A Complete Guide to Improving Shopify Retention

Build customer loyalty to win repeat business

When managing an eCommerce store, winning repeat business is the name of the game. If your customers keep coming back for more, it’s a clear sign that you’re doing something right!

However, earning repeat business isn’t always easy. If you want your customers to return time and again, then you need to focus on providing an exceptional shopping experience and nurturing that relationship post-purchase to keep them engaged.

Effective eCommerce retention doesn’t just happen – it requires strategy. If you don’t yet have a customer retention strategy in place, you could be losing customers and falling behind competitors who offer a superior shopping experience. 

The good news is that if you’ve built your store using Shopify, you can hit the ground running. Shopify’s app store is packed with easy-to-install apps that provide all the tools necessary to help you keep customers engaged and win more repeat business. 

In this article, we’ll explore seven of the most effective strategies for boosting your store’s retention rates and recommend the top Shopify apps for implementing these strategies.

Why is customer retention so important?

Retaining existing customers is generally more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, especially since those familiar with your brand are likely to spend more than first-time shoppers. There is a 60-70% chance of selling to an existing customer, whereas there is only a 5-20% chance with a new customer. Acquiring new customers is also said to be five times more expensive than retaining existing ones.

So, it makes sense to invest time and money into nurturing existing customer relationships rather than constantly looking for the next shiny new customer. When you focus on providing an exceptional shopping experience, your customers are more likely to become loyal advocates of your brand, helping to spread brand awareness and bolster your business’s reputation. 

What are the key factors influencing Shopify retention?

So, what are those special ingredients that keep customers coming back for more?

First, you’ve got to get the basics spot on. Your products must meet customers’ expectations, be of high quality, and offer good value for money. Don’t underestimate the role of customer service in retention. You must also go out of your way to provide excellent customer service, responding quickly to customer queries and resolving issues efficiently. If you’re running a Shopify store, this extends to the user experience that your website offers. Your website must function seamlessly and provide an intuitive and enjoyable shopping experience. 

Beyond these basics, several other features and functionalities can be implemented to influence how effective your Shopify store is at retaining customers. These include personalisation, loyalty programs, post-purchase communications, and more. We’ll explore some of these in more detail later in this article.

Key strategies for boosting Shopify retention rates

Ready to start nurturing your relationship with existing customers? By keeping your existing customers happy and engaged, you can boost retention rates, maximise customer lifetime value, and maintain a steady stream of revenue. We’ve put together a list of our top seven strategies for boosting Shopify retention rates. Implement the following strategies, and soon, your customers won’t be able to imagine shopping anywhere else.

1. Supercharge the user experience

First up, it’s time to analyse and optimise the user experience your Shopify store is offering. Customers want their shopping experience to be intuitive, fast, engaging, and hassle-free. Enhancing customer engagement on Shopify helps create an enjoyable user experience, boosts user satisfaction, and increases the chance of repeat visits and customer loyalty.

Here’s how:

• Fast loading times: Optimise your store’s performance by avoiding heavy scripts and compressing images and videos. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you identify areas for improvement.
• Responsive design: Make sure your store’s design is responsive and adjusts seamlessly to different screen sizes and browsers. Regularly test the user experience on various smartphones and tablets to ensure that your website looks and functions correctly across all devices.
• Simplify navigation: Make sure that it’s simple and intuitive for customers to find their way around your website. Use clear and concise menu items and include breadcrumb navigation to help users understand where they are within your website. This can reduce frustration and help shoppers find what they’re looking for quickly.
• High-quality images: Invest in professional photography that shows your products in the best light. Include a zoom feature and images of your products from different angles.
• Detailed descriptions: Spend time creating detailed and compelling product descriptions that include key features, benefits, and usage instructions. Good content can not only help close the deal but also reduce the rate of returns, so it may be worth investing in a professional content writing service to get the best results.

Top Shopify apps for boosting customer experience

• Shopify’s Checkout Integration: Simplifies checkout to reduce cart abandonment.
• Gorgias: Provides instant customer support with chatbots and automated responses.
• Klevu: Offers advanced search capabilities for better product discovery.
• Algolia: Provides instant search and navigation for a better user experience.
• Bloomreach: Enhances experience with personalised content and commerce solutions.

