5 Ways You Can Grow Your E-Commerce Business Using Repeat Purchases

When your business is experiencing a downturn, you might think that acquiring new customers is the perfect solution. However, believe it or not, our plans to acquire new customers don’t always work perfectly. Maybe it’s time for merchants to think outside the box, because acquiring new customers isn’t the only way for a business to grow. Instead, merchants can also focus on nurturing their existing customers—repeat customers. Let’s explore 5 ways for merchants to grow their e-commerce business.

Understanding Repeat Customers

Repeat customers is exactly as it sounds like. They are your existing customers who shopped more than once or repeatedly in your store! In other words, repeat customers are your loyal customers. They often spend 67% more than new customers. What makes them different from new customers is that repeat customers are already familiar with your brand. This means that it’s easier for merchants to have them return to your store. So when it comes to marketing, this strategy saves your time and effort. Naturally, when customers return to your store, it’s because they are happy with their purchase. When that happens, we can expect your customers to spread the news to their friends and family! So, not only do repeat customers cost less, but they can also help you to organically grow your store. 

The Importance of Repeat Customers

We’ve learned about repeat customers, but why exactly are they important? Here are several reasons why: 

• Increased lifetime value: When customers repeatedly come back to your store and spend more, they can increase your customer lifetime value. 
• Lower acquisition costs: Attracting new customers can be expensive. In contrast, keeping a repeat customer costs considerably less. Your existing customers are already familiar with your brand, so you don’t have to spend more money on your marketing
• Higher conversion rates: New customers are often uncertain about the value of their purchase, but repeat customers are more confident. This confidence can result in higher conversion rates.

5 Strategies to Grow Your Business With Repeat Purchases

1. Implement a Loyalty Program 

A loyalty program works by rewarding your customers for returning back to your store. After all, who doesn’t love getting a reward? You can reward your customers for buying more with a bigger discount, special deal, or free shipping. This strategy encourages your customers to spend more and makes them happy since customers feel like they are winning. “The more I spend, the more I can save my money.”  However, creating a loyalty program that actually works takes a bit more effort – you have to better understand your customer. What do they need? What do they value? What kind of rewards will make them feel special? For example, you can reward new customers with a gift. Apps like Ako Marketing: Loyalty & Retargeting can help you better understand your customers with their CRM software, and create a successful loyalty program. 

2. Create Exclusive BOGO Deals 

Who doesn’t love a good Buy One Get One Free Deal? It feels so tempting not to buy this deal. When customers feel that they are winning (saving more money), they are encouraged to complete their purchase. This is because they see value in what they are buying. This positive winning experience can make customers happy and encourage them to return to your store for more. Aside from that, when merchants create a limited-time Buy X Get Y deal, they are creating a sense of urgency. In this way, customers will have the urge to complete their purchase immediately and return for future promotions. 

Tip: You can incentivize customers to follow your social media platform to get a BOGO deal. Here’s a good example from Starbucks:

It’s a good marketing strategy – customers get a free drink, while merchants can grow and increase their traffic organically. If you haven’t had the chance to use a Buy X Get Y deal, you can try using the BOGOS app, a fully customized gifting solution app that helps you to gift and reward customers. This way, merchants can increase their repeat purchases while making their customers happy.

3. Utilize Retargeting Strategies

Sometimes, customers are about to complete their checkout, but since they are shopping on the go, they might have forgotten to finish their purchase. But with retargeting, you can remind your customers to complete their purchase. Many big brands have implemented this strategy. For example, eBay: 

But what does a successful retargeting campaign look like? Here are some of our best tips when it comes to retargeting: 

• Include a strong CTA to direct your customers to complete their purchase
• Use personalized and dynamic ads to make your ads more relevant and interactive 
• Provide a discount code to motivate your customers to complete their purchases

Retargeting can be done in many ways. It can be done through Facebook ads as shown below: 

Or it can also be done through email marketing with apps like Klaviyo, as shown below: 

If you haven’t had the chance to implement retargeting, now is a good time to try it out! To retarget your old customers, you can use Ako Retargeting. However, if you’d like to retarget your customers through email campaigns, we recommend you to use apps like Klaviyo integrated into Ako Loyalty: Retargeting & Loyalty.

4. Collect and Display Customer Reviews 

Ever since the pandemic, customer behavior has shifted – customers now want real interactions. Today, with so many bots online, it’s common for customers to worry if the reviews they read are genuine. That’s why it’s important to have authentic customer reviews. Genuine reviews not only build trust but also encourage repeat purchases through word-of-mouth marketing. To address this issue, merchants can use apps like Judge.me to ensure authentic customer reviews that do not come from bots through their “Verified Buyer” badge. Merchants can also collect and show customer reviews by offering discounts or free shipping codes. Ako’s Loyalty Program integrates well with Judge.me, making it easy to reward customers for their reviews. 

5. Providing an Exceptional Customer Service 

What’s your go-to coffee shop? Let’s think about it – why  do you keep coming back to that store? Well perhaps the reason why you keep coming back to that store is because of the experience, which stems from the customer service. Every e-commerce store owner has to think of a strategy to differentiate themselves. Not only about their product but about their service too. What customers seek is a memorable experience. When they have positive emotions associated with your service, these feelings are more likely to stay with them. We can learn from Amazon’s mission statement: “Earth’s most customer-centric company” 

To achieve this, Amazon offers multiple channels for reliable and quick customer service, including phone support, live chat, and email. In order to make their customers confident when shopping, they also implement a hassle-free return policy. So, if you haven’t had the chance to include a customer service in your customer service, you can try to use apps like Moosedesk. They can help you to have 24/7 live chat support, and a ticketing system. Most importantly, Moosedesk is not just about answering customer questions. Merchants can train their agents to engage in upselling during conversations, adding more value to the customer’s purchase.

Final thoughts 

We learned that merchants can think out of the box to grow their business. One of the strategies is to focus on their existing customers and increase their AOV by encouraging them to do repeat purchases. To achieve this, they can include a loyalty program, create BOGO deals, use retargeting, collect customer reviews and provide exceptional customer service. In the long run, repeat customers are sustainable as they tend to spend more compared to new customers. Asides from that, they can also drive organic growth to your store through word-of-mouth. 

Repeat Purchases FAQ 

How can I encourage more repeat purchases from my customers?

You need to focus on creating a positive customer experience. In addition to a great product, customers are also looking for a delightful customer experience. Think of how to make them happy. You can use strategies such as loyalty programs to reward frequent shoppers, offer exclusive deals like Buy One Get One (BOGO) offers, and utilize retargeting ads to remind customers about your products. 

What are some effective ways to implement a loyalty program?

The most important part is to know your customer. What kind of deals would make them happy? What do they need? What problem are you trying to solve? Choose rewards that resonate with them, such as discounts, free shipping, or exclusive offers. Apps like Ako Marketing: Retargeting & Loyalty can help.

How do I create a successful Buy One Get One (BOGO) deal?

A successful BOGO deal should offer clear value to the customer while creating a sense of urgency. Design the promotion with attractive terms, such as a limited-time offer or a minimum purchase requirement. Apps like BOGOS can help you set up and manage these deals efficiently.