10 top strategies to retain customers in 2025

By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Executive at IMRG

Over the years, we’ve asked retailers about their growth strategies, and customer retention always comes up as a top priority. It’s seen as a key driver of growth, but when we spoke to retailers at our Christmas Connect event last December, 60% said their biggest challenge was actually acquiring and retaining customers.

So, while retention is crucial, it’s also one of the hardest things to get right. In this blog, we’ll explore how to tackle the challenge and share 10 practical strategies to help you keep customers coming back.

1. Use gated offers

One way to make customers feel part of a community and subsequently drive retention is through gated offers. If you provide exclusivity and show appreciation for groups of customers, they in-turn may be more likely to keep coming back to you over other retailers who do not provide appreciation in the same way.

Chris Oliveira, Product Marketing Manager at SheerID says it is important to learn about these groups and their behaviour to ensure that the offerings you provide are relevant: ‘The most successful way for brands to win the hearts and minds of GenZ shoppers is by appealing to who they are — to the values and causes that are dear to them.’

He notes that ‘To make this level of personalisation work, brands need to understand what is unique about this “audience to watch”, how they are prioritising their spend in this volatile economy, and how they shop.’

‘Our Research shows that 8 in 10 Gen Z are more likely to buy from a brand that creates offers and experiences tailored to them and 93% would share it with others. With gated offers, retailers and eCommerce brands not only win new customers, but they also gather permissioned data that provides a deeper understanding of who these customers are, helping brands turn transactional shoppers into brand super fans,’ says Chris.

2. Optimise loyalty programmes

Another way to prompt customer retention in 2025 is through loyalty programmes. It is also important to consistently check that the loyalty programme you have meets customers’ needs and expectations – or rather, exceeds them.

Katie Mishner, SEO Manager at NOVOS exclaims, ‘Loyalty programmes are making a comeback. For eCommerce stores, it feels they are more important than ever.’

‘Price will always be a motivating factor. So, give your customers a reason to make the purchase with you, let them accrue