Returning Customer Total Cost measures the complete cost stack for repeat buyer orders, including all attributed costs for retention.
RC Total Cost = RC COGS + RC Fulfillment + RC Marketing + RC Agency Fees + RC Opex
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| RC COGS | COGS for returning customer orders |
| RC Fulfillment | Fulfillment costs for returning customer orders |
| RC Marketing | Marketing spend attributed to returning customers |
| RC Agency Fees | Agency fees attributed to returning customers |
| RC Opex | Opex attributed to returning customers |
| Metadata | |
|---|
| Type | Currency |
| Data Source | Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Upstack Costs |
| Aggregation | Sum |
Example
Your Shopify store’s returning customer orders incurred:
| Cost Component | Value |
|---|
| RC COGS | $22,000 |
| RC Fulfillment | $4,000 |
| RC Marketing | $5,000 |
| RC Agency Fees | $1,000 |
| RC Opex | $6,000 |
| RC Total Cost | $38,000 |
How It Works
RC Total Cost aggregates all costs attributed to returning customer orders. Typically, returning customers have lower marketing costs since they don’t require acquisition spend, making their orders more profitable.
When to Use
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| Retention profitability | Compare RC total cost to RC revenue |
| LTV contribution | Understand cost efficiency of repeat orders |
| Budget planning | Allocate resources to retention |
| NC vs RC comparison | Compare acquisition vs retention costs |
| Metric | Relationship |
|---|
| Total Cost | Total cost for all orders |
| NC Total Cost | Total cost for new customer orders |
| RC Revenue | Revenue generated by returning customers |
| RC CM3 | RC profit after all variable costs |
