Repeat Sales

Repeat sales are purchases made by consumers that replace a previous purchases that have been consumed. Repeat sales may be seen as an example of brand loyalty. If a consumer purchases and is happy with a particular brand of shampoo, for example, they may purchase the same brand or a related product of the same brand when the time comes to replace or replenish it. A repeat sale may also be referred to as a "replacement sale" or "repurchase."

Repeat sales are similar to repeat purchases, and are related to repeat customers. Repeat purchases may involve the purchase of the same item from a different seller. Repeat customers are consumers who frequent the same seller and/or make repeat purchases of the same or brand-related items.

A key tenet in garnering repeat sales is to take better care of customers than the competition. Many books have been written and websites have been developed to teach salespeople how to secure repeat sales and repeat purchases. Either as an individual salesperson relying on commissions and incentives, or as a corporation looking to increase profits, making repeat sales is an important task. Studies show that it costs companies more money to attract new customers than to bring back existing customers because of the costs of advertising and marketing.

Repeat sales and repeat purchases can be measured by calculating a repeat purchase rate, which is the percentage of a company or brand's customers who return to make another purchase. The repeat purchase rare may also be referred to as a reorder rate, a repeat customer rate or customer retention rate. The higher the rate the better.

Each industry, retailer or brand has a standard repeat sales or purchase rate. A good benchmark is having about a quarter of customers return to a repeat sale. For example, repeat sales account for as much as half of the sales of e-commerce companies. Accordingly, such companies can employ several strategies to ensure that new customers become repeat customers. For example, they can create a loyalty or rewards program that rewards customers for repeat purchases, or ensure that they are able to interact with and answer questions from consumers on any medium whether it is social media, email, telephone, text, app, etc. They can also find new customers by enlisting existing repeat customers to provide referrals, by showing gratitude for their business or targeting customers with abandoned shopping carts. For bricks and mortar companies and brands, repeat sales can be encouraged by sending discounts for previously purchased items and predetermined periods, or by informing them of new products, features or uses for products that they have purchased in the past.