Shopify Admin Repeat Purchase Rate

---
name: shopify-admin-repeat-purchase-rate
role: order-intelligence
description: "Read-only: calculates what percentage of customers place 2+ orders within N days, segmented by product or collection."
toolkit: shopify-admin, shopify-admin-execution
api_version: "2025-01"
graphql_operations:
  - customers:query
  - orders:query
status: stable
compatibility: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI
---

## Purpose
Calculates the repeat purchase rate — the percentage of customers who return to place at least one more order within a defined window — and segments it by first-purchase product or collection. Identifies which products drive the highest repeat purchase behavior. Read-only — no mutations.

## Prerequisites
- Authenticated Shopify CLI session: `shopify store auth --store <domain> --scopes read_customers,read_orders`
- API scopes: `read_customers`, `read_orders`

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| store | string | yes | — | Store domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com) |
| days_back | integer | no | 90 | Acquisition window — customers first purchased in this period |
| repeat_window | integer | no | 90 | Days after first purchase to look for a repeat order |
| segment_by | string | no | none | Segment repeat rate by: `product`, `none` |
| format | string | no | human | Output format: `human` or `json` |

## Safety

> ℹ️ Read-only skill — no mutations are executed. Safe to run at any time.

## Workflow Steps

1. **OPERATION:** `customers` — query
   **Inputs:** `query: "created_at:>='<NOW - days_back days>'"`, `first: 250`, select `id`, `numberOfOrders`, `createdAt`
   **Expected output:** Customers acquired in window

2. **OPERATION:** `orders` — query
   **Inputs:** `query: "created_at:>='<NOW - days_back + repeat_window days>'"`, `first: 250`, select `customer { id }`, `createdAt`, `lineItems { product { id, title } }`, pagination cursor
   **Expected output:** Orders to build per-customer purchase history and first-product mapping

3. For each acquired customer: if they have ≥ 2 orders within `repeat_window` days → repeat purchaser

4. Calculate overall rate; if `segment_by: product`, group by first-purchased product

## GraphQL Operations

```graphql
# customers:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query AcquiredCustomers($query: String!, $after: String) {
  customers(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        createdAt
        numberOfOrders
        defaultEmailAddress {
          emailAddress
        }
      }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
  }
}
```

```graphql
# orders:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query CustomerOrderHistory($query: String!, $after: String) {
  orders(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        createdAt
        customer {
          id
        }
        lineItems(first: 5) {
          edges {
            node {
              product {
                id
                title
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
  }
}
```

## Session Tracking

**Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.**

**On start**, emit:
```
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  SKILL: Repeat Purchase Rate                 ║
║  Store: <store domain>                       ║
║  Started: <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC>             ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
```

**After each step**, emit:
```
[N/TOTAL] <QUERY|MUTATION>  <OperationName>
          → Params: <brief summary of key inputs>
          → Result: <count or outcome>
```

**On completion**, emit:

For `format: human` (default):
```
══════════════════════════════════════════════
REPEAT PURCHASE RATE
  Acquisition window:  <days_back> days
  Repeat window:       <repeat_window> days
  Customers acquired:  <n>
  Repeat purchasers:   <n>
  Repeat rate:         <pct>%

  By First Product:
    "<product>"  Acquired: <n>  Repeat: <pct>%
  Output: repeat_purchase_<date>.csv
══════════════════════════════════════════════
```

For `format: json`, emit:
```json
{
  "skill": "repeat-purchase-rate",
  "store": "<domain>",
  "acquisition_days": 90,
  "repeat_window_days": 90,
  "customers_acquired": 0,
  "repeat_purchasers": 0,
  "repeat_rate_pct": 0,
  "by_product": [],
  "output_file": "repeat_purchase_<date>.csv"
}
```

## Output Format
CSV file `repeat_purchase_<YYYY-MM-DD>.csv` with columns:
`customer_id`, `first_order_date`, `first_product`, `total_orders`, `is_repeat`, `days_to_repeat`, `total_spent`

## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Recovery |
|-------|-------|----------|
| `THROTTLED` | API rate limit exceeded | Wait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times |
| Guest checkout customers | No customer record to link orders | Exclude from analysis |
| Insufficient history | Store newer than window | Analyze available period |

## Best Practices
- A repeat rate of 25–35% within 90 days is a healthy baseline for most non-subscription ecommerce stores.
- Products with high repeat rates are your "gateway" products — prioritize them in acquisition campaigns.
- Use `segment_by: product` to identify which products create loyal customers vs. one-time buyers.
- Pair with `customer-cohort-analysis` for a deeper view of long-term retention trends.