As a Shopify brand, you’re constantly reminded of just how important retaining customers is. You work hard to bring new customers into your ecosystem, and it certainly isn’t cheap.
But it’s hard to put into words just how big a role retention plays in profitable, sustainable growth - so we’ve decided to compile five of our most impressive customer retention examples here at Rivo.
We’ll walk you through some success stories below that serve as examples of customer retention providing a tangible ROI. Then, we’ll walk you through the key takeaways from these examples so you can implement them in your own retention efforts.
First, what is customer retention exactly?
What is Customer Retention?
This is the art and science of keeping customers engaged and loyal to your brand over time. As soon as a customer makes their first purchase, the real work begins. The goal is to keep them coming back for more, time and time again.
This goes beyond milking a customer for as many purchases as possible, though. Retention efforts seek to turn your most loyal customers into brand advocates. These VIP customers engage with you on social media, tell their family and friends about you, and more.
Effective customer retention requires a level of trust being built, and it also hinges on providing the customer with value. Brands need to provide a seamless, rewarding experience at every possible touch point.
This can be through a well-structured loyalty program, which we’ll walk you through below, or through something as simple as personalized communications and world-class customer service.
Customers have more options than ever before thanks to eCommerce, so the job is far from finished once you earn a customer’s business. Plus, it can cost up to 5 times more to acquire a customer than to encourage a sale from an existing one.
5 Examples of Customer Retention Providing an Impressive ROI
It’s clear that customer retention is not something you can afford to take lightly. But it can be hard to understand just how powerful it is until you see it in action. So, we’ve gone through our case studies and uncovered 5 powerful examples of customer retention with Rivo.
Brands use our Shopify loyalty program to nurture their existing customer base, encouraging repeat purchases and driving more profitable growth. You can create your own bespoke landing page and tailor offers to your customers based on their behavior or your goals.
We encourage you to get in touch for more information through a personalized demo. In the meantime, here are our proudest customer retention examples through the Rivo solution.
Fresh Chile Co’s Loyalty Program Grew AOV by 156%
Fresh Chile Co. was born in 2018 through grassroots beginnings but is now trusted by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide for its one-of-a-kind Hatch Chile sauce.
While many brands claim to make customer service a priority, Fresh Chile Co. goes above and beyond with a 30,000+ member Facebook group where customers can get help and inspiration.
The company’s CMO came to us with a few needs - one being accessing store credit natively in mobile checkout since that’s how half its customers make purchases. The brand also wanted the ability to easily segment customers within Shopify.
Rivo offers both of these capabilities and countless others, and it was a match made in heaven. Fresh Chile Co. offers every customer 20% off with 6 other unique benefits - like 5% back in store credit on every purchase, $10 in Chile Cash when they sign up for the program, and more.
The program was launched on Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) last year and brought instantaneous results - a 156% increase to AOV among members, $40k in ARR within 90 days, and an 18x ROI through Rivo.
HexClad’s Referral Program Earned $450k in 90 Days
Like many brands, HexClad saw explosive growth during the pandemic, due in part to a partnership with Gordon Ramsay. The company saw an opportunity to capitalize on its massive customer base with a membership program that fostered a greater sense of loyalty.
They wanted a Shopify referral program that allowed customers to refer friends for prizes - with prizes getting more and more compelling the more friends they referred. On top of that, HexClad wanted to offer referred customers a first-time purchase incentive.
While most solutions fell short of what HexClad needed, Rivo is built with customization at its core. We also met their other requirements: scalability, fraud detection, and a seamless referral management backend.
Our solution integrated with the company’s Shopify Plus store and the rest of their tech stack. They got the program up and running, and the results in the first 90 days were astounding:
- Over $450K in revenue
- 92X ROI
- 17% increase in AOV for referred customers
You can see exactly how HexClad designed its landing page and the program itself here for more insights on this customer retention example.
Ultra Football Brought in $800k in Less Than 6 Months
Ultra Football is an Australian-based brand that landed a Nike partnership for its jerseys, boots, equipment, and other football gear.
The brand’s in-store shopping experience is unrivaled - with an in-store cafe where football fans can watch matches together while shopping for their new favorite threads and gear. There is even a barber shop inside!
While they couldn’t offer these types of experiences digitally, Ultra Football wanted to create a tactile, hands-on eCommerce experience for its customers.
After trying and failing with a different loyalty program vendor, Ultra Football connected with us here at Rivo - with a lofty goal to 10x loyalty.
The problem they were facing was friction in earning and redeeming points for the program. Customers were confused, the program lacked visibility, and it was disconnected from the in-store experience.
Now, Ultra Football is set up with Rivo so customers can access their Ultra Rewards ID in the same place they’d access order history or the Boots Finder.
We helped them tailor their on-site loyalty page using the Rivo API, helped connect to their mobile app, and integrated with Apple/Google Wallet Passes. Take a look at the Ultra Football loyalty page here to see this customer retention example at play.
In just 6 months the business brought in more than $800,000 in loyalty-driven revenue. Now, 7% of the company’s revenue comes from just loyalty. The shift to Rivo also led to a 150% boost in Ultra Rewards member AOV. By choosing our solution, the brand also cut launch time in half.
Rareform Saw a Nearly 27% Increase in 30-Day Repurchase Rate
Rareform has a unique business model that transforms old billboards into bags, helping cut down on waste and reframing sustainability. 80% of our billboards here in the US are now repurposed, with nearly 295,000 billboards upcycled so far.
