular product or service. For example, if you sell canoes, you may not have as high a Purchase Frequency as a clothing brand.
If you’d like to compare your metric against your industry or competitors, check out Omniconvert’s Real-Time CLV Benchmark Report.
How To Influence Your Purchase Frequency
You have the numbers. Now what? You need to use this data constructively to build loyalty and brand trust, ultimately increasing your Customer Lifetime Value.
Customer Lifetime Value gives you an idea of what your brand looks like, from the outside. It is made up of many different factors that culminate into actionable insights that you can implement to reach your goals.
You’ll be able to predict customer behaviour based on aspects of their history, all while encouraging different customers in different ways based on where they are in their customer journey.
There are several ways to influence this metric, and here are our top three.
Enhance Your Email Marketing Campaigns
You can target specific customers based on their Purchase Frequency score, especially when using Klaviyo’s segment-building functionality. Creating segments that have targeted messaging will allow you to build up your retention metrics and build stronger relationships with your customers.
You will know the perfect time to connect with your customers through campaigns by looking at the recency and the average days between transactions. Set measurable goals for these campaigns, and keep improving on them throughout the year based on the data collected.
Implement Loyalty Programs
We at Blend cannot go any harder on the importance of loyalty programs for your brand. Of course, it depends on your industry, but for most eCommerce brands, having a loyalty program is the driving force behind loyal customers. After all, it’s in the name, right?
And don’t skimp on the loyalty program, either. Implementing a strong loyalty program with a tool like LoyaltyLion will have customers eating out of the palm of your hand. We’re not saying give free money away, but creating innovative incentives (something simple like early access) for your customers will have them returning for more.
Don’t underestimate the psychology behind gamification, VIP benefits, and tiers. These are things that make customers feel valued. They don’t always need a discount.
Product Assortment Optimisation
You probably have a favourite product. We certainly do. But what you may enjoy, your customers may not. That’s why finding out buying habits of different customers is important.
Certain products will encourage repeat purchases because humans love routine. By understanding customers’ needs and driving forces, you’ll be able to improve your brand’s Purchase Frequency and increase your Customer Lifetime Value in one fell swoop.
Blend On Purchase Frequency
At Blend, we want eCommerce leaders to have all the information. If you’re looking to analyse your Purchase Frequency (among others) and find actionable insights to push you to your eCommerce goals, get in touch with us at Blend.
Published: January 24 2023
