About the Repeat Purchase Rate Calculator
This repeat purchase rate calculator shows how many of your customers come back. Enter the number of unique customers in a period, how many of them ordered more than once and the total number of orders, and it calculates the repeat customer rate, purchase frequency, the average time between purchases and how many orders a typical returning customer places. Add revenue to see average order value and revenue per customer.
It is built for ecommerce and DTC store owners, retention and email marketers, and subscription-adjacent brands that want a simple loyalty health check. Most store platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce) can export customers with their order counts, which is all you need.
Use a period long enough to capture your natural buying cycle — 12 months is common for most products, shorter for consumables. Because every one-time customer has exactly one order, the calculator also works out how many orders came from repeat customers, which shows how much of your volume depends on loyalty.
With the default inputs, the repeat purchase rate is 28%. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the repeat purchase rate calculator
- 1Export customers and their order counts for a period, such as the last 12 months.
- 2Enter the number of unique customers and how many ordered at least twice.
- 3Enter total orders and the length of the period in days.
- 4Optionally add revenue for AOV and revenue per customer.
- 5Track the repeat rate and days between purchases over time to measure loyalty efforts.
Formula and method
The repeat purchase rate is the share of unique customers in the period who bought more than once. Purchase frequency is the average number of orders per customer, and dividing the length of the period by that frequency gives the commonly used estimate of average time between purchases.
Because a one-time customer places exactly one order, orders from repeat customers equal total orders minus the number of one-time customers. Dividing those by the number of repeat customers shows how often loyal customers buy. Average order value is revenue ÷ orders and revenue per customer is revenue ÷ customers, both for the same period.
- customers
- Unique customers who ordered in the period
- customers with 2+ orders
- Repeat customers in the period
- orders
- All orders in the period
- period days
- Length of the measurement window
Worked examples
2,000 customers over a year
560 of 2,000 customers ordered again: a 28% repeat rate. 3,100 orders ÷ 2,000 customers is a frequency of 1.55, or one order every 365 ÷ 1.55 ≈ 235 days. The 1,440 one-time buyers account for 1,440 orders, so repeat customers placed the other 1,660 — about 2.96 each and 53.5% of all orders.
Coffee subscription-style store, one quarter
Sixty percent of the 800 customers reordered within the quarter. With 1,900 orders, frequency is 2.375 — roughly one order every 38 days. Repeat customers placed 1,900 − 320 = 1,580 orders, about 3.3 each.
Furniture brand with rare repeats
Only 6% of customers bought twice in the year, which is normal for big-ticket items. Frequency is 1.08, and the 300 repeaters placed 700 orders (2.33 each). AOV is $800.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate repeat purchase rate?+
Divide the number of customers who made two or more purchases in a period by the total number of unique customers in that period, then multiply by 100. For example, 560 repeat customers out of 2,000 is a 28% repeat purchase rate.
What is a good repeat customer rate for ecommerce?+
It depends heavily on what you sell. Consumables such as coffee, pet food and cosmetics can see far higher repeat rates than furniture, mattresses or electronics, which people rarely rebuy within a year. Compare against your own history and similar brands.
What is the purchase frequency formula?+
Purchase frequency is total orders divided by unique customers for the same period. A frequency of 1.55 means the average customer placed 1.55 orders during the period.
How is time between purchases calculated?+
A simple estimate divides the length of the period in days by the purchase frequency. A more precise measure averages the actual gaps between consecutive orders for each repeat customer, which needs order-level data.
Is repeat purchase rate the same as retention rate?+
They are related but not identical. Repeat purchase rate looks at customers within one period who bought more than once; retention rate tracks what share of customers from one period buy again in a later period.