InstagramWhat the table shows
Each row is a group of customers whose first order fell in the same month. Each column is a month after that first order. Each cell is the share of the group that ordered again in that month.
How to read it
- Read across a row to follow one group over time.
- Read down a column to compare groups at the same age, such as month three.
- Month zero is the first order itself, so it is not a repeat. Compare the columns after it.
Made-up scenario: the March group has 200 first-time buyers. In month two, 22 of them ordered again, so the cell reads 11 percent. The April group reads 13 percent in month two. That is a gain on a group of 200, so check the next two months before you call it a change.
Common mistakes
- Reading one cell as a trend. One cell is one group in one month.
- Comparing a new row with an old one at a different age.
- Hiding the group size, so a row of 12 customers looks as solid as a row of 2,000.
What to do with it
- Pick one age, such as month three, as the repeat target, and track that column every month.
- Show the group size next to each row, and mark small groups as too small to judge. Define repeat with the repeat purchase rate term first.
