Define Who to Welcome, Re-Engage, or Suppress
Understanding where your customers are in their journey is key to effective communication. Customer lifecycle segmentation lets you group customers based on their engagement stage — and send the right message at the right time. Unlike RFM models, this approach provides an easy-to-use, streamlined 8-segment framework.
Every customer moves through a journey:
Sign-up – initial brand discovery
First purchase – testing the waters
Repeat purchases – building trust
Decreasing activity – early signs of churn
Churn – no longer buying
By identifying each customer’s stage, you can enable personalized marketing strategies designed to improve engagement and conversion rates. Here's how to put lifecycle segmentation to work for your business.
How Segmentation Works
Segments are defined using just three simple metrics:
Time since registration
Time since last purchase
Total number of purchases
Based on these, customers fall into one of eight lifecycle segments:
New – 1 order
New – 2+ orders
New – no orders
Promising
Active
Loyal
At-risk
Churned
Inactive (No Orders)
Segment thresholds are automatically calculated based on your brand's industry, considering the average number of orders and time passed between those orders.
If an industry isn’t specified in the brand settings, default thresholds are used, derived from cross-industry performance benchmarks.
Let's use the apparel store customers as an example to understand how segment thresholds are defined:
Example: Fashion Industry (Apparel, Shoes & Accessories)
Segment
| Description
| Thresholds (Fashion Industry) |
New – no orders | Recently signed up but never purchased |
|
New – 1 order | Just made their first purchase |
|
New – 2+ orders | Quickly converted and repurchased |
|
Promising | Long-time users with low purchase frequency, recent order |
|
Active | Steady buyers with moderate frequency |
|
Loyal | Top-performing, highly engaged customers |
|
At-risk | Starting to slip away |
|
Churned | Unlikely to return |
|
Inactive (no orders) | Signed up long ago, never made a purchase |
|
You can find the actual segment thresholds for the brand in the Business Metrics report.
Business Metrics → Customer Segments
Hover over a segment name to see a tooltip with exact thresholds. Click the link to view the filter conditions.
Business Metrics → Customer Segments → Segments Report
On the Business Metrics page, find the "Customer Segments" section and click "Segments Report".
The “Segments Report” opens.
Hover over a segment name to see a tooltip with exact thresholds. Click the link to view the filter setup.
Segment-Based Engagement Strategies
Set up personalized campaigns for each segment to increase retention and drive lifetime value.
Let’s explore strategies for lifecycle segments and the key business metrics to track when evaluating campaign performance.
Segment 1: New Users
Goal: To capture attention and encourage the first purchase.
Who: Recently registered, no purchases yet
Key Metric: First purchase conversion rate
What to Do:
Create a welcome series of 3–5 campaigns to encourage customers to place their first order. Use a cascade (e.g. first send email, if unopened → web push, if still unopened → mobile push, then SMS) to maximize reach and minimize cost.
Offer exclusive first-purchase discounts or bonus points;
Highlight brand benefits and social proof;
Use limited-time offers to create urgency.
Success Stories:
Segment 2: Active Customers
Goal: Improve customer retention, encourage repeat purchases and boost AOV (Average Order Value)
Who: Recently made a purchase
Key Metrics: Repeat purchase rate, AOV (Average Order Value), purchase frequency
What to Do:
Set up flows based on abandoned sessions with increasing discounts;
Send personalized product recommendations 7–14 days post-purchase;
Use personalized content: сelebrate birthdays, use names, and offer product recommendations;
Show appreciation for your customers' engagement and ask for feedback via surveys
Success Stories:
Segment 3: At-Risk
Goal: Understand why customers are becoming less active and Re-engage them before they churn
Who: Recent buyers who are no longer active
Key Metrics: Open/click rates, size of At-Risk segment
What to Do:
Launch reactivation campaigns with personalized discounts after 90 days of inactivity
Recommend new arrivals the customer may be interested in.
Collect feedback on why activity dropped
Escalate offers over time (new products → discounts → exclusive offers)
Success Stories:
Segment 4: Churned
Goal: Attempt win-back or, if there's no interest, end communication on a respectful note.
Who: Customers whose last purchase was a long time ago
Key Metrics: Open/click rates, Churned segment size
What to Do:
Send winback offers with deep discounts (up to 30%) after 180 days of inactivity
After 6+ months of non-engagement, reconfirm subscription status
Delete unengaged contacts to protect sender reputation
Success Stories:
Segment 5: Inactive (No Orders)
Goal: Convert to first purchase or gracefully end communication
Who: Signed up but never purchased
Key Metrics: Open/click rates, Inactive (No Orders) segment size
What to Do:
Launch re-engagement campaigns for recently registered or recently active customers.
Delete inactive customers to maintain sender reputation.
Suggested flows:
Winback
Anonymous Visitors
Goal: Turn unknowns into subscribers
Who: Site/app visitors with no profile
Key Metric: Contact collection rate, notification subscriptions
What to Do:
Set up exit-intent popups (triggered when visitors attempt to leave) with lead magnets to capture abandoning visitor contacts
Use web push for direct browser communication
Capture contacts via signup forms, popups, and web push notifications
Success Stories:
Measuring Campaign Effectiveness
Monitor KPIs in Business Metrics Dashboard
Set up A/B tests
Disclaimer: This guide is based on real-world client cases across various industries. The results you get may depend on the business model and how well the campaign is executed.