- The best-sourced ecommerce customer retention rate benchmark is Bluecore’s: 27.4% of 2023 buyers bought again in 2024, across 100+ retailers in 7 verticals.
- By category it runs from 19.1% (jewelry and accessories) to 41.2% (health and beauty), per Shopify’s write-up of the Bluecore data.
- Decile’s 2023 data shows 12-month retention of 12–23% by category but repurchase of 20–35%. Same brands, different definition.
- Bluecore found nearly three-quarters of customers buy once, but once someone buys twice, the chance of a third order rises 95%. The second order is the whole game.
- Measure yours on the same definition and window before comparing. Use the customer retention rate calculator.
Search for an ecommerce customer retention rate benchmark and you’ll get a dozen numbers between 20% and 40%. Most pages don’t say who measured them, in what year, or what “retention” even meant.
That’s a problem, because the definition can move the number more than your actual performance does.
So here are the benchmarks I could verify at the source, what each one measures, and a simple way to measure your own store so the comparison is fair. Tricks first.
Customer Retention Rate CalculatorEnter customers at the start, customers at the end and new customers and get your retention rate in seconds.Run my numbers →The ecommerce customer retention rate benchmark (2026 data)
The best-sourced number right now is from Bluecore’s 2025 Customer Growth Benchmarks Report. It covers the full 2024 calendar year and more than 100 retailers across seven verticals. Bluecore defines retention as the percentage of a retailer’s prior-year purchasers who continue to buy.
According to Shopify’s write-up of that data, the average across all seven verticals was 27.4%:
| Category (Bluecore, 2024 data) | Annual retention rate |
|---|---|
| Jewelry and accessories | 19.1% |
| Home goods | 21.4% |
| Footwear | 22.2% |
| Sports and hobbies | 27.8% |
| Apparel | 31.7% |
| Department stores | 36.2% |
| Health and beauty | 41.2% |
| All seven verticals | 27.4% |
In plain words: roughly one in four of last year’s buyers buys again this year. Consumables that run out (beauty) retain best. Big, rare purchases (jewelry, home) retain worst. Bluecore puts beauty’s lead down to replenishment, personalised products and lots of cross-category options.
3 tricks before you compare your number
1. Check the definition
“Retention” and “repeat purchase rate” are not the same thing. Propel’s benchmark round-up reprints Decile’s 2023 data, and the gap is huge:
| Category (Decile, 2023 data) | 12-month retention | Repurchase rate |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage | 23% | 34% |
| Health and beauty | 21% | 35% |
| Fashion and apparel | 19% | 30% |
| Home goods | 12% | 20% |
Same brands, same year, different question. If you compare your repeat purchase rate with someone else’s retention rate, you’ll think you’re winning when you’re not.
2. Check the date
Propel points out that many “2026” retention pages recycle Decile’s 2023 data without saying so. Bluecore’s numbers are from 2024. Neither is wrong, but write the year next to any number you put in a deck.
3. Match the window to your reorder cycle
If customers reorder every four months, a 90-day window will call healthy customers “lost.” Find your real cycle first. My replenishment timing guide shows how to pull it from Shopify.
How to calculate customer retention rate (2 ways)
Way 1: the period formula
This is the formula in Shopify’s guide and in our calculator. The trick for ecommerce: a “customer” must mean an active buyer (someone who ordered in the last X months), not anyone who ever bought. Otherwise nobody ever leaves and retention looks like 100%.
A store defines “active” as ordered in the last 12 months. On 1 January it has 5,000 active customers. On 31 December it has 6,200, of which 4,800 placed their first order during the year.
- Retained: 6,200 − 4,800 = 1,400.
- Retention rate: 1,400 ÷ 5,000 × 100 = 28%.
Close to Bluecore’s 27.4% average. Below the apparel figure of 31.7%, if that’s the category.
Way 2: the cohort method (better)
Take everyone whose first order was in one month. Track what share placed a second order by day 30, 60, 90, 180 and 365. That tells you not just how many come back, but when.
A March cohort has 800 first-time buyers. Second orders by day 30: 48 (6%). By day 90: 112 (14%). By day 180: 160 (20%). By day 365: 208 (26%).
Most second orders land in the first 180 days. So post-purchase and replenishment flows in that window matter more than a big win-back push at month 11.
Track it monthly in the repeat purchase rate calculator, and check the flip side in the churn rate calculator.
So what’s a “good” retention rate for your store?
Use your category, not the overall average. Here’s the simple rule I use with the Bluecore numbers:
| Your annual retention vs your category | What to do |
|---|---|
| Below 27.4% (the all-retail average) and below your category | Something is broken after the first order. Start with post-purchase and replenishment flows. |
| Above 27.4% but below your category | Normal for retail, weak for your product. Look at reorder timing and second-order offers. |
| At or above your category | Good. Now track cohorts so you see if it slips. |
A jewelry store at 22% is beating its category. A skincare store at 30% is well behind the 41.2% health and beauty average. Same-ish number, opposite verdict. That’s why one blended “ecommerce average” is almost useless on its own.
And if your store is young, expect a lower number for a while. A store full of first-time buyers from a recent ad push hasn’t had time to repeat yet, so your blended retention will look weak even if each cohort is doing fine.
