Repeat purchase rate is decided at the second order. A customer who buys twice has started a habit; a customer who buys once is still an acquisition cost. Loyalty is built for that gap: 84% of loyalty program members say programs make them more likely to repurchase, in Salesforce's Connected Shoppers Report (2025). At Applied Nutrition, a Shopify Plus sports nutrition brand on Smile, members buy 76% more often than non-members.
This guide is for Shopify Plus and enterprise retention teams with a program running or planned (to start one, see launching a loyalty program on Shopify Plus). It covers the formula, the second-purchase window, five loyalty levers and what to test.
TL;DR: Smile is our pick for Shopify Plus brands that want to increase repeat purchase rate, because it shows points and rewards where first-time buyers decide to come back (the product page, the thank you page, checkout and Shopify customer accounts) and syncs five profile properties and eight loyalty events to Klaviyo for the flows that bring them back. To raise the rate, measure your second-purchase window, give welcome points and a first reward within one to three orders, time Klaviyo reminders and VIP progress inside that window, and test one change at a time against a holdout. More Shopify Plus brands run loyalty on Smile than on any other platform (Store Leads, October 2026).
How to Calculate Repeat Purchase Rate
Repeat purchase rate is the share of customers who ordered more than once in a period.
Repeat purchase rate = customers with two or more orders ÷ all customers who ordered, in the same period
If 40,000 customers ordered in the last 12 months and 12,000 of them ordered at least twice, the rate is 30% (hypothetical numbers). Manage it through the cohort measures below.
| Metric | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Repeat purchase rate | Customers with 2+ orders ÷ customers who ordered, last 12 months | The overall habit |
| Second purchase rate | First-time buyers in a month who order again within your window ÷ all first-time buyers that month | Whether new customers come back; the number to manage and test |
| Third order rate | Customers with 3+ orders ÷ customers with 2+ orders | Whether a second order turns into a habit |
| Time to second order | Median days between first and second order | The length of your second-purchase window |
| Purchase frequency | Orders ÷ customers, last 12 months | Members against non-members |
Track by first-order month so a holiday cohort does not flatter the trend. Smile's customer segments compare annual purchase frequency for members and non-members, and for redeemers and non-redeemers. A small lift is worth real money: in Smile's State of Loyalty on Shopify Plus report (July 2026), a two-point lift in repeat-purchase share of revenue is worth about $400,000 a year to a brand with $20M in annual revenue (illustrative math, not a forecast).
Find Your Second-Purchase Window
The second-purchase window is the stretch of days after a first order in which most returning customers place their second. Every loyalty touch in this guide should land inside it.
- Take every customer whose first order was 12 to 24 months ago, so each had a year to return.
- For those who ordered again, measure the days between order one and order two.
- Read the median and the 75th percentile. The median is when to send your main reminder; the 75th percentile is where the window closes.
Measure each major category separately. A loyalty timeline for a 90-day window with a 45-day median:
| When | Loyalty touch | What runs it in Smile |
|---|---|---|
| Order one | Points just earned, on the thank you or order status page | Show points earned after purchase |
| Days 1 to 3 | Email with points earned and what the balance buys | Points Earned on Order event |
| Day 45, the median | Reward-ready reminder to members whose balance covers a reward | Smile Points Balance in a Klaviyo segment |
| Days 60 to 75 | Second-order bonus or a short bonus event, against a holdout | Shopify Flow, bonus events |
| Day 90 | Win-back that leads with the balance they already hold | Smile Points Balance, Points Expiring |
| Every signed-in visit | Cart reminder when a reward is ready to use | Nudges |
If you delay order points until returns close (Growth and above), the Points Earned on Order event reaches Klaviyo when they release. Sign-up points are not delayed, so lead with them when your window is shorter than your return window.
Step 1: Give Welcome Points and a First Reward Within Reach
A first-time buyer comes back for a reward they can almost touch. Smile's program guidance is to make the first reward achievable within one to three purchases, offer three to five rewards at different point values, keep rewards competitive with your regular promotions, and give customers another goal after they redeem (Smile Help Center, November 2026).
At a $90 average order value, with a common starting rate of 1 point per $1 and 100 points for $5 off:
| Setting | Example | Where the customer stands after order one |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome points | 50 points for creating an account | 50 points before the first purchase |
| Earn rate | 1 point per $1 | 90 points on a $90 order |
| First reward | $5 off for 100 points | 140 points: the first reward is ready for order two |
| Next reward | $15 off for 250 points | 110 points to go |
| Goal after that | $25 off for 400 points | A reason for orders three and four |
That is a 5% reward rate before breakage; check it against margin with our guide to measuring loyalty program ROI. For more structures, see the best points-based loyalty programs on Shopify.
