Fix retention

Who this is for: DTC operators whose repeat purchase rate is below 25% (industry healthy = 30-40%) and whose LTV:CAC ratio is sliding toward 2:1 or below. Retention is the foundation of sustainable growth — paid acquisition only works long-term if customers come back.

Step 1 — Map the retention curve honestly

Use the Cohort Retention calculator to plot your actual curve: month 1 repeat %, month 3, month 6, month 12. Compare against typical DTC: month 1 at 30-50%, month 6 at 15-22%, month 12 at 10-15%. Where you fall on this curve determines which interventions matter.

Then check Repeat Purchase Rate calculator to see the single-rate version. Below 20% month-1 repeat indicates either product-market-fit issue or broken post-purchase. The fix order matters — don't skip diagnosis.

Step 2 — Audit the welcome flow

Welcome flow is the highest-ROI retention work most brands underbuild. Run Welcome Flow Revenue calculator with your current numbers. Healthy welcome flow drives 15-25% of total email revenue from just 4-6 emails per subscriber. If yours is producing under 8%, the flow needs rebuilding.

Common gaps: only 1-2 emails (need 4-6), no offer in email 1 (10-15% discount typically doubles email-1 conversion), no segmentation by acquisition source. Each fix lifts welcome revenue 30-50%.

Step 3 — Build (or rebuild) post-purchase

Post-purchase flow is the most underbuilt automation in DTC. Most brands stop at order confirmation and wonder why second purchases don't happen. Run Post-Purchase Flow Revenue calculator — a complete 5-7 email sequence (confirmation → shipping → education → review request → cross-sell → reorder nudge) typically lifts second-purchase rate 25-40%.

The review request alone earns its keep — getting 5-15% of customers to review when you ask (vs under 2% organic) feeds the PDP conversion flywheel.

Step 4 — Recover abandoned carts

Cart abandonment averages 70%+ across ecommerce. Run Abandoned Cart Flow Revenue calculator to size the recovery opportunity. A 3-step email + SMS sequence typically recovers 8-15% of abandoned carts — usually $5-20K/month for any brand with meaningful traffic.

Most underperforming abandoned cart programs only have email 1. Adding emails 2 and 3 plus SMS overlay typically doubles or triples recovered revenue with one weekend of build work.

Step 5 — For subscription brands: fix cadence + save offers

If you're running a subscription, cadence-consumption mismatch is a top-three churn driver. Use the Subscription Frequency Optimizer to validate your default cadence matches median consumption rate. Customers who consume in 45 days but receive monthly cancel from "I have too much."

Then build a tiered cancellation save flow. Use Cancel Save-Offer ROI — pause offer (40% accept, no margin cost) is almost always the right first save. Discount offers train customers to cancel for the discount; save them for repeat cancellation attempts.

Step 6 — Validate the LTV math after fixes

After 60-90 days of running improved flows, recheck the cohort retention curve. The cohorts that started after the fixes should show measurably better month-1 and month-3 retention. Run LTV:CAC Ratio calculator with the new LTV — most retention rebuilds lift LTV 25-50% within 6 months, which unlocks new CAC headroom for paid acquisition.

The compounding effect: better retention → higher LTV → higher sustainable CAC → can outbid competitors on the same customer → more new acquisition → more cohorts going through your improved flows. Six months in, the math looks completely different.