Customer Retention Examples: How Oura, Lemme, AG1 and True Classic Win Repeat Customers

The best customer retention examples in ecommerce have one thing in common: they don't run on discount codes. Oura makes sure new customers use the product in the first weeks. Lemme times everything around when the gummies run out. AG1 rewards loyalty with free products instead of lower prices. And True Classic makes the next purchase feel like the obvious next step. Each one is something you can copy, whatever you sell.

Do this real quick. Open Shopify, go to your reports and look at last month's revenue.

How much of it came from people who never bought from you before?

If that number is around 70 or 80%, your store is running on borrowed time. Almost every dollar you make, you first had to buy from Meta or Google.

When ad costs go up (and they always do), most founders think they have an ad problem. So they look for a better media buyer.

But paying $40 to get someone who spends $50 once and then disappears isn't an ad problem. It's a leaky bucket. And no media buyer can fix a leaky bucket.

So let's look at four brands that get people to come back. A smart ring, gummies, a greens powder and a basic t-shirt. Totally different products, and none of them do it with a 50% off code every week.

By Emiel Dingemans, Founder of Magicianly

Updated November 2026

What Makes a Good Customer Retention Example?

A good customer retention example is one where the brand gives customers a real reason to buy again, not just a cheaper price. The reason can be a result they've already felt, a product that runs out, a reward that feels earned, or a next product that clearly fits what they bought.

That's the lens we use with the brands we work with, and it's the lens for the four examples below.

Example 1: How Does Oura Keep Customers Past the First Month?

Oura keeps customers by making sure they actually use the ring, and see its value, before the first month is over.

Here's the step almost every store skips. Someone buys from you. They get an order confirmation, a shipping update, and then nothing. Radio silence until the package arrives.

That's exactly when you start losing people. Right after buying, they're a little nervous. Was this a good idea? Did I just waste my money? Then the package arrives, they open it, and they don't really know what to do with it. So it ends up on the counter or in a cupboard.

And a product nobody uses never gets bought again.

The second order isn't decided when the first one runs out. It's decided in the first week or two. Did they use it? Did they feel something? Did they get a quick win?

Oura understands this really well. They make a smart ring that tracks your sleep, heart rate and stress, and the app gives you daily scores on how you're doing. The tricky part: the ring isn't super useful on day one, because it needs time to learn your body. Some features need several days of wear before they say anything meaningful, and some need a few weeks.

That matters because of how Oura makes money. On top of the ring, members pay for a membership ($5.99 a month in the US), and the first month comes included with the ring, according to Oura's own support page. So that first month is basically their one shot. If you don't see the value before it ends, you cancel, and that customer is worth a lot less to them.

So they don't leave you to figure it out. They keep explaining what the ring can do, what your scores mean and how to get the most out of it. Even very simple things, like an email answering "Can you wear Oura Ring in water?" That's exactly the kind of question that would make someone take the ring off in the shower or the pool. And every hour the ring isn't worn, it learns less and the app looks worse. So they answer it before people ask.

What to copy for your store:

1. 1Put something in the box. For example, a card with a QR code to a one-minute video on how to get the most out of the product.
2. 2Tell people when to expect results. On the product page and in the box. If it takes three weeks, say three weeks, so they don't give up after five days.
3. 3Answer your top three support questions before anyone asks them.
4. 4Send a few emails while the package is on its way to get them excited and ready for the first use.

If someone gets a result the first time they use your product, the second order almost sells itself. We go deeper on this stage in our guide to the post-purchase experience.

Example 2: How Does Lemme Time the Reorder?

Lemme times its marketing around the moment the customer runs out, instead of hoping a regular campaign lands on the right day.

If you sell something that runs out, you know a lot more than you think. Say you sell a supplement with 60 capsules and people take two a day. That jar is empty after about 30 days. A 500 gram bag of coffee? You can predict pretty accurately which week it's gone.

Still, most stores just wait and hope. They send their normal campaigns and hope someone happens to run out that day. Don't get me wrong, we're big fans of email campaigns. But your repeat orders shouldn't depend on luck. The moment someone runs out should be planned around the customer, not around your content calendar.

And that doesn't start in email. It starts with your product and your website.

Lemme is the supplement brand started by Kourtney Kardashian. They sell vitamin gummies for things like hair, skin and immune support. So they're supplements, but they taste like candy, and you take them every day. That means the jar empties on a pretty predictable schedule.

They lean into that. On the website, they push you toward subscriptions and bundles, which makes total sense. A subscription basically says: "I know when it runs out, so I'll just send it."

You see the same thinking in their emails:

• A subject line that sets the timeline. One we saw promised 12 weeks of hair growth with 30% off. Telling people upfront that it takes 12 weeks means they keep using it in week 10, 11 and 12. It frames the product as a routine, not a one-bottle thing.
• Restocking, not buying. Another email talked about everyone restocking. It speaks to people who already have the product in their cupboard. That's a different message from "check out our gummies."
• Pushing the subscription. Another said there's never been a better time to subscribe, with extra perks for a limited time, including 25% off the first subscription order and the first renewal. Once someone is on a subscription, you don't have to guess when they'll run out.