Then make the points visible:
- Before the first order: an account creation nudge on a new visitor's first page, and points on the product page showing what the order will earn.
- After it: points earned on the thank you page, then the balance in the Smile panel, in Loyalty Hub inside Shopify customer accounts, and at checkout, where Shopify Plus members redeem and the discount applies automatically.
Redemption is the habit to build. Blue Banana, which runs checkout redemption on its Shopify Plus store, sees 40% higher average annual purchase frequency among redeemers than non-redeemers. At Mary Maxim, redeemers buy 172% more often than non-redeemers.
Step 2: Run Klaviyo Flows on Smile's Loyalty Data
Email and SMS carry the second order best when every message knows the customer's balance. Smile's Klaviyo integration, built and supported by Smile, keeps five profile properties current: Smile Points Balance, Smile Referral URL, Smile VIP Tier Name, Smile VIP Tier ID and Smile State (member, candidate or disabled). It sends eight events for flow triggers, conditions and segments: Birthday Reward Issued, Points Earned on Order, Points Redeemed, Points Expiring, Referral Started, Referral Completed, Reward Expiring and VIP Tier Achieved.
| Flow | Trigger or filter | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome series | Split on Smile State = member | Ways to earn, the balance and the first reward, with a deep link to the Smile panel |
| Post-purchase | Placed order, split on Smile State | Members: the new balance and referral link. Guests: the points they missed, and an invitation to join |
| Points earned | Points Earned on Order | The points just earned and what the balance buys |
| Reward ready | Segment: Smile Points Balance at or above the first reward, no second order | The reward they can spend today |
| Reward follow-up | Points Redeemed, then Reward Expiring | The code, then a reminder 3 days before the reward expires |
| Tier welcome | VIP Tier Achieved | The new tier's perks and the distance to the next |
Eight pre-built flow templates copy into Klaviyo with the branding from Klaviyo's brand settings. In Klaviyo Customer Hub, Smile shows each customer's points balance, next or best reward and tier.
Naturium, a skincare brand on Shopify Plus, runs five Smile-triggered Klaviyo flows: a welcome flow for new Consistency Club members, VIP tier and progress notifications, and reminders when members have points ready to redeem. It also targets campaigns by balance, such as a free mini for 20 points sent only to customers with 20 or more. In Q1 2025, 64% of its loyalty point redemptions were attributed to Klaviyo. To compare integrations, see loyalty apps that integrate with Klaviyo.
Step 3: Remind Customers of the Points They Hold
Points bring customers back when they remember them. Remind in three places:
- On site: cart nudges, the balance in the Smile panel and Loyalty Hub, and rewards at checkout.
- In every campaign: a balance line. Applied Nutrition integrated live points balances into Klaviyo email so customers are reminded of the value in their account.
- Before value lapses: with points expiry on (Growth and above), any order, redemption or earning resets the clock, and Smile emails a warning 30 days and a last chance 3 days before a balance resets, by default.
At Death Wish Coffee, regular loyalty reminders powered by Klaviyo go with 2.63x higher purchase frequency for active rewards program redeemers, and the redemption rate reached 70% after the brand turned its loyalty email flows back on.
Step 4: Show VIP Progress After the Second Order
Points pull the second order; VIP tiers give the third and fourth a goal. Set the first tier above entry so a customer reaches it in two or three orders within the tier window (a calendar year or lifetime), with an entry reward to spend on the next order, such as $15 off.
- Choose the milestone. Smile's VIP tiers take entry by money spent or points earned. With points earned, redeeming does not lower tier progress, so customers never choose between a reward and their status.
- Show the distance. Loyalty Hub shows each customer their tier, their progress toward the next one and the perks waiting there.
VIP tiers, Loyalty Hub and redemption at checkout start on Smile's Growth plan. Live Bearded runs three VIP tiers; its top tier, All-Stars, is 8% of loyalty program members and generated 90% of revenue with a Smile discount code in the past 12 months, and its loyalty members show 2.5x higher purchase frequency. For tier design, see tiered loyalty programs.
Step 5: Turn Referrals Into Next Orders
Every referral creates two reasons to buy again.
- The advocate's reward. When the friend's order is paid, the advocate earns a reward such as a discount, a free product, store credit or points. A Referral Completed flow says it is ready, a reason for their own next order.
- The friend's second order. The friend gets a discount on their first order. Referral Started creates their Klaviyo profile when they claim it, so they enter your welcome and post-purchase flows like any first-time buyer.
Smile recommends rewards of equal value for both sides, and each customer's link sits on their Klaviyo profile, so every post-purchase email can carry it. More on design in referral program apps for Shopify.
What to Test to Raise Repeat Purchase Rate
Read every test on second purchase rate by first-order month. Hold out a random 10% of eligible first-time buyers, read after one full window, and change one thing at a time.
| Test | Variant | Read it on |
|---|---|---|
| First reward cost | $5 off for 100 points vs 150 points | Second purchase rate, redemption rate |
| Welcome points | 0 vs 50 vs 100 points for an account | Membership rate, second purchase rate |
| Reminder timing | Reward-ready email on the median day vs the 75th percentile day | Second purchase rate |
| Second-order bonus | Bonus points on order two through Shopify Flow vs none | Second purchase rate, margin per order |
| Bonus event | A 2x points weekend for one-order members vs none | Orders during the event and the 30 days after |
The second-order bonus uses Shopify Flow's Order paid trigger, a condition on the customer's number of orders and Smile's Send Smile activity action. On bonus events, the median merchant on Smile saw 7.5% higher daily sales during one to seven day campaigns than its prior 30-day baseline, and top-quartile campaigns 50% or more (bonus campaign results). Smile's loyalty benchmarks set your redemption, order earning, reward usage and membership rates beside stores of similar size and industry, so you can see the weakest lever first.
Common Mistakes That Hold Back the Second Order
- A first reward out of reach. If earning anything takes four orders, a one-time buyer never sees value.
- One reminder for everyone. A balance email to a customer with 40 points reads as noise. Segment on Smile Points Balance.
- Discount codes instead of points. A blanket win-back code teaches customers to wait for the next one. Lead with the value they already hold.
Where Smile Stands Out for Repeat Purchase Rate
- Points where the next order is decided. The product page, the thank you page, checkout and Loyalty Hub in Shopify customer accounts, with cart nudges and one balance online and at Shopify POS on every plan.
- Loyalty data in every Klaviyo flow. Five profile properties and eight events per profile, eight pre-built flow templates and Customer Hub.
- Automation inside Shopify. Shopify Flow milestone bonuses, bonus events and VIP tiers synced to Shopify metafields.
- Measurement and a team. Members against non-members and benchmarks against similar stores; on Smile Plus, a migration and launch plan run by Smile's team, quarterly program monitoring and priority support.
Applied Nutrition upgraded to Smile Plus as its order volume scaled; 94% of its orders earn points, and its redeemers return 210% more often than customers who never redeem.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate repeat purchase rate? Divide the customers who ordered two or more times in a period by all customers who ordered in that period. If 12,000 of 40,000 customers ordered at least twice in 12 months, the rate is 30%.
What is a good repeat purchase rate for ecommerce? It depends on the category and the definition: supplements and coffee repeat faster than apparel or furniture, and published averages mix periods and methods. The benchmark that matters is your own trend by first-order month, and members against non-members.
How do you get customers to buy again? Give them a reason inside their second-purchase window: points on the first order, a first reward within one to three orders, a reminder when their balance covers it, and progress toward a VIP tier. Send those through Klaviyo with each customer's live balance, and let them redeem at checkout.
What is a second purchase rate? The share of first-time buyers in a month who place a second order within a set window, such as 90 days. It moves faster than repeat purchase rate, so it is the better number for testing loyalty changes.
Do loyalty programs increase repeat purchases? Members say they do: 84% say programs make them more likely to repurchase (Salesforce, 2025). In published Smile customer stories, Applied Nutrition's members buy 76% more often than non-members, and Mary Maxim's redeemers buy 172% more often than non-redeemers.
Which Klaviyo flows increase repeat purchase rate? A welcome series and a post-purchase flow split on Smile State, a points earned flow, a reward-ready flow built on Smile Points Balance, expiry reminders and a VIP Tier Achieved flow. Smile syncs five profile properties and eight loyalty events to Klaviyo and provides eight pre-built flow templates.
How long is the second-purchase window? Measure it: for customers whose first order was 12 to 24 months ago, take the days between their first and second orders. The median is when to send the main reminder; the 75th percentile is where the window ends.
