Customers here, customers there.
A popular lyric on the lips of a retail store owner is about how to increase the customer base they have. The goal behind this is to actually increase sales. Not that they only want to see their customer numbers grow. These numbers translating to sales is the real deal.
When a store owner wants to increase revenue, gaining new customers becomes the default strategy. But that is not the only path to increasing sales or revenue.
There is a popular adage in Africa that says if your teeth are just two, they should be able to pierce through the meat on your meat. Not a dozen of teeth with no strength to bite.
Funny and amusing right? Yeah, we can say the same too with Shopify store owners who are looking to increase sales and revenue.
Having new customers is chic but making your existing customers make repeated purchases is better. This is because customers like this get to spend more than a first-time who is coming anew. As much as it is important to acquire new customers, converting first-timers into returning buyers is your shortcut to increasing your revenue.
Research on the recurring revenue model shows that 67% of returning customers tend to spend more compared to what a new buyer will spend on their first purchase.
The reason for this varies which is part of what we will be looking at in this article as we proceed.
Who Are Returning Customers?
Returning customers are those customers who have made at least one order from your store in previous time. These customers then visit your store at intervals to make purchases in the future.
They are sometimes referred to as repeat customers in the e-commerce industry. Returning customers are very valued by business owners as they bring a reliable and stable source of revenue to the business.
Customer Retention vs Churn Rate: How To Boost Sales Using E-commerce Metrics
Reasons Why Returning Customers Spend More
Let’s discuss some of the reasons why returning customers spend more when they visit your store again to make a new purchase.
1. Trust
Returning customers have strong convictions about the brand they are buying from. This set of customers has ticked the test stage. They now know the nitty gritty of shopping in your store.
Customers trust is one of the tips for marketing especially for online stores. Once you have it, it becomes easy to get them to spend more. The first purchase a returning customer makes has given them the chance to test your product and service quality.
In this process, they’ve studied your fulfillment process and feel very comfortable about your service. Trust is an item that takes a process to be built but once you cross that line with your customers, you get them to have repeat purchases.
2. Loyalty rewards
Online buyers and looking for stores that are giving offers or other freebies are like 5&6, inseparable.
It is like a culture for people who shop most of their purchases online to research stores that has something extra to offer when they make a purchase. More reason why such stores offer them a deal is to encourage repeat purchases.
That is why most Shopify store owners make use of the Reorder button on the thank you page to nudge customers to return to buy again from their store. With the Reorder button, customers can be nudged with a discount or free shipping offer if they make a repeat purchase.
Incentives are one of the reasons why customers usually return to buy from a store again after their first or previous purchase.
Order Status Page: Increase Sales With The Reorder Feature
3. Shopping Convenience
The procedure when shopping online is to look out for stores with reputable brands and good product goodwill. Many online buyers have encountered buying inferior or counterfeit products from online stores. So the due diligence is to check reviews over and over again.
For most shoppers, it takes a whole lot of effort to find a store that meets individual tastes. It is very likely that a customer will always want to buy from a store they’ve patronized in previous times than looking for a new store. This saves them the stress of going through the review procedure all over.
Buying from the same store saves customers time and quickens the shopping process since they are shopping from a trusted store.
4. Quality customer service
Good customer relations can be the reason why a customer has decided to keep buying from your store.
Providing customers with personalized and excellent customer service can create a sense of loyalty and encourage them to keep patronizing your store.
Customers who feel valued are more likely to make repeat purchases. It is marketing psychology.
Customer Retention vs Churn Rate: How To Boost Sales Using E-commerce Metrics
5. Personalized shopping
When all your marketing activities si streamlined to individual customers’ interests and choices, it gives them a feeling that you count them as valuable. With this kind of shopping experience customers have the thought that your store is customer-centered.
Personalization can be activated in the kind of emails they get, the call-to-actions in their carts, and discounts or offers they get as well. This can make customers spend more since they receive notifications about the products they are most interested in.
Wrap
If your goal is to get more revenue on your Shopify store, you can invest more efforts in making repeat customers out of your customer base. All you need to do is to put measures in place to help them spend more.
