New Customer LTV: First-Order Customer Lifetime Value

New Customer LTV measures the average revenue from first-time customer orders—the starting point for lifetime value before repeat purchases.

Formula

New Customer LTV = New Customer Revenue ÷ New Customers

Formula Components

Metric	Definition
New Customer Revenue	Revenue from first-time buyer orders
New Customers	Count of first-time buyers

Metadata
Type	Currency
Data Source	Shopify
Aggregation	Average

Example

Your Shopify store generates $50,000 from 500 new customers.

Component	Value	Calculation
New Customer Revenue	$50,000	First-order sales
New Customers	500	First-time buyers
New Customer LTV	$100	$50,000 ÷ 500

How It Works

New Customer LTV represents the initial revenue value of acquired customers. This is the baseline—actual LTV grows as customers make repeat purchases over time.

When to Use

Scenario	Action
CAC payback	Compare to CPA for first-order payback
Cohort analysis	Track how first-order value trends
Acquisition targeting	Higher New Customer LTV indicates better targeting
AOV optimization	Strategies to increase first-order value

Metric	Relationship
LTV	Full lifetime revenue value
New Customer AOV	Same metric, different name
New Customer CPA	Cost to acquire
Returning Customer LTV	Repeat order value

See all LTV metrics →