First, find your repeat customer rate in Shopify
Before you answer anything, grab the one number this whole scorecard is about. Shopify calls it your returning customer rate: out of everyone who ordered in a period, the share who had ordered from you before.
To find it:
- In your Shopify admin, click Analytics. The dashboard opens on the last 90 days, and you can change that with the date menu at the top.
- Look for the Returning customer rate card.
- Can't see it? On a computer, click the three-dot menu at the top of the dashboard, choose Customize, search "returning customer" in the metric library, add the card and click Save.
Write the number down with today's date. Shopify's own help docs say most stores sit somewhere between 20 and 40%, but I wouldn't lose sleep over where you land today. A candle brand and a mattress brand are never going to have the same number, and if you've only had a handful of orders yours will jump around. What I care about is whether YOUR number goes up from here.
The scorecard 11 questions, about 10 minutes
Pick the answer that's true today (the plan in your head doesn't count yet!). Every question is worth up to 2 points, so the top score is 22.
Your repeat customer rate
You've just found the number. This one question is about how often you look at it.
- Write today's number down with the date, then check it on the same day every month. It takes two minutes once the card is on your dashboard.
- Give anything you change 60 to 90 days before you judge it. Second orders take a while to show up.
The emails after someone orders
These are the emails a customer gets from you between ordering and being ready to buy again. They live in your email platform, like Klaviyo or Omnisend.
- Set these up as a flow in Klaviyo or Omnisend so they go out automatically. Start with one thank-you email that isn't selling anything.
- Then add a recommendation for what to try next, based on what they bought. I'd save any offer for later, and only for people who still haven't come back.
Reorder reminders
If your product runs out, this is the nudge before it does. If it doesn't run out, it's the email that lands around the time your repeat customers usually come back.
- Work out how long one unit lasts a normal customer. If your product doesn't run out, look at how long your repeat customers usually leave between orders. That number sets your timing.
- Then set up a reminder in Klaviyo or Omnisend to go out around that time. In Klaviyo, go to Flows > Create flow and search "replenishment" for one you can start from.
Opening the order
An amazing unboxing does NOT have to be fancy or expensive. A handwritten note counts. So does a little piece of chocolate, or a silly line on the box about how it makes a great toy for the cat.
- Buy a pack of cards and write one per order with the customer's first name on it. Two lines is plenty.
- Pick ONE small surprise your margin can carry: a piece of chocolate, a sample of something they haven't tried, or a funny label on the box. Keep the cost tiny next to what you make on the order.
Customer service reply time
If you're the whole customer service team, you can still get full marks here. A reply time you can keep, written where people can see it, does most of the work.
- Choose a reply time you can ACTUALLY keep, then put it on your contact page and in an auto-reply.
- Save your answers to the questions you get asked most as templates, so a reply takes you a minute.
Reviews
Reviews help the customer you've already got feel good about buying, and they're working on your NEXT new customer too.
- Time the ask for after the order has ARRIVED and they've had a chance to use it. If yours counts from the order date, push it back.
- Read your last ten reviews and reply to them, starting with the unhappy ones.
What your score means
- 0 to 7: you're at the start. Find your lowest area and do the first suggestion in it. Only that one!
- 8 to 15: the basics are there. Work on your two lowest areas and leave the rest alone, even if it itches.
- 16 to 22: your customers are being looked after. Tidy up your lowest area, then watch your repeat customer rate over the next 60 to 90 days.
Whatever you scored, none of the suggestions is a rebuild. That matters between now and Black Friday, when I wouldn't be making drastic changes to a store that's working day to day.