Clothing vs CPG Repeat Purchase Data

Hey it's Max from The Inbox Newsletter.

After looking at some data using our in-house analytics tool… I've changed some of my philosophy on our post-purchase strategy.

What's more important than what you say is when you say it.

Because the way customers actually reorder is wildly different depending on what you sell.

And your biggest lever to repeat orders is making sure you time this correctly.

Let's get into it!

Clothing and Accessories

Here's what the repeat purchase curve looks like for some of our own 8-9 figure clothing and accessories brands…

This graph shows Day 0 as the day a customer places their FIRST order… and the green bars represent number of sales by day.

There's a big spike in second orders 0-7 days after the first purchase. That's right around delivery, when the customer is still riding the high of a new brand and a new product they just got in the mail.

That window is short though. Around Day 21, the product stops being the new thing, and reorders fall off a cliff.

Think about a new shirt. You wear it a few times in the first couple of weeks because it's still novel and fun. Then once it becomes just another shirt in your closet, you stop reaching for it.

The play here is to hit customers harder right around delivery, while it's still their favorite item they own. Send more upsells and cross-sells, and stop suppressing recent buyers from your campaigns.

Keep them in!

CPG (Beverage, Supplements, etc)

CPG is very different. Here's what the curve looks like these categories:

Very low repeat orders in the first 5-7 days because people are still waiting to actually try the product and decide if it's worth reordering… they are most likely worried about taste first before reordering.

Then, it opens way up. A long steady stretch of repeat orders from around Day 10 to Day 35, since everyone burns through the product at a different pace.

After Day 35, it tails off pretty hard. If someone hasn't repeated by then, they're probably not in love with the product.

The play here is completely different. Days 2-7 should be pure value and consumption education while your customer is still forming their opinion on the product. Don't try to upsell or cross-sell yet, they haven't even tried it.

Then from Day 7 to Day 35, get consistent with messaging that pushes for the next order. And after Day 35 is when you want to trigger an incentive to test and pull one more order out before they're gone.

Quick note too, look at YOUR data and split it by serving count. Timing will be different for a 30-serving product vs a 60-serving product.

What this all means

Your post-purchase flow should match when people are actually ready to reorder, not some generic one-size-fits-all type of strategy…

Match the intensity to your own specific category's curve and you'll pull way more repeat orders out of the customers that bought from you!

👉 All this data came from WelLTV, our own analytics platform that tracks deeper cohort behavior (like repeat purchase timing and LTV curves) for every brand we manage. If you want to see the shape of your own brand's repeat purchase curve and get an audit, book a call with us here »

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
Honey Gummies

Email Design:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18IN6GNIx4Ry1ItIdJRIrSzM1TB2_bHen/view?usp=drive_link

Notes:
This is how you sell subscription in 2026! Love the tracker + habit-building framing!

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max Sturtevant

P.S
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