Email marketing is about connecting with the right people at just the right moment with a message that truly resonates. But how do you make that happen? The secret is segmentation—dividing your audience into smaller, like-minded groups.
One of the best ways to segment your email list? Focus on purchase frequency—how often your customers shop with you.
This strategy works because it gives you valuable insight into your customers’ behavior, allowing you to create emails that match their habits perfectly. The payoff? Higher engagement, stronger relationships, and a boost in sales.
Let’s dive into how it works!
Why Segmenting By Purchase Frequency Matters
Segmenting by purchase frequency goes beyond just organizing your customers. It’s about gaining a deeper understanding of their shopping habits and preferences. By knowing how often someone buys from you, you can tailor your marketing messages to meet them exactly where they are in their journey with your brand.
For example, frequent buyers may appreciate loyalty rewards or exclusive offers. At the same time, those who purchase less often could respond well to time-sensitive promotions or product recommendations.
This approach ensures that your messages are relevant, timely, and aligned with their current stage, helping to drive engagement and increase conversions.
Let’s break it down by the three key customer groups.
The 3 Customer Groups Based on Purchase Frequency
1. Frequent Buyers
These are your most loyal customers—the ones who regularly choose your brand over others. They’re already fans, but that doesn’t mean you can rest on your laurels.
Frequent buyers want to feel valued. When you reward their loyalty, they’re more likely to stick around and even advocate for your brand.
How to engage them:
- Loyalty rewards: Give them points for purchases or access to exclusive benefits.
- Early access: Offer sneak peeks at new products or upcoming sales.
- VIP treatment: Send them invitations to special events, personalized thank-you messages, or unique offers.
2. Occasional Buyers
These customers pop in from time to time—they like your brand but aren’t fully committed yet. Maybe they shop during sales or when something catches their eye, but they haven’t formed a habit of returning.
Occasional buyers often need a little encouragement to become regulars. It could be personalized offers and reminders can turn their “maybe” into a “yes.”
How to engage them:
- Limited-time discounts: Create urgency with time-sensitive offers.
- Personalized recommendations: Suggest products based on their previous purchases or browsing history.
- Friendly reminders: Nudge them with emails highlighting items they’ve shown interest in or deals they might have missed.
3. Lapsed Customers
These are the customers who haven’t shopped with you in a while. Maybe they got distracted by competitors, or life simply got in the way. Whatever the reason, they’re no longer actively engaging with your brand.
Lapsed customers might just need a reason to come back. A well-timed, thoughtful message can rekindle their interest and remind them why they loved your brand in the first place.
How to engage them:
- Re-engagement campaigns: Send a “We miss you!” email with a special offer or discount.
- Personalized messaging: Reference their past purchases to show you remember them.
- Win-back incentives: Try a compelling reason for them to return, like free shipping or a limited-time deal.
How to Segment Using Purchase Frequency
When you segment your audience by purchase frequency, you’re no longer sending generic emails to everyone. Instead, you’re speaking directly to each customer’s needs and habits. This makes your emails feel more personal and relevant, which is exactly what today’s customers expect.
Ready to get started? Here’s how to turn purchase frequency into a powerful segmentation strategy:
1. Spot the Patterns:
Look at your customer data to identify how often people are buying. Are there trends? Do certain groups make repeat purchases within weeks, while others only shop a few times a year? Mapping out these patterns gives you a clear picture of who’s who.
2. Tailor Your Messages:
For frequent buyers – send exclusive loyalty program invitations, early-bird access to sales, or sneak peeks at new arrivals. Keep it fresh and exciting to reward their loyalty.
For occasional buyers – highlight limited-time offers or remind them of products they’ve browsed. A little urgency or a personalized touch can nudge them to shop again.
For lapsed customers – create “win-back” campaigns. These can include discounts, personalized recommendations based on their purchase history, or a friendly message that acknowledges their absence and invites them to return.
3. Pair Purchase Frequency with Average Order Value (AOV):
Don’t stop at how often they buy—look at how much they spend too. Combining frequency with AOV helps you pinpoint high-value customers. These are the ones who deserve extra attention, like exclusive deals or premium product recommendations.
4.Measure and Adjust:
Keep track of how each segment responds to your campaigns. Are they opening your emails? Clicking through? Making purchases? Use this data to refine your approach and ensure your messages are hitting the mark.
Read this too: B2B Email Marketing Statistics to Watch Out in 2025.
Benefits of Segmenting by Purchase Frequency
Using purchase frequency to tailor your email campaigns can transform how you connect with your audience. By aligning your strategy with customer behavior, you create a marketing approach that’s more efficient and impactful.
Here’s why it matters:
1. Boosted Engagement
When your emails reflect a customer’s habits, they feel more personal—and people pay attention. Tailored messages like loyalty rewards, exclusive offers, or well-timed reminders naturally lead to higher open and click-through rates.
2. Better Customer Retention
Customers stick around when they feel valued. A thank-you email or a surprise reward for frequent buyers can strengthen their connection to your brand. Retention isn’t just about keeping customers; it’s about ensuring they keep choosing you.
3. Smarter Marketing Spend
Generic email blasts often miss the mark. Targeted campaigns ensure your marketing budget works harder by focusing on what each segment wants, driving better results and higher ROI.
Why Purchase Frequency is Essential for Email Campaigns
Understanding how often your customers buy isn’t just data—it’s a roadmap for crafting better email campaigns. Here’s how purchase frequency drives email success:
1. Messaging That Resonates
Your customers are unique, and your emails should reflect that. By tailoring your approach, you can create messaging that feels relevant:
- Frequent Buyers: Reward their loyalty with VIP offers or early access to new products.
- Occasional Buyers: Use personalized product recommendations or limited-time promotions to encourage repeat purchases.