What to copy for your store:

1. 1Match pack sizes and subscription intervals to how people actually use the product. If your bottle lasts 30 days but the default delivery is every 45, customers go two weeks without. In those two weeks they break the habit or buy something else at the store. The other way around, bottles pile up in the cupboard, and that's exactly when people cancel.
2. 2Use your own reorder data. How many days does it take, on average, for people to place their second order? Send your reminder a few days before that day, not after it. Our guide to average time between orders shows how to find that number, and replenishment emails covers the flow.
3. 3If your product doesn't run out, use the same idea anyway. Think seasons, sizes, or the moment a product starts to wear out.

If you sell a product that runs out, read why consumable products build such profitable brands.

Example 3: How Does AG1 Get Customers to Buy More Without Discounting?

AG1 gets customers to buy more by giving them something extra, usually a free product or a gift, instead of lowering the price.

This one might hurt a bit, because a lot of stores do the opposite. Someone buys for the first time, and a few days later they get: "Here's 15% off your next order."

Sounds nice, right? But think about what you're teaching that new customer. You're teaching them never to pay full price. They paid full price once, and now you're telling them that was a mistake. Next time, they'll just wait for the code.

You're literally paying people to see your brand as cheaper than it is.

So what do you do instead? You still give them a reason to come back, just not a lower price. That could be a free sample of a product that fits what they already bought. Free fast shipping on the next order. Or a tier they unlock, like member pricing on their next order. Things that feel like a reward, not a sale.

AG1 gets this. It's a greens powder with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. You mix one scoop with water every morning, so it runs out every month, and they push you hard toward a subscription. Yes, subscribers get a better price. But that's a price for loyalty, which is very different from sending random codes to everyone.

What's more interesting is how they get people to buy more without simply cutting the price:

• A free second product. One email offered a free bottle of AG1 Omega-3 when you subscribe. Instead of discounting AG1, they give you a second product for free. You try the Omega-3, you like it, and maybe you add it to your subscription. It's not just a gift. It's a sample of the next product they want to sell you.
• A gift that helps you use the product more. Another email offered a free travel kit with a subscription. That helps you keep the routine going when you travel. The more you use it, the faster it runs out, and the more AG1 you need.
• Savings tied to commitment. When they do talk about saving money, it's things like saving more with a three-month subscription. You save more, but only if you commit for longer, and someone who commits for three months is much less likely to drop off after the first bag.

What to copy for your store: look at your post-purchase setup and your thank-you page. If the first thing a new customer sees after buying is a discount code, try replacing it with a free sample, free shipping or a gift that helps them use the product. You keep your margin, and you get customers who come back because they like your stuff, not because they're hunting for codes.

Example 4: How Does True Classic Sell Again When the Product Doesn't Run Out?

True Classic makes the next purchase the obvious next step: same fit, new color, new season.

This is where most stores lose the most money without knowing it. Look at the data of almost any store and you'll see the same pattern. The chance someone buys a second time is highest right after the first order. Every week that goes by, it drops. After a few months, getting that person back gets really hard. Check your own numbers. I'd bet you see the same.

Here's the mistake I see all the time. Most stores spread their attention evenly. Someone who bought yesterday gets exactly the same emails as someone who bought two years ago. But the person who bought yesterday is worth a lot more of your attention right now. Most of your retention effort should go to customers in their first 30 to 60 days.

And what do you show them? The most logical next product. Not a random bestseller. The product that naturally follows what they just bought.

True Classic sells men's basics. Mostly t-shirts, plus polos, long sleeves and so on. A good fit at a fair price. And a good t-shirt doesn't run out. So how do they get people back?

First, they sell packs. You don't buy one shirt, you buy three or more. So your first order already puts a bunch of their shirts in your closet, and you get used to how they fit. Once you know your size and like the fit, the next purchase is easy. Another color, the long sleeve version, a polo. Same fit, so there's basically no risk.

Their emails play right into that:

• New colors of a shirt you already own. One email announced their number one tee in three new fall colors. If you already have it, you know how it feels and fits. Now there's a reason to buy it again.
• The seasonal next product. Another pushed a three-pack of long sleeves made for fall. Maybe you bought short sleeves in summer. Now it's getting cold, so here's the long sleeve version. And again, it's a three-pack, not one shirt.
• Real scarcity. A simple plain-text email said their most popular long sleeve crew pack was almost sold out. A real reason to buy now and not next month.

To be honest, they also run a lot of sales, and that part I wouldn't copy. But the way they think about the next product is very smart.

What to copy for your store:

1. 1Find your logical next product. Dig into your data and see what people buy most often as their second product.
2. 2Show it where new customers look. On your thank-you page and in your post-purchase flow. A cross-sell flow in Klaviyo is built for exactly this.
3. 3Focus on the first month. Show it to new customers while they still remember how happy they were with their first order.

What Do These Customer Retention Examples Have in Common?

All four brands give customers a reason to come back that has nothing to do with a lower price. Oura makes sure the product gets used. Lemme shows up when the product runs out. AG1 rewards loyalty with products, not codes. True Classic makes the next order feel like the obvious choice.

Knowing this is the easy part. To actually make it work, you need to know per customer when they run out, what they bought, what the logical next product is and when to reach out. If your data is a mess, even the best plan won't bring in a single extra order.

That's why we start with the numbers: how much revenue comes from first-time versus returning customers, how many new customers place a second order, and how long it takes them. Our guide on how to increase your repeat purchase rate shows where to look first.