How to Turn One-Time Shoppers Into Loyal App Customers

WooCommerce app customer loyalty isn’t optional — it’s your growth engine. Most brands bleed revenue by focusing only on acquisition, while loyal app users deliver up to 96% more profit over time. If your app isn’t turning one-time buyers into superfans, this guide is for you.

Introduction:

Have you ever wondered why 70% of first-time web visitors never return? A major reason is that your online store is failing to convert one-time buyers into loyal app users, resulting in huge amounts of revenue that gets left on the table. Most brands have become accustomed to focusing on customer acquisition and forgetting that there is real growth to be had in customer retention, particularly relating to the valuable long-term revenue relationships that can be built through retention.

Creating a loyalty-driven customer base is a must have, particularly in a competitive field such as retail, restaurants, or service. As emphasized by McKinsey, customer retention is a huge profit driver, increasing by 5% and profits surge as high as 96%. On the flip side, there is a Gap in the Market with 60-80% of first-time buyers simply disappearing after their first purchase. Why is that? There is a lack of engagement beyond that initial transaction.

So the question is.. How do we do this? Leverage your mobile app as a personalized, engagement powerhouse that shapes fleeting visitors into loyal customers. Are you ready? Here is a method to make new buyers fall in love with your brand.

Why Customer Loyalty is the Key to Sustainable Growth

Offering digital customer loyalty programs is a service that is underdeveloped. Many brands.

The benefits of developing customer loyalty are noteworthy. According to Statista, loyal customers typically spend 67% more money than customers who are new to your business. In addition, customer retention has been shown to improve business profitability (McKinsey).

The unfortunate truth that your business must face is that your first purchase is more than likely going to be your last without proper customer relations. Most web stores (70-80%) of shoppers, do not return for another purchase. This is a glaring missed opportunity. Customer loyalty is inherent in continued engagement – with a mobile app customers are far more engaged than customers without. This is why mobile applications for purchase are the most impactful for ongoing, personalized engagement with customers.

How Apps Drive Customer Loyalty: The Power of Purposeful Engagement

Your mobile app is not something that your business has to market. Apps establishing communication between customers and a business via push notifications, loyalty programs, in app exclusive discounts, and easy reordering. They give users another way to purchase that greatly enhances the selling potential a customer has at the business Web stores cannot match the selling potential of a mobile app.

Salesforce customers spend 50% more when push notifications are present in the app. They keep customers in the business’s ecosystem by alerting customers to new and exciting products, discounts, and order updates. Additionally, customers will purchase (purchases at an increasing rate) when loyalty programs are a part of the ecosystem | app when pretty basic loyalty programs are in place in the mobile app.

A seamless loyalty pipeline that keeps your customers coming back again and again.

Practical Strategies to Convert First-Time Shoppers Into Loyalty-Driven App Users

1. Welcome Them With a Clear & Personalized Onboarding
A user’s first impression of an app can easily make or break a business relationship. To help users understand the ease of use and benefits of the app, including the ability to earn loyalty points, provide discounts, or charge less, spend use your no-code platform to create Onboarding Twinr.

Pro Tip:Use rewards for quick signups. “Join now and earn 20% off your next purchase.”

2. Leverage Push Notifications for Real-Time Engagement
Smart, scheduled pop-ups can provide value to customers without being annoying. Reminders of abandoned carts, new sales or to use birthday discounts can go a long way. Data shows that timely messages can increase repeat engagement by up to 50%. A personalized thank you can go a long way, especially if loyalty points are attached to the next purchase.

Tip: Remember that you can’t add loyalty perks without first purchasing, so spend segmentation can be used to provide relevant and rewarding loyalty updates.

3. Implement Loyalty & Rewards Programs Within Your App
Keeping users motivated to stay active can be accomplished through setting new goals. Achieving new tiers of the rewards program, early access to sales or simply a new points system can go a long way.

No-code tools let you add these features easily and quickly. They help you create a gamified app that encourages customers to buy and keep coming back.

Stat: Gamification features in an app can lead to a 30% increase in purchase frequency (Source: Harvard Business Review).

4. Simplify Re-Ordering & Sharing

Turning one-time buyers into repeat customers is easy when you make the reordering process simple. Streamline it with ‘Repeat Last Purchase’ or ‘Save Favorite Items’.

In addition: Offering Social Loyalty is easy too. Customers enjoy recommending brands—so give them bonuses for sharing your app or offer discounts to their friends.

5. Provide Exclusive Perks for App Users

To keep customers’ attention and interest in your app, offer discounts, early access to products, or VIP support. Offering these perks will make your app feel like an exclusive members’ club which encourages users to engage often.

Example: A fashion retailer using Twinr made an “App-Only Sale” to encourage customers to download their app, which ultimately increased their sales.

6. Maintain Active Communication With Personalized Campaigns

Implement tailored campaigns by analyzing customer behavior and using it to decide push messages, in-app banners, or emails. For example, recommend products based on their previous purchases or items they’ve browsed.

Insight: Customers value personalized experiences, and they provide a 50% or more increase in customer lifetime value according to McKinsey.

7. Reward Them for Loyalty & Advocacy

Recognition goes a long way. Create tiered milestone systems—like “Five purchases = free shipping” or “Earn points by sharing with friends.” Create an emotional connection with the customer by recognizing them publicly or by inviting them to an exclusive event.

Real-Life Success Stories: Loyalty-Driven Brands Moving Beyond the First Sale

• A no-code loyalty program via their app helped a boutique fashion brand increase repeat sales by 35%.
• A chain of restaurants used push notifications for exclusive offers and order updates, and saw a 40% increase in repeat diners.
• A tech SaaS firm had churn reduced by 20% by integrating an app-based onboarding and support portal.

These brands do not only sell, they become part of their customers’ lives in a daily manner with their apps. They listen, and communicate in ways that foster true loyalty.

Take Action — Start Building Your Loyalty Engine Today

The fastest way for you to start transforming first-time shoppers into repeat customers on the app is to turn your website into a native app. Twinr is a no-code platform that will let you build and customize your app while setting up and optimizing engagement features like push notifications, loyalty rewards, reordering, and more.

Don’t let lifetime relationships with your customers go to waste. Use your app to help customers with real pain points, give them personalized offers, and make loyalty easy.

[In just a couple of hours you can get started with Twinr, and begin the process of transforming your shopping experience from just casual to loyal with shopping.]

FAQs:

Q1. How do I convince first time customers to install my app?

Instant value offerings such as discounts, free loyalty points & seamless onboarding increases the chances of a customer downloading an app. Use no-code solutions to embed tutorials to guide customers through the app features to motivate customers to download the app.

Q2. Which app functionalities will result in the highest customer loyalty?

Loyalty features such as discounts, loyalty stamps, easy repeat purchase functionality, VIP programs, & personalized offers drive user adoption. Each of these features increases customer loyalty, especially when enhanced with personalized targeting driven from an analytics engine.

Q3. How to I measure the customer retention from my app?

Analytics dashboards tracking repeat visits, purchase frequency, loyalty program engagement, & push notification visits will help measure the retention.

Q4. Is it possible to automate user re-engagement campaigns?

Yes, of course, it is. Twinr’s integrations allow user behavior to trigger re-engagement campaigns. These behaviors can be cart-abandonment, inactivity, or even user birthdays.

Q5. What makes customer loyalty with an app greater than a web store?

Personalized features such as push notification rewards & trigger campaigns. These features are lost in web store experiences which create a customer disconnect.