You can imagine just how many eco-conscious customers ran to support Rareform. Yet, the owners weren’t satisfied with LTV and wanted to push it higher. Naturally, they came to Rivo for guidance on implementing a loyalty program that would promote repeat purchases, strengthen relationships, and drive overall revenue higher.
Together we created a tiered structure that offered better benefits as customers worked their way through the program's ranks. This required us to integrate sales channels and apps like Klaviyo, Postscript, Okendo, and Shopify Flow.
The Postscript integration was particularly important for rewarding members with points for SMS subscriptions and segmenting specific subscribers based on loyalty. In the end, Rareform developed a stunning and engaging loyalty landing page - and the rest is history.
The business boomed with a 27% improvement in repurchase rate, as more than 725 members joined in the first few weeks following the launch. The brand saw a 100x ROI from our solution.
Emi Jay’s Loyalty Program Now Drives 10% of All Sales
Rounding out our list of customer retention examples is Emi Jay, a brand that migrated to Shopify Plus in the fall of 2021 and needed a way to import pre-existing reward members from a previous app - while managing existing growth.
The brand focuses on femininity, hair, and beauty, and wanted to drive more engagement to improve repeat sales - but not in a traditional way. Emi Jay came up with a unique vision for its reward program, calling points “sparkles,” which aligned with its branding.
It was simple - for every dollar spent, a customer earned a sparkle. The program also offers sparkles for customer referrals. These can be redeemed for coupons on future orders.
The two metrics that mattered most to Emi Jay were sales and engagement, and the brand saw improvements in both after getting set up with Rivo. Sparkle Members brought in 10% of all sales as 4,000+ members signed up rapidly.
What You Can Learn From These Customer Retention Examples
You can draw plenty of inspiration from these examples of customer retention above, and there are plenty more where those came from. But, we want to touch on some of the most important takeaways from these customer retention strategies examples below.
Set Clear Goals for Your Retention Program
Part of what causes loyalty programs to fail is they never had feasible goals in the first place. Setting clear objectives should be your first step so you can actually measure success and keep your team focused on priorities that matter.
So, what is it that brought you here today to learn about customer retention examples? Are you trying to boost AOV, or encourage more frequent purchases? Do you want to turn brand advocates into an acquisition channel through referrals?
There are no right or wrong answers, and connecting with the experts here at Rivo is a great first step. We can talk about the state of your business and work together to find realistic goals that will move the needle.
Incorporating Rewards and Incentives for Loyalty
Setting up a loyalty program is an excellent step in the right direction, but the rewards you offer need to actually be enticing. They also need to be attainable, as customers who feel a loyalty program has too much friction won’t engage in the first place.
For instance, HexClad used a tiered referral program, where customers earned rewards for referring friends - whereas Emi Jay’s Sparkles Program simply offered points for purchases. It can be as simple or multifaceted as you’d like.
What matters most, though, is that the rewards are tailored to what customers actually want. This may involve surveying your customer base before you set up the program so you don’t waste your time offering unenticing incentives.
Maximizing Customer Engagement Through Personalization
The rewards aren’t the only thing that needs to be personalized. The techniques you use to engage customers through the program should be as well.
Rareform’s use of SMS integration through Postscript to engage and reward specific customer segments is a great example of how targeted messaging can enhance the customer experience.
The numbers don’t lie. Customers who are delivered a more personalized experience are 60% more likely to become repeat buyers. 64% of customers say they’ll spend more if they feel like a brand remembers them.
Monitoring and Improving Retention Metrics Over Time
The only way to know how your efforts are paying off is to carefully monitor your most important metrics - be it AOV, CLV, repeat purchase rate, referral stats, etc.
This goes back to laying down clear goals from the jump. You do need to be patient as you roll the program out, though. Don’t give up in the first month just because you didn’t see a massive lift to your top or bottom lines. If you do feel that something is amiss, make changes.
Gathering and Utilizing Customer Feedback
Data is everything when it comes to offering effective loyalty programs, as you can tailor communications and rewards accordingly. Encourage feedback through surveys, reviews, and direct communication to better understand customer needs and expectations.
Incorporate these insights to improve your program and show customers their voices are heard. This will further strengthen the relationship customers feel with your brand as they are actively participating in the direction of the business.
Creating a Seamless Customer Experience
The more friction involved in the customer experience - and your loyalty program specifically - the less likely customers will be to engage.
In our examples of customer retention strategies, you can see that the landing pages are well-designed and clearly instruct the customer on how to proceed.
Don’t make your customers search for information on the program or jump through hoops to earn/redeem loyalty points. Accessibility needs to be prioritized at every step.
Final Thoughts on Customer Retention Strategies Examples
As we conclude our list of customer retention examples it’s clear that loyalty and referral programs can move the needle for any brand.
From HexClad to Ultra Football, Emi Jay to Rareform, these are just a few of the many examples of customer retention delivering tangible results here at Rivo. There are many more case studies if you’re interested in seeing what’s possible and gaining inspiration.
The biggest takeaway from all these customer retention examples is the brands felt other solutions boxed them in with cookie-cutter solutions. They needed more. They turned to Rivo, and the results speak for themselves.
Learn more about how the solution works by requesting a demo today. You can also see how our products stack up to the competition:
