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Get the retention analytics
Shopify doesn’t give you
Pull a handful of numbers from Shopify Analytics and get an instant retention grade, including how you compare to other merchants in your category and the amount of revenue you’re leaving on the table after the first order.
What’s your category?
Compare your store to other merchants in your category. If you don’t see your exact category, pick the closest fit.
Everything runs in your browser. Your info isn’t sent anywhere, unless you choose to email yourself the results below.
Your scorecard will appear here
Pick your category above to see benchmarks, then add your numbers.
Why do we use these metrics to calculate retention health?
After ad spend, discounts, and fulfillment, most stores’ first order barely breaks even (and often doesn’t). Truly sustainable revenue lives in the higher margin of return orders and repeat purchases.
That’s why this scorecard is built around the second order: AKA the share of first-time buyers who choose to come back. This metric is the single best predictor of whether your growth is actually compounding, or you’re buying your customers every month.
The Shopify dashboard’s “returning customer rate” won’t tell you this number. It counts anyone who has ever ordered before (subscription renewals included!) so it’s deceptively flattering.
To understand your real return rate, you need to ask the cohort question:
“Of the customers whose first order was a one-time purchase, and who have had a full year to return, how many came back to buy again?”
Enter that number above if you know it. (Don’t worry if you don’t! reOtter will automatically compute it from your store’s order history).
Once you have your Retention Scorecard, you’ll know where to focus your efforts to keep more customers coming back.
Benchmark sources: category repeat-purchase bands, second-order timing, and revenue over-index figures are drawn from BS&Co’s 2026 analysis of 156,110 DTC customers, and combined with broader published industry ranges. Measured on a ~12-month window.