2. Reward loyalty

Customers are more likely to be loyal to your brand if they receive perks for doing so and feel that their custom is valued. Launching a loyalty and rewards program can entice customers to shop with you again and help keep them engaged.

Here’s how:

• Promote prominently: Make details about your loyalty program easy to find by promoting it prominently on your homepage and within your site’s navigation.
• Highlight benefits: Use visually appealing graphics and concise summaries to showcase the advantages of joining the loyalty program. Clearly communicate perks, like discounts and exclusive offers, to motivate customers to join.
• Step-by-step guide: Provide a straightforward, visual guide on how customers can sign up and start earning rewards.
• FAQs section: Create a dedicated section on your website to answer common questions about your loyalty program. Regularly update this information to reflect changes and address new issues as they arise.
• Personalised dashboard: Allow customers to log in to a personalised dashboard to view their points balance, recent activity, and rewards history.

Top Shopify loyalty and rewards apps

• Smile.io: Points-based rewards for purchases and social media shares.
• LoyaltyLion: Tiered loyalty levels to incentivise spending.
• Yotpo: Integrates loyalty programs with user-generated content.
• Mention Me: Boosts referral marketing by encouraging referrals.
• Stamped: Combines loyalty and review programs.

3. Personalise the shopping experience

Personalising each customer’s shopping experience based on their behaviour and preferences can significantly enhance engagement and customer satisfaction. Use Shopify apps to deliver personalised product recommendations and tailored marketing messages to improve user experience and boost the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Here’s how:

• Data-driven personalisation: Leverage customer data to provide a personalised customer experience.
• Non-intrusive personalisation: Ensure that personalisation is subtle. The aim is to enhance customers’ shopping experience without overtly marketing to them.
• Product recommendations: Analyse previous purchases, browsing history, and user preferences to offer customers relevant product suggestions and increase the likelihood of them making a purchase.
• A/B test: Use A/B testing to identify the most effective content for different segments of your audience. Then, refine email campaigns, promotions, and ads based on what resonates best with each group.

Top Shopify apps for personalising the customer experience

• Nosto: AI-driven product recommendations.
• Klaviyo: Segmented, personalised email campaigns.
• Sanity: Customisable content platform for personalised experiences.

4. Prioritise email marketing

Targeted email campaigns help to keep customers informed and engaged. Choose Shopify email marketing tools that offers comprehensive features and robust analytics to enable you to create and send dynamic, visually appealing, and mobile-responsive e-shots to your customers. Continually refine your email strategy by leveraging analytics to optimise the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Here’s how:

• Visually appealing emails: Incorporate high-quality images and a consistent colour scheme to create an aesthetically pleasing design.
• Compelling calls to action: Use clear and actionable language in your calls to action (CTAs). Ensure that your CTAs are straightforward and tell customers exactly what you want them to do to improve your email’s click-through rate.
• Personalised content: Address customers by name and tailor the email’s content to their interests and past interactions with your brand. Personalising emails makes them feel more relevant to the recipient and increases engagement rates.
• Regular updates: Keep customers informed and interested with regular newsletters and updates.
• Easy preference management: Make it easy for customers to manage their email preferences or opt out. This will help your business comply with email marketing laws and can also improve the customer’s perception of your brand.

Top Shopify apps for running email marketing campaigns

• Klaviyo: Automated email flows and personalised content.
• Mailchimp: Drag-and-drop email builders and audience segmentation.
• Yotpo: Segment and A/B test email and SMS marketing campaigns.

5. Collect customer feedback

Actively collecting and showcasing customer feedback can help your brand build trust and credibility and gain valuable insights into what it’s doing well and where it can improve. This insight can then be used to improve your products and services and enhance customer experience to boost your business’s overall performance.

Here’s how:

• Simplify the process: Integrate a Shopify customer feedback app with a user-friendly interface to simplify the feedback process. It should be quick and easy for customers to leave feedback for your business.
• Display reviews prominently: Highlight customer reviews on product pages to influence purchasing decisions and provide compelling social proof to users.
• Leverage social proof: Showcase customer testimonials prominently on key pages, like your homepage and checkout page, to boost credibility and reassure new customers.
• Incentivise feedback: Offer customers a small incentive like a discount, loyalty points, or entry into a competition if they leave your business a review.
• Gain actionable insights: Regularly analyse the feedback received and implement changes based on feedback to improve your products, service, or customer experience to boost customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Top Shopify apps for gathering customer feedback

• Yotpo: Collect and display reviews and ratings.
• Judge.me: Customisable review widgets.
• Hotjar: Heatmaps and session recordings.
• Trustpilot: Display ratings and respond to reviews.
• Okendo: Collect detailed reviews and ratings.

6. Engage with customers post-purchase

Interacting with customers post-purchase helps to encourage repeat business and build lasting relationships. Use follow-up emails, order tracking, and review requests to keep communication lines open and customers engaged. Incorporate cross-channel marketing strategies by implementing Shopify social media integration techniques and SMS marketing, to increase effectiveness.

Here’s how: 

• Follow-up emails: Send a thank you email shortly after purchase to show your gratitude, and follow this up soon after with personalised product recommendations to encourage a repeat purchase.
• Order tracking: Provide customers with a clear and simple interface for tracking the status of their orders.
• Review requests: Automate the process of requesting reviews. A few days after the product has been delivered, send an email asking for a review. This helps to gather valuable feedback and generate social proof.
• Post-purchase surveys: Send customers surveys to collect valuable feedback about their shopping experience. This insight can be used to identify areas for improvement and refine your products and services.
• Personalised recommendations: Use data to offer personalised product suggestions through follow-up emails or targeted ads on social media.

Top Shopify apps for boosting post-purchase engagement

• AfterShip: Real-time order tracking.
• Klaviyo: Automated post-purchase email flows.
• PostPilot: Personalized thank-you postcards.
• Route: Package protection and tracking.
• Loop: Simplifies returns and exchanges.

7. Analyse retention metrics

Tracking and analysing retention metrics like repeat purchase rate, customer lifetime value (CLTV), and churn rate is essential for optimising your retention strategy. Tracking these metrics and optimising retention through analytics can help you to lower acquisition costs and increase CLTV to enhance your Shopify store’s overall profitability. 

Here’s how:

• Regular analysis: Review your store’s retention metrics regularly to identify trends and areas for improvement. Understanding these patterns allows you to adjust your strategies promptly to address issues.
• Customer segmentation: Divide your customer base into segments based on behaviour, purchase history, and demographics. Tailor your retention efforts for different segments to improve the effectiveness of your strategies.
• A/B testing: Continually test different aspects of your retention strategy to find what works best. This could involve experimenting with different types of email campaigns, loyalty programs, or personalised offers to see which ones drive the highest engagement and repeat purchases.
• Data-driven changes: Implement changes based on data-driven insights. 

Top Shopify apps for tracking retention metrics

• Lifetimely: Track customer lifetime value and segments.
• Metrilo: Combine analytics, CRM, and email marketing.
• Signifyd: Fraud protection and customer insights.

Once you’ve implemented these seven proven customer retention strategies, you’ll be well on your way to transforming first-time buyers into loyal customers. However, improving customer retention rates is an ongoing challenge that requires continual monitoring of metrics and ongoing optimisation to maintain optimal results. For help integrating or customising any of the Shopify apps mentioned in this article, get in touch with our team of specialist Shopify web designers and developers here at Create8. We are proud to be a Shopify partner, having helped businesses across various industries elevate their eCommerce stores by optimising them for both performance and user experience.

Partner with Create8 to boost your Shopify store’s retention rates

Are you ready to boost your Shopify store’s profitability by improving customer retention rates? 

At Create8, our specialist team of Shopify web designers and developers is ready and waiting to help you improve customer experience, set up customer retention tools, and implement loyalty programs on Shopify. We can help you identify the Shopify customer retention apps most suited to your business needs and goals and ensure optimal integration to achieve the best results. 

For more information about our Shopify web design and development services or to request a quote on a project, give our team a call on 0161 820 9686.