Repeat Rate: Measure Customer Retention Performance

The percentage of total orders placed by returning customers.

Formula

Repeat Rate = Returning Customer Orders ÷ Total Orders × 100

Formula Components

Metric	Definition
Returning Customer Orders	Orders placed by customers with at least one prior purchase
Total Orders	All orders placed in the selected period

Metadata
Type	Percentage
Data Source	Shopify
Aggregation	Ratio

Example

Your store processed 1,247 orders in January with a 38% Repeat Rate:

Customer Type	Orders	Share
New Customers	773	62%
Returning Customers	474	38%

How It Works

Repeat Rate measures customer loyalty by calculating what percentage of orders come from customers who have purchased before. Shopify identifies returning customers based on their email address matching a previous order. Higher repeat rates indicate stronger customer retention and brand loyalty.

When to Use

Scenario	Action
Measuring retention health	Track repeat rate trends to gauge customer loyalty
Evaluating loyalty programs	Compare repeat rate before and after launching initiatives
Assessing acquisition quality	Low repeat rates may indicate poor customer-product fit
Forecasting revenue	Higher repeat rates enable more predictable revenue streams

Metric	Relationship
Orders	The denominator in the Repeat Rate formula
Returning Customers	The numerator in the Repeat Rate formula
New Customer %	The inverse segment (100% − Repeat Rate)
Customer Lifetime Value	Higher repeat rates typically correlate with higher LTV
Average Order Value	Compare AOV between new and returning customers

See all Performance metrics →

Purchase Frequency LTV Overview

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​Formula

​Formula Components

​Example

​How It Works

​When to Use

​Related Metrics

Formula

Formula Components

Example

How It Works

When to Use

Related Metrics