The ecommerce market is growing quickly. Thanks to
no-code
customers–regardless
What Is Customer Retention in Ecommerce?
Customer retention is the process of
re-engaging
customers in order to increase repurchases of an ecommerce business’s products and boost revenue. The objective is also to build a loyal customer base and meet customers’ evolving needs by leveraging data from previous interactions and purchases.
Higher Average Order Value
Average order value (AOV) refers to calculating the average amount a customer spends while making a purchase from your store.
One may ask what the correlation is between the average order value and customer
retention–well,
when a customer values and trusts your brand, they are more likely to repeat their purchases when they visit your site. And the longer this cycle continues, the higher your retention rates will be.
Increased Profits
Once you have a loyal customer base, upselling or
cross-selling
products becomes a breeze because your existing customers are very likely to purchase and try out new products from your store. After all, it is obvious that they trust the quality of your products over your competitors.
Word of mouth is one of the most effective and inexpensive marketing strategies. Your customers are actually your number one influencers.People trust people. It is free, powerful and the best way to keep and attract
high-intent
customers. It is free, powerful, and the best way to keep and attract
high-intent
More
Cost-EffectiveInflation has, of course, increased the cost per click for paid search ads while the conversions have dropped. Customer acquisition (attracting new customers) is now five times more expensive than retaining existing customers.
Staying in business with existing customers by personalizing their experience, understanding their needs, and providing outstanding customer service, is cheaper than onboarding new customers.
How to Build An Effective Customer Retention Strategy for Your Online Store
The formula to calculate your customer retention rate is very simple. Divide the number of new customers by how many customers you had at the beginning of the period. Here’s what it should look like:
Customer retention rate = (Total no. Here’s what it should look like:
Customer retention rate = (Total no. Average customer retention by industry (Source: Exploding Topics)
7 Smart Strategies for Ecommerce Customer Retention
While there is no one way to approach customer retention in ecommerce, we recommend looking into the following strategies. of customers at the start of the period
The customer retention rate in ecommerce is around 38%, but the tech giants like Amazon have managed to score close to 90%, given its renowned popularity.
The primary benefit of ecommerce is its advantage over other industries to shape offerings digitally and adapt to trends quickly — saving customers’ time, offering easy purchasing, and retaining buyer interest.
Average customer retention by industry (Source: Exploding Topics)
7 Smart Strategies for Ecommerce Customer Retention
While there is not only one way of approaching customer retention in ecommerce –we recommend looking into the following strategies:
Set up a Gamified Loyalty Program
games on your online stores or social media.
Brands that gamify their loyalty programs as part of their customer engagement strategies have increased brand loyalty by 22%, with a 47% rise in engagement. These numbers are a sign that it may be time to embrace the gamification of loyalty programs.
programs, setting up VIP credit programs with rewards for crossing each milestone, seasonal challenges, quizzes, and many more.
For example, Starbucks has a structured rewards program, and its members can win exclusive prizes by playing games:
If you’re selling online with Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can gamify your marketing with apps from the Ecwid App Market, such as Scratch & Win Promotions or Discount Spin Wheel of Fortune.
Make Communication Easy for Customer Support
support.
Imagine this: a customer purchases a laptop from your store and requires immediate assistance regarding the device’s charging capability. Who do they turn to?
Considering the urgency, an email is not the ideal communication channel. Instead, they might place a phone call for a quick resolution.
Therefore, to make communication seamless, you must set up omnichannel customer service around various touchpoints. An omnichannel platform makes it easier for your customer to find you and get their queries answered in their preferred channel, whether that’s through emails, phone calls, social media, or messaging apps.
Customer retention rate with and without omnichannel customer service (Source: Invesp)
In the case of complex products such as software, expensive hardware, or items that require a walkthrough for set up, setting up a call center is a perfect remedy to satisfy customers by understanding their concerns and offering seamless support 24/7 with a personalized human touch.
support for your Ecwid store.
Personalize Communication Across All Channels
Your customers might not be from just a single demographic, such as an age group, location, or gender. Every customer has different interests, even if they share the same demographic. It is important to let your customers identify and relate with your brand in order to continue doing business with you. Here’s how to include personalized communication in every channel. Offer product recommendations by analyzing their purchase history, or send customized offers for their birthdays or anniversaries.
Offer innovative services, such as
- try-and-buy
- services on apparel or accessories, provide consultations, etc.
Target abandoned carts with customized offers and send coupon codes via SMS or email. Here’s an example of an ecommerce store sending personalized reminders and a discount code for the browsed items that are now back in stock: Ruggable reminds customers about deals on items in their carts - If you sell online with Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can send personalized offers with automated marketing emails and ecommerce newsletters.
Implement a Customer Feedback Loop
How would you make your offerings
customer-centric
if you don’t know what your customers think about your business? A customer feedback loop allows you to put yourself in your customers’ shoes.
Customer feedback is the core of retention and portrays transparency. You can see if your customers are likely to continue buying from you. Let your customers share their shopping experiences and be open to suggestions.
Discover all the ways to collect customer feedback for your Ecwid store in our Help Center.
Create a Community and Become a Lifestyle
The dictionary defines a community as a unified group of
like-minded
individuals who trust each other and are on a similar mission. It is also important to build online communities to market your business. People who are able to relate to your cause will be more likely to stay in your community. Your products will become part of their lives. What else can an online community do for you? You can increase your audience by having your community members promote your products and services on social media. You can create a community for your customers by giving them a hashtag to use to share their social media experiences. Alternatively, you could ask them to join an exclusive group on social platforms like Facebook, or messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram, where they can connect and be notified of exclusive benefits.
Create Valuable Content
Although promoting your product to ensure a consistent revenue stream is essential, too much of it is not good. Start creating valuable, informational content to avoid going overboard on promotional content, such as product recommendations, discounts, etc.
The trick is to have the right mix of promotional and informational content to attract and educate customers about their purchases without seeming too pushy.
product-pairing
and styling outfits. Blogs can help you portray your brand in the right light. You could create a blog about the best indoor plants and how to care for them if your store sells plants. For instance, if your store sells plants, you could create a blog around the best indoor plants and top tips to care for them.
Send newsletters around trending topics relevant to your store and your customers.
Offer access to premium content, like videos, interviews, etc., by professionals in a related industry, such as fashion or interior designers.
Myntra, for instance, has an exclusive studio with a variety of content for customers looking for some fashion inspiration:
Showcase Your Brand Story
With
in-store
- shopping, you’re more likely to bump into the owner or the manager and have a small conversation if you’re a regular customer. The familiarity and friendliness would push you to visit the store more often.
However, with online shopping, customers have lost the human connection and perceive brands as being bot-driven. - To avoid falling prey to such a scenario, you can create emotional connections with your customers even online. These types of connections encourage customers to purchase from your brand as it shows that there are real, relatable people behind it.
- You can highlight your brand story (behind the scenes of the what, why, and who), talk about your values, and add your struggles and mission through an about us page.
- An example of the About Us page by Allbirds
Alternatively, you can create a series of videos with similar content to share on your product pages, social media profiles, or even in your emails. This format is much more engaging than static text. Listening to your customers will only allow you to satisfy them. Communicate with your customers, offer them individualized experiences, make it easy for them to reach you, and get to know them better with each sale.
Remember that retention strategies need to go beyond giving
one-size-fits-all
buyers into
Once implemented, ensure you continually monitor responses to these strategies and optimize them for the best engagement.