- Lapsed Customers: Reconnect with a friendly “We miss you!” message and an enticing discount to bring them back.
This level of personalization makes customers feel seen and understood, increasing their likelihood to act.
2. Find the Right Email Cadence
Sending too many emails can feel pushy, but not sending enough can leave customers disengaged. The sweet spot varies, but monitoring your data will help you find what works best:
- Tailored by Industry: For instance, fashion brands might thrive with 5–6 emails a week, while other industries see better results with fewer.
- Fine-Tune Frequency: Pay attention to engagement metrics like open and unsubscribe rates to adjust your approach for each segment.
3. Build Loyalty with Well-Timed Campaigns
Frequent buyers and loyal customers are your biggest assets—make sure they feel appreciated. Use purchase frequency data to create meaningful retention campaigns:
- Celebrate Milestones: “It’s your 1-year anniversary with us!” Then give a 10% discount on their next purchase.
- Offer Exclusive Discounts: Show your appreciation with special perks that encourage them to keep choosing you.
Retention pays off in a big way—even a small boost (5%) in customer retention can lead to a 25% to 95% increase in profits.
4. Track What’s Working—and What Isn’t
To get the most out of purchase frequency segmentation, keep a close eye on your performance metrics:
- Open Rates: Are your subject lines grabbing attention?
- Click-Through Rates: Is your content driving action?
- Conversion Rates: Are customers following through?
- If something’s not clicking, adjust your strategy. Whether it’s the message, timing, or offer, regular analysis keeps your campaigns sharp and effective.
Now that you’ve got a better handle on what purchase frequency is and why it matters, let’s dive deeper into how segmenting by purchase value can play a key role in your email strategy.
What Does Segmenting by Purchase Value Mean in eCommerce Email Segmentation?
Segmenting by purchase value is all about grouping your customers based on how much they spend with your store over a certain period. This helps you understand their spending habits so you can create marketing campaigns and offers that actually resonate with them.
It’s like putting your customers into different “spending buckets” so you can talk to them in ways that match their shopping behavior.
How Does It Work?
Here’s the breakdown:
What is Purchase Value?
It’s just the total amount a customer spends with your store. You can measure it monthly, quarterly, or even yearly, depending on your goals.
It’s just the total amount a customer spends with your store. You can measure it monthly, quarterly, or even yearly, depending on your goals.
How Do You Segment Customers?
You divide customers into groups based on how much they spend.
You divide customers into groups based on how much they spend.
For example:
- High-value customers: These are your VIPs—the ones who spend big.
- Mid-value or low-value customers: They’re still important but might need a little more attention to boost their spending.
What Data Do You Need?
The data comes straight from your eCommerce platform—think order history and transaction totals. Once you have this, it’s much easier to create targeted campaigns that actually work.
The data comes straight from your eCommerce platform—think order history and transaction totals. Once you have this, it’s much easier to create targeted campaigns that actually work.
Why Should You Segment by Purchase Value?
As we’ve discussed, segmenting by purchase value allows you to tailor your marketing campaigns. You can offer your top spenders special discounts or early access to new products.
For customers who haven’t shopped in a while, send them deals to encourage their return.
Once you’ve identified your high-value customers, you can focus on keeping them loyal. Loyalty programs, surprise gifts, or personalized thank-you emails can go a long way in making them feel valued and ensuring they keep coming back.
But beyond personalized marketing and customer retention, there are even more reasons why you should segment by purchase value.
Let’s get into the good stuff—what’s in it for you?
1. Smarter Budget Allocation
Instead of spreading your marketing budget thin, you can focus on the customers who generate the most revenue. It’s about working smarter, not harder, to get the best return on your investment.
2. Better Pricing Strategies
When you know how much your customers spend, you can adjust your pricing. Offer premium options for big spenders and discounts for price-sensitive shoppers. It’s all about meeting people where they are.
3. Product Development Insights
Want to know what products to develop next? Look at what your high-value customers are buying. Their preferences can guide you toward creating products that people actually want.
4. Competitive Advantage
Knowing your customer segments gives you an edge over competitors who are still taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Tailored experiences win every time.
5. Better Marketing Results
When you target specific groups with offers that make sense for them, you’ll see better engagement and more conversions. It’s a win-win.
Tools to Help with Purchase Value Segmentation
Now, how do you actually do this? Thankfully, there are plenty of tools that make segmentation easy:
1. Klaviyo
A favorite for eCommerce brands, Klaviyo lets you create segments based on purchase history and updates them in real-time.
2. HubSpot
A powerhouse CRM that also lets you segment by purchase value across email, ads, and more.
3. Heap
Tracks user behavior on your site to help you spot patterns and identify your biggest spenders.
4. Insightly
Combines CRM features with segmentation tools to help you send relevant messages at every stage of the customer journey.
5. Optimove
Uses AI to create super-detailed micro-segments based on how customer behavior changes over time.
6. Kissmetrics
Focuses on audience insights, helping you figure out what makes your high spenders tick.
Provides a deep dive into user behavior, helping you pinpoint high-value customers and how they interact with your site.
8. Convertedin
Automatically segments customers based on their buying behavior, making it easier to target high-value shoppers.
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So, What Now?
Segmenting by purchase value is a powerful strategy that can significantly enhance your email marketing efforts. By understanding and categorizing your customers based on their spending habits, you can create more personalized, targeted campaigns that resonate with each segment.
With the right tools and strategies in place, purchase value segmentation can optimize your marketing spend, improve customer experiences, and ultimately grow your bottom line.
So, if you’re not already using this approach, now’s the perfect time to start. Your high-value customers are waiting, and with a little effort, you can keep them coming back for more.
