It is a proven fact that acquiring new customers is more challenging and expensive than retaining existing ones. Studies have shown that repeat customers provide more than 40 percent of revenue to e-commerce stores. Putting efforts into retaining existing customers can help lift e-commerce store profits by a range between 25-95 percent.
Here’s what you need to do-
#1-Offer discount codes
A discount code with the first order can be a great marketing tool. Studies have shown how people appreciate having shipping discounts more than having discounts on specific products. To further sweeten the deal, you can make the shipping code shareable, so that it increases positive word of mouth.
#2-Send promotional emails to your mailing lists
Repeat customers trust you by giving their email IDs to your mailing lists. They have experienced your service and have used your product, and will most probably have had a good experience with it.
You could send them interesting content and discount codes that could motivate them to make repeat purchases, especially for replenishable products like food, FMCG, or impulse purchases like apparel and electronics.
#3-Make your customers feel special on their birthdays
Though they may celebrate their birthdays with friends and family, you too can make your customer feel special on their birthday with an exclusive offer or discount. Your customer would really appreciate this ‘gift’ and would make a repeat purchase accordingly.
#4-Ask for feedback
Most people do not bother to fill out the feedback form that comes after a purchase. However, those who do fill the form do so when they have been treated fantastically or badly.
You may receive both good and bad feedback. Besides appreciating the good feedback, you can improve on the negative feedback that you get. You could change processes that your customer complained about. For instance, if the customer did not like the delay in shipping, you could explain why it was so and ensure that the issue doesn’t crop up again.
Once you apologize and promise to act on negative feedback, your customers would be inclined to trust you better and make a repeat purchase.
#5-Thank your customers
A small gesture can have a large impact on customers’ behavior towards your e-commerce app. When you thank your customers with a little thank you note with the shipment or an email for the same, your customer would notice and appreciate it. They would love to receive such thank you notes for future reference.
A thank you note is a gesture that works, especially for small businesses looking to increase repeat orders.
#6- Design and implement a loyalty program
You could incentivize purchases by allotting points for every purchase. When the points accumulate, you could offer prizes, discounts, and other giveaways. This works especially for cart abandoners, who initially prepare to make a purchase but change their mind later on.
In the end
To increase profitability, encouraging existing customers to make repeat purchases is the way to go. These are just simple things you could do to encourage repeat purchases. Many big eCommerce websites now use the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence to suggest and encourage existing customers to make purchases.