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According to a study conducted by digital-marketing company Sailthru, increasing repeat purchase rates is a crucial goal for more than half of the leading e-commerce
Repeat purchases are a key driver to increasing customer lifetime value. And it's no secret that retaining existing customers is more cost-effective and profitable than acquiring new ones.
Sailthru's predictive analytics have shown that 95% of a retailer's future revenue will come from as little as 5% of existing customers, which means repeat purchases are critical to the success of any retailer. But how do retailers turn that initial purchase into many more?
Customer loyalty can begin as soon as that first purchase is made if the right strategies are used. By harnessing the information provided by a customer, a company can incorporate it to turn a new shopper into something far more valuable: a repeat buyer.
Here are four strategies online retailers can use to trigger and ensure the next sale.
1. Use personalized product recommendations.
As soon as a transaction is completed, a retailer has confirmation of the kind of items that customer is interested in. Why not harness this information to immediately start follow-up that sparks the next buy?
Basing product recommendations on the customer's historic behavior across email, web, mobile, and in-store preferences all but guarantees the retailer is proposing an appropriate next purchase.
If a customer just purchased running sneakers, suggest a wearable fitness tracker to go with them. If they're always interested in earth tones, keep the palette consistent and complementary. If you know specifically what they are predicted to purchase next, make sure that product is front and center.
2. Remind customers what interests them.
Cart abandonment can cause retailers a great deal of pain, not to mention lost revenue. Though it's not always possible to pinpoint why a customer has abandoned a cart - unexpected costs, website timeout, declined credit card- following up with personalized emails or push notifications can go a long way to ensure a completed transaction.
A remarketing push should begin no later than 24 hours after the abandonment. Take a multichannel, personalized approach through email reminders, website message streams, and push notifications. Show more than just the specific item(s) left in the cart; personalize additional recommendations based on the individual's complete browsing and buying history.
When the messaging is customer centric, using cart abandonment as a trigger can go a long way in recapturing potentially lost revenue, and driving repeat purchases.
3. Reward customer loyalty.
This should come as no surprise, but people like to feel appreciated. Recognizing customers through a rewards or VIP program not only increases the likelihood they will make an initial purchase, but it also offers an incentive for them to stay loyal to a retailer for future purchases.
Striking the balance of attainable and desirable rewards is key for customers. Implementing a tiered system is an ideal way to reward early purchases and incentivize shoppers to keep buying. Sending personalized messages through the individual's preferred channel of engagement to remind customers of upcoming milestones in their rewards journey will help drive repeat purchases
4. Suggest alternate items when something is returned.
Just because an initial purchase is returned doesn't mean the customer is done shopping. By looking at order and return history, a retailer can automate personalized recommendations to secure a follow-up purchase. Retailers can take this one step further by suggesting similar items with historically low return rates that are also within the shopper's profile in terms of fit, style, and price.
Find out more about these strategies and many more in this strategy guide from Sailthru.
This post is sponsored by Sailthru.
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