The percentage of customers acquired through the affiliate channel who make a second or subsequent purchase within a defined time window (typically 90 days or 12 months). Affiliate reorder rate measures the quality of affiliate-acquired customers — not just whether they purchased once, but whether they became repeat buyers, which is the indicator of genuine product-market fit and long-term affiliate channel value. Why reorder rate matters for affiliate economics: a customer who buys once and never returns has a lifetime value equal to their first purchase; a customer who buys once and reorders 3× per year has a lifetime value 4× higher; if the affiliate channel is acquiring primarily one-time purchasers, the real ROAS of the affiliate channel is much lower than the first-order ROAS suggests; tracking 90-day and 12-month reorder rates for affiliate-acquired customers reveals whether affiliate is building lasting customer relationships or simply capturing one-time transactions. Reorder rate benchmarks by category: food and beverage subscription: 60-80% annual reorder rate; beauty/skincare: 30-50% annual reorder rate; health supplements: 40-60% annual reorder rate; apparel: 20-35% annual reorder rate; home goods: 10-20% annual reorder rate. Using reorder rate to optimize publisher selection: calculate reorder rate by publisher — publishers whose customers have above-average reorder rates are acquiring higher-quality customers; invest in these publishers through tier advancement and development resources. Low reorder rate by publisher indicates the publisher may be driving deal-motivated one-time purchasers (coupon or discount-seekers) rather than product-loyal customers. Publisher commission structures can be adjusted based on reorder rate: publishers driving high-reorder customers deserve higher commission rates; publishers driving low-reorder customers should face commission re-negotiation or additional performance review.
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