The count of customers who placed orders and have at least one prior purchase on record.
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| Customer ID | Unique identifier for each customer from Shopify |
| customer_type = returning_customer | Filters to customers with at least one prior purchase |
| Metadata | |
|---|
| Type | Number |
| Data Source | Shopify |
| Aggregation | Count |
Example
Your store served 1,847 returning customers in February:
| Week | Returning Customers | New Customers | Total Unique |
|---|
| Week 1 | 428 | 284 | 712 |
| Week 2 | 412 | 272 | 684 |
| Week 3 | 467 | 289 | 756 |
| Week 4 | 540 | 155 | 695 |
How It Works
Shopify tracks each customer’s purchase history. A returning customer is anyone who has completed at least one order before the current one. This metric counts distinct returning customers—each repeat buyer counts once regardless of how many orders they placed in the period.
When to Use
| Scenario | Action |
|---|
| Tracking retention success | Monitor growth in repeat buyers month over month |
| Evaluating loyalty programs | Compare returning customer counts before and after initiatives |
| Sizing your repeat buyer base | Understand how many loyal customers are actively purchasing |
| Cohort retention analysis | Track which acquisition cohorts produce the most repeat buyers |
| Metric | Relationship |
|---|
| New Customers | First-time buyers (the complement) |
| Unique Customers | Total distinct customers (New + Returning) |
| Returning Customer % | Returning orders as percentage of total |
| Returning Customer Gross Revenue | Revenue from repeat buyers |
