Online Makeup Store
Increasing repeat purchases through Klaviyo retention campaigns
The store was winning first orders, but many customers never returned. After buying, most customers heard from the brand only when another storewide sale began.
Mailkar Studio built a retention email program that used purchase history to make follow-ups more relevant.
- Platform: Klaviyo and Shopify
- Project length: Six months
- Focus: Repeat purchases, post-purchase emails, and win-back campaigns
About the Client
The store sold makeup products, including foundation, lipstick, blush, and eye makeup. Customers bought directly through its Shopify website.
Klaviyo handled promotional campaigns, but the store had few automated emails for existing customers.
The Problem
The email plan focused on the next sale rather than the customer’s last purchase. Someone buying foundation could receive the same promotion as someone buying lipstick.
There was also little follow-up after an order. Customers received limited product advice or relevant suggestions for a future purchase.
The business needed a clear plan for staying in touch with customers who had subscribed to marketing emails.
How Mailkar Studio Helped
We organized the retention program around what customers bought and how recently they ordered.
Build Customer Segments From Purchase History
We created audience segments based on product category, order history, and time since the last purchase.
These segments helped the store distinguish first-time buyers, repeat customers, and customers who had not returned recently.
Add Useful Post-Purchase Emails
We created follow-ups with product-use tips and relevant care information. These emails gave customers useful content after their order arrived.
The sequence also introduced related products when appropriate. For example, a lipstick customer could receive a relevant lip liner recommendation.
Make Repeat-Purchase Offers More Relevant
We planned cross-sell campaigns around products that complemented an earlier purchase. Each campaign explained why the suggested item might be useful.
We also created reorder reminders where product usage and purchase patterns supported them. Timing reflected the product category rather than one fixed schedule for everyone.
Reconnect With Inactive Customers
We built win-back campaigns for customers who had not purchased within the store’s usual buying cycle.
Once a customer ordered again, win-back reminders stopped. Our Email Marketing Operations service supported campaign scheduling, flow checks, and reporting.
The Results After Six Months
The sample comparison follows two groups of 1,000 first-time customers who subscribed to marketing emails.
Each group is tracked for 90 days after its first purchase.
Repeat-purchase rate improved by nine percentage points, a 50% relative increase. Email-attributed repeat-order revenue increased by $4,500, or 75%. This revenue covers qualifying repeat orders and excludes refunded orders. Both groups use the same seven-day post-click attribution rule. Product experience and other marketing also influence repeat purchases.
What Changed for the Business
The store gained a structured way to stay in touch after the first order. Customers received useful product information and offers connected with their buying history.
The team could also review first-time and repeat customers separately. This made retention performance easier to track and improve.