Repeat Purchase Rate: Formula and How to Track It

By Alva Chew · Updated 2026-11-02

Definition Repeat purchase rate is the percentage of your customers who bought more than once in a set period. The formula is customers with two or more purchases divided by total customers, times 100. A shop with 500 customers where 150 bought twice or more has a 30% repeat purchase rate.

What is repeat purchase rate?

Repeat purchase rate is the share of your customers who bought from you more than once during a chosen period. It is usually quoted per quarter or per year. A higher number means more of the people who tried you came back for a second purchase.

For a café, restaurant or shop, it answers a plain question: of everyone who bought this quarter, how many bought again?

How do you calculate repeat purchase rate?

Formula: customers with two or more purchases in the period ÷ total customers who bought in the period × 100.

Item	Illustrative number
Customers who bought at least once this quarter	500
Customers who bought exactly once	350
Customers who bought two or more times	150
Repeat purchase rate	150 ÷ 500 × 100 = 30%

These numbers are made up to show the arithmetic. The other 70% is your one-time buyer share.

Which period should you measure over?

The rate depends heavily on the window. A short window understates repeat buying for a business where good customers visit monthly. Two windows suit most small businesses:

90 days. Fits cafés, coffee shops and lunch spots where regulars come weekly.
180 days to a year. Fits restaurants, bakeries and shops where a loyal customer may visit once a month or less.

Pick one window, write it down and keep it. Comparing a 90-day figure with a 365-day figure tells you nothing.

How is it different from customer retention rate?

The two numbers get mixed up often. Repeat purchase rate looks at everyone who bought in the period and asks how many bought more than once. Customer retention rate takes the group you had at the start and asks how many are still buying at the end. A customer who joined mid-period and bought twice counts as a repeat buyer but not as retained from the start.

Track both if you can. Repeat purchase rate shows how well you turn first-timers into second-timers. Retention shows whether your existing base is holding.

Why is it hard to measure without a program?

A till records sales, not people. If a customer pays with cash or a different card each time, you cannot tell whether Tuesday’s buyer is the same person as last month’s. Repeat purchase rate needs an identifier that stays with the customer.

A loyalty program supplies that. Each member has an account, so each purchase is tied to a person. The figure then covers members only, which skews toward your most engaged customers. Say so when you report it.

How does a points program affect repeat purchases?

A points-based loyalty program gives customers a balance that grows with each purchase, which gives them a reason to come back. Whether it lifts your rate is something to test. Compare members before and after they joined, and compare the second-purchase rate of new members against a period before you launched.

The redemption rate is a useful companion. If few members ever spend their points, the balance may not be giving them a reason to return.

What is a good repeat purchase rate?

There is no single good number. It varies by what you sell and how often people need it, so a figure from another business says little about yours. Measure your own rate for a few periods, then judge changes against that baseline. A move from 30% to 35% after a change you made is more useful than any outside benchmark.

Tracking it with Gimify

Gimify keeps one points balance per member across every outlet, so a member who visits a second branch stays one person in your records. The card lives in Google Wallet, so members do not download an app. The free plan covers one outlet with unlimited members.

Questions owners ask

How do I calculate repeat purchase rate?

Divide the number of customers who bought two or more times in the period by the total number of customers who bought at least once, then multiply by 100. With 500 buyers and 150 of them buying twice or more, the rate is 150 / 500 = 30%.

What period should I use?

Match it to how often your regulars come. Use 90 days for a café or lunch spot, and 180 days or a year for a restaurant or shop where visits are less frequent. Keep the same period every time so trends mean something.

Is repeat purchase rate the same as customer retention rate?

No. Repeat purchase rate counts customers who bought more than once in a period, including people who joined during it. Retention follows the same starting group of customers across two points in time.

Can I measure it if customers pay in cash?

Only for customers you can identify. A till records sales, not people, so you need an account or card that stays with the customer. A loyalty program member account does this for members.

Does a loyalty program raise my repeat purchase rate?

Test it instead of assuming it. Compare the rate for members against non-members, and for the same members before and after joining. Members may already be your keenest customers, so the first comparison alone can mislead.