The Customers module links orders and tickets by email address, phone number, VAT ID, Company ID or a verified link between a ticket and an order.
It uses this data to calculate customer value, return rate, lifecycle stage, RFM and segments.
How a customer profile is created
A profile has two main sources:
Order – adds contact details, addresses, purchase date and value.
Ticket – adds contact details, ticket type and related communication.
If you use Retino Tracking, an order in the customer profile timeline also shows its latest tracked shipment and current status.
Retino processes new and changed orders and tickets continuously. If a change is not visible yet, wait up to 30 minutes and reload the profile.
Profile without an order: Without an order history, Retino creates only a limited profile. Open it from the ticket; it is absent from Customers and has no RFM, lifecycle stage or segment.
How Retino links records belonging to the same customer
To link records, Retino compares:
email address
phone number
VAT ID
Company ID
a verified link between a ticket and an order
Retino also recognises common shared mailboxes, such as info@, and does not link customers based on these alone.
Records can be linked gradually. If the first and second orders share a phone number and the second and third share an email address, all three may belong to one profile.
How Retino evaluates a customer
Order value and return rate
The profile header shows the number of orders, the year of the first purchase and the total value of those orders in your online store’s main currency.
Return rate is the ratio of the customer’s number of returns to their number of orders. Ø represents the online store’s average return rate, calculated from all returns and orders.
Retino distinguishes low, elevated and high risk by comparing the customer with the rest of your online store’s customers. One return can have a strong effect when the customer has only a short order history. Check the order count and reasons for the actual returns before deciding.
Lifecycle stage
Lifecycle stage summarises the relationship between the online store and a customer with an order history. Each such customer has one stage.
Lifecycle stage | Meaning |
New | The relationship with the customer is just beginning |
Loyal | The customer purchases repeatedly and remains active |
At risk | More time has passed since the latest purchase than is usual for your customers |
Active | The customer is purchasing and is not New, Loyal, At risk or Dormant |
Dormant | The customer has not purchased for a long time |
What RFM means
RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) compares a customer with other customers of the same online store in three areas:
R – Recency: how recently the customer purchased;
F – Frequency: how often the customer purchases;
M – Monetary: the total value of their orders.
Scores 1–5 are quintiles; 5 usually marks the top 20% in that area. RFM is not an overall rating: a high-value customer may also have a high return rate.
What customer segments mean
Customer segments are based on your customers’ existing orders, returns and claims and highlight useful opportunities or risks.
Segment | Practical meaning |
Fragile first purchase | The first purchase involved a return or claim; review the complete first experience |
Fading regular | A previously valuable customer has stopped purchasing at their usual pace |
VIP | One of your most valuable customers based on existing orders |
Serial returner | Returns significantly more often than other customers of your online store |
Frequent claimer | Has repeated claims in their history |
Loyal ambassador | Purchases repeatedly, remains active and does not have a high return risk |
New and rising | Is at the beginning of the relationship and existing purchases have had no return or claim |
Dormant | Previously purchased repeatedly but has not returned for a long time |
One-time buyer | Has one older purchase without another order, return or claim |
Standard | Has no strong positive or risk signal |
A customer may belong to several segments at the same time. Segments may change over time. Use a customer tag for your own marker that should not change with the calculation. See How to search, filter and tag customers for instructions.
When a profile contains records from several people
Need us to correct a profile? Email [email protected] with the profile link, related order or ticket codes and which records belong together.