Marketing costs allocated to returning customer orders, filtered by customer_type = returning_customer.
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| Marketing Cost | User-defined marketing costs from order cost entries |
| customer_type = returning_customer | Filters to orders from customers who have purchased before |
| Metadata | |
|---|
| Type | Currency |
| Data Source | Upstack Costs |
| Aggregation | Sum |
Example
Your store allocated $7,800 in marketing costs to returning customers in Q1:
| Month | RC Marketing Cost | RC Orders | Cost Per Order |
|---|
| January | $2,400 | 892 | $2.69 |
| February | $2,600 | 978 | $2.66 |
| March | $2,800 | 1,064 | $2.63 |
How It Works
Returning Customer Marketing Cost filters Marketing Cost to include only orders where customer_type = returning_customer. This isolates retention marketing spend from acquisition spend, enabling accurate calculation of returning customer contribution margin.
When to Use
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| Track retention marketing spend | Capture loyalty program costs, email marketing, or referral rewards |
| Calculate RC contribution margin | Include all returning customer marketing costs for accurate profitability |
| Compare NC vs RC marketing | Separate acquisition vs retention marketing investment |
| Budget retention spend | Track and optimize marketing costs for repeat customers |
| Metric | Relationship |
|---|
| Marketing Cost | Unfiltered version across all customers |
| New Customer Marketing Cost | Acquisition counterpart filtered by new customers |
| Returning Customer Contribution Margin | Deducts this cost to calculate RC CM3 |
| Total Cost | All costs combined |
