How to Use Data to Improve Customer Retention

I just found the exact moment customers decide to buy again vs. disappear forever. It's not when you think. After years building retention strategies, I thought I knew the key touchpoints: → Purchase confirmations → Shipping updates → First unboxing experience Standard retention playbook stuff. Then, a brand I work with ran customer data through Triple Whale's Moby AI. It completely flipped my assumptions. Moby analyzed 12 months of customer behavior. What it found shocked me. The decision point isn't in the first 30 days. It's not even in the first purchase experience. It happens at day 47. During the second browse session. Before they even add to cart again. Here's what Moby spotted: → Customers who browse NEW categories (not their original purchase) within 45-50 days = 89% repeat buyer rate → Those who browse the SAME category = Only 23% repeat buyer rate This pattern was invisible to us. We were optimizing the wrong moments. While we focused on post-purchase flows, the real retention lever was curiosity-driven browsing seven weeks later. The results: → Testing retention campaigns based on cross-category browsing → 34% higher repeat purchase rates so far Moby isn't just analyzing data. It's trained on $55B+ in ecommerce behavior patterns. It sees connections humans miss. Shopify invested $25M+ in Triple Whale because this level of insight changes everything. Retention isn't about perfect onboarding anymore. It's about understanding the invisible moments that predict lifetime value. And most of us are optimizing the wrong moments. Comment "MOBY" and I'll share the agent library that's changing how brands are thinking about customer retention. Check it out: https://bit.ly/4nJ3Axs #TWPartner

I analyzed over $1.2B in purchases made by 2.6 million customers across dispensaries. The results were shocking! It really puts into perspective where stores are missing the mark. One-time shoppers made up *52%* of all customers... but only *8%* of revenue. Customers who purchased 10 or more times? Just *14%* of the customer base, but ***73%*** of all revenue. Read that again. The small group that keeps coming back is your business. The rest is just noise. So why are most stores still obsessed with foot traffic and first-time promos? Here’s how you can shift focus to the customers that matter: 1. Segment your customers by purchase count > Use AIQ.com (Alpine IQ) or your POS/CRM. Create groups like: 1-time, 2–3 visits, 4–9 visits, and 10+. This gives you a clear picture of where your revenue actually comes from. 2. Build a journey to move people up > Every customer should have a path to become a 10+ visit regular. That means targeted campaigns, loyalty flows, and retention offers that fit where they are right now to get them to the next stage. 3. Protect your best buyers > If a high-value customer goes quiet for even 15 or 25 days, reach out. Don’t wait. You cannot afford to lose the people who make up 70%+ of your sales. 4. Stop over-investing in one-timers > They are important, but not profitable until they come back. Your budget, time, and team should be focused on turning that first visit into a second and third. You do not need more customers. You need more retained ones. If you want to see what your breakdown looks like, I’ll show you. Dispensaries... come get our Free Retention Audit. One report could shift your entire strategy.

Improving 2nd purchase conversion by 5% can boost LTV by 20-35%. But most brands don't focus on this. Some tips to increase re-purchase (#5 is my fav) 👇 I looked at data for 100+ of our retail brands. On average: - First-time buyers have a 15-30% chance of returning - After a second purchase, that jumps to 60-70% Because of this snowball effect, little improvements to 2nd purchase conversion (+5%) can mean significant LTV jumps (+20-35%) Here's a handful of tactical things we've seen work. ----- 1. Focus on a shorter window than you think. Run your retention curves. Chart % of customers making 2nd purchase by month. You want to find where the cumulative repeat rate flattens out. - Most brands will be ~90 days. - Consumable brands (supps, food/bev, beauty) will be shorter (30 days). - Products w/ longer usage cycles may by 180 days or more. It all depends. Many brands make the mistake of using a 12-month window to look at churn. You've almost certainly lost that customer by then. Focus on a shorter window than you think. 2. Cross-category has a higher propensity of longterm retention ----- Cross-category buyers (almost always) have a higher LTV than single-cat buyers. - If they bought jeans, offer tops or accessories - If they bought skincare, suggest adjacent skus, not refills - If they bought a core product, introduce them to your specialty items Ps, you can segment your CRM and split test this. Just remember to tag your customers when measuring long-term LTV performance. ----- 3. Micro-commitments + Add Value! Before asking for a 2nd purchase, squeeze out small/easy commits: - Request product feedback/review (one question) - Offer style or usage guidance (post-purchase series) - Provide value-added content related to their purchase - Solve common problems w/ the products - Show how other customers use it Each small activity builds more engagment (and goodwill) w/ your brand. ----- 4. Implement a "Last Chance" campaign If your 2nd purchase window is 90 days, maybe that's Day 60. Deploy a specialized "almost lost" campaign. - Use language w/ mild urgency (avoid depsparation) - Include an unexpected benefit or small gift/gwp/ The offer MUST be better than what you'd give a first-time customer. ----- 5. Make the product better That's it. Just improve the product quality, and you'll see a natural jump in repurchase. It helps acquisition too (referral/WOM). By shifting a little focus from acquisition to that crucial second-purchase moment. What's your 2nd purchase "window"? 30, 60, 90 days? What are you doing to shrink that window? #ecommerce #customeranalytics #ltv