The number that matters most: the second order
Bluecore found that nearly three-quarters of a retailer’s customers buy once and never come back. But once someone buys twice, the chance they buy a third time goes up by 95%.
Bluecore’s three-year view is harsher still: of every 100 new buyers, only about 6 are still buying three years later. Bluecore also says few retailers send post-purchase emails at all, and calls them the biggest whitespace in its data.
So the cheapest retention win isn’t a loyalty programme. It’s getting more first-time buyers to order again, fast. That’s what my repeat purchase rate guide, the time to second purchase ecommerce benchmark and post-purchase flow examples are built around.
What a few points of retention are worth
Using the store above: 5,000 active customers, 28% retention. AOV $60, retained customers place 1.5 orders a year, contribution margin 45%.
- Lift retention from 28% to 32%: 5,000 × 4% = 200 more retained customers.
- Extra revenue: 200 × 1.5 × $60 = $18,000 a year.
- Extra contribution: $18,000 × 45% = $8,100, with zero extra ad spend.
And every retained customer raises lifetime value, which raises the CAC you can afford. See what that does to your unit economics in my good LTV to CAC ratio guide.
7 tricks to beat your category benchmark
1. Build the post-purchase flow first
Thank-you, how-to-use, review request, then a cross-sell. It’s where most second orders start.
2. Time replenishment to the product
Send when the product runs out. A reminder in the right week beats a discount in the wrong one.
3. Push the second order inside 90 days
Use a small, time-limited second-order offer for first-time buyers only, and watch margin.
4. Identify more shoppers
Bluecore found the 10 retailers with the highest identification rates had significantly higher retention than others. More email and SMS sign-ups means more people you can bring back. My list growth benchmark post covers the forms.
5. Win back lapsed buyers by their real cycle
Trigger a win-back flow from your own lapse window, not a generic 90 days. Size the prize in the win-back calculator.
6. Offer subscribe-and-save if it fits
For consumables, a subscription or auto-reorder option turns retention from a hope into a schedule.
7. Report by cohort, every month
Annual retention is slow to move. First-to-second order rate by monthly cohort shows within a quarter whether a change worked. Feed the result into the customer lifetime value calculator.
Your monthly retention scorecard
- Annual retention on Bluecore’s definition, compared with your category.
- Second-order rate by cohort at 30, 90 and 180 days.
- Share of revenue from returning customers.
- Lapsed customers reactivated by the win-back flow.
- Same definition, same window every month.
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We build and run Klaviyo email & SMS retention for Shopify brands and get paid on results.
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FAQ
What is a good customer retention rate for ecommerce?
Bluecore’s 2025 benchmarks put the average at 27.4%, measured as the share of 2023 buyers who bought again in 2024 across more than 100 retailers. Anything near that is normal. Above your own category’s average is good, because categories range from 19.1% in jewelry to 41.2% in health and beauty.
What is the ecommerce customer retention rate benchmark by industry?
From the Bluecore data reported by Shopify: jewelry and accessories 19.1%, home goods 21.4%, footwear 22.2%, sports and hobbies 27.8%, apparel 31.7%, department stores 36.2% and health and beauty 41.2%.
How do you calculate customer retention rate for an online store?
The common formula is ((customers at end of period − new customers in the period) ÷ customers at start) × 100. In ecommerce, define a customer as someone who bought in the window, or use a cohort: the share of one period’s buyers who buy again in the next.
Is retention rate the same as repeat purchase rate?
No. Retention rate measures whether earlier buyers bought again within a set window. Repeat purchase rate is usually the share of all customers with two or more orders. Decile’s 2023 data shows fashion at 19% retention but 30% repurchase, so always compare like with like.
Why is my retention rate lower than the benchmark?
Common causes are a long reorder cycle measured with a short window, a store full of first-time buyers from recent ad pushes, and no post-purchase or replenishment flows. Check your category average and your measurement window before deciding there is a problem.
How long does it take to improve retention rate?
Annual retention moves slowly because it looks back a full year. Track first-to-second order rate by monthly cohort at 30, 60 and 90 days instead. That shows within one quarter whether a new flow is working.
Want Inboxoo to set this up for you?
We build and run Klaviyo email & SMS retention for Shopify brands and get paid on results.
Chat on WhatsAppWant to know the exact quotation? Contact now
Keep reading
Time to second purchase ecommerce benchmark
BS&Co’s 156k-customer timing data, the median vs mean trap, vertical windows and how to time your flows.
8 min read →RetentionHow to increase repeat purchase rate
Measure it properly, then nine post-purchase, replenishment and SMS tactics that turn first-time buyers into repeat customers.
7 min read →Unit economicsGood LTV to CAC ratio for DTC brands
The DTC band, revenue vs margin LTV, the payback check, and the email levers that move the ratio.
7 min read →- Shopify: Average customer retention rate by industry (Sep 2026)
- Bluecore: 2025 Customer Growth Benchmarks Report
- Propel: Ecommerce retention rate benchmarks 2026, citing Decile’s 2023 guide (Sep 2026)
Worked examples in this post use illustrative numbers, not client results. Benchmarks are linked to their original publisher.