What Is a Good Repeat Purchase Rate for Ecommerce?
If you sell supplements and have a 20% repeat purchase rate, I would want to investigate it.
If you sell luxury furniture and have the same 20% rate, I might be impressed.
Same metric.
Completely different interpretation.
That is why the question:
“What is a good repeat purchase rate?”
needs one more sentence:
For what product, over what period, calculated how?
The broad benchmark
A 2026 BS&Co analysis of 156,110 direct-to-consumer customers found an overall 365-day repeat purchase rate of 18.8%. (bsandco.us)
Shopify also cites that research in its current retention guidance. (shopify.com)
That is useful context.
It is not a target.
Category ranges from the same dataset
BS&Co reports approximate ranges of:
| Category | Repeat purchase rate |
|---|---|
| Consumables | 22%–44% |
| Fashion | 10%–17% |
| Durable/general retail | 7%–18% |
The spread makes intuitive sense.
A consumable product creates a natural repurchase occasion.
A sofa does not.
Other datasets produce different numbers
Shopify’s 2026 ecommerce metrics guide cites Decile benchmarks with:
- supplements: 45%
- food and beverage: 34%
- fashion and apparel: 25%
- home goods: 21%
- health and beauty: 20%. (shopify.com)
Those figures are not necessarily contradicting BS&Co.
The underlying:
- customer samples,
- observation windows,
- category definitions,
- calculation methods
can differ.
This is exactly why benchmark articles need methodology, not just tables.
The benchmark hierarchy I would use
Best benchmark
Your own historical cohorts.
Second best
Comparable brands in your category using the same calculation method.
Third best
Published category benchmarks.
Weakest
“One ecommerce average.”
The closer the comparison resembles your actual business, the more useful it becomes.
Compare replenishable with replenishable
A supplement company should compare itself with businesses where:
- products are used regularly,
- another purchase is naturally required,
- price points are similar,
- subscription penetration is similar.
Do not compare it with fashion and conclude retention is amazing.
Compare the same window
A 90-day repeat rate and a 365-day repeat rate cannot be compared directly.
This sounds obvious.
Benchmark tables frequently blur it.
Judge the curve, not only the endpoint
Suppose two brands both end at:
30% repeat purchase within one year.
Brand A gets:
25% within 60 days
30% by year-end.
Brand B gets:
10% within 60 days
30% by year-end.
Same annual number.
Very different cash-flow behaviour.
Brand A creates repeat value much faster.
That may support more aggressive customer acquisition.
What I would call “good”
Good means:
Better than the relevant benchmark while producing healthy contribution economics.
Not:
above 25%.
If a 35% repeat rate is driven by destructive discounting, I would not call it healthy automatically.
Benchmark the first product too
Your store-wide rate may hide that:
Product A: 48%
Product B: 21%
Product C: 9%
Product A may be a powerful acquisition product.
Product C may acquire customers who rarely develop.
That insight can affect:
- media spend,
- landing pages,
- merchandising.
Benchmark by acquisition source
Likewise:
Referral customers: 42%
Search: 31%
Paid social: 16%
Now the retention metric is changing the acquisition conversation.
A simple interpretation framework
Below category range
Investigate.
Inside range
Look for product and cohort variation before concluding performance is acceptable.
Above range
Check whether strong repeat is also producing strong margin and fast payback.
Benchmarks are a diagnostic signal.
Not a trophy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 30% a good repeat purchase rate?
For some categories yes; for others it may be weak or exceptional.
What is the average direct-to-consumer repeat purchase rate?
BS&Co reports 18.8% across its 156,110-customer dataset using a 365-day window. (bsandco.us)
Why do different sources give different averages?
Different samples, windows and category mixes.
Use the benchmark to ask a better question
Do not stop at:
Are we above average?
Ask:
Which products, customers and acquisition cohorts are creating our best repeat behaviour—and why?
That is where the opportunity is.
Related reading
How to Calculate Repeat Purchase Rate
How to Increase Repeat Purchases