How to Calculate Repeat Purchase Rate in Shopify (Step-by-Step Guide)

If you run an ecommerce store, there’s one metric that quietly determines whether you’ll scale profitably or constantly chase new customers:

Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR).

Most brands obsess over ROAS and total revenue.

But repeat purchase rate tells you something more important:

👉 Are customers coming back?

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What repeat purchase rate actually means
• How to calculate it in Shopify
• Why it matters more than you think
• How to improve it

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What Is Repeat Purchase Rate?

Repeat Purchase Rate measures the percentage of customers who buy from you more than once.

It answers a simple question:

Of all your customers, how many came back for another purchase?

Formula

Repeat Purchase Rate =
(Customers with 2+ Orders / Total Customers) × 100

Example:

If you had:

• 1,000 total customers
• 270 customers placed more than one order

Your repeat purchase rate is:

27%

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Why Repeat Purchase Rate Is So Important

Most ecommerce brands underestimate this metric.

Here’s why it matters:

✅ Returning customers convert higher
✅ They have lower acquisition cost
✅ They spend more over time
✅ They increase LTV
✅ They stabilize revenue

If your repeat purchase rate is low, your business depends heavily on paid ads.

If it’s strong, growth becomes more predictable.

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How to Calculate Repeat Purchase Rate in Shopify

Option 1: Manual Method (Shopify Admin)

1. Go to Customers
2. Export your customer list
3. Filter customers with more than 1 order
4. Count them
5. Divide by total customers

It works — but it’s manual and time‑consuming.

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Option 2: Using Shopify Reports

Some Shopify plans allow customer reports where you can:

• Filter by number of orders ≥ 2
• Compare against total customers

However, this still requires manual filtering and calculation.

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Option 3: SQL Query (Advanced Teams)

If you’re using a database replica of Shopify, a query would look like this:

SELECT 
  COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN order_count > 1 THEN customer_id END) * 100.0 
  / COUNT(DISTINCT customer_id) AS repeat_purchase_rate
FROM (
  SELECT customer_id, COUNT(*) AS order_count
  FROM orders
  GROUP BY customer_id
) t;

But most ecommerce teams don’t want to write SQL.

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What Is a Good Repeat Purchase Rate?

Typical ranges:

• General ecommerce: 20–30%
• Consumables / beauty: 30–50%
• Subscription brands: 50%+

If you’re below 20%, you likely have:

• Weak post‑purchase follow‑up
• Poor product‑market fit
• Low perceived value
• No retention system

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The Hidden Insight Most Brands Miss

Repeat purchase rate alone isn’t enough.

You should also analyze:

• Which customers are repeating
• Which products drive repeat purchases
• Time between purchases
• What percentage of revenue comes from repeat buyers

Because sometimes:

• 25% of customers repeat
• But they generate 60%+ of revenue

That’s where real growth insight lives.

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A Better Way

Smart Query acts as your AI growth analyst for ecommerce.

Instead of:

• Exporting Shopify data
• Writing SQL
• Building pivot tables

You simply ask:

What’s my repeat purchase rate?
What percentage of revenue comes from repeat customers?
Which products drive the highest repeat behavior?

And get answers instantly.

No spreadsheets.
No SQL.
Just growth clarity.

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Final Takeaway

If you don’t know your repeat purchase rate, you’re guessing.

If you’re not improving it, you’re overspending on acquisition.

Sustainable ecommerce growth isn’t about more traffic.

It’s about more returning customers. 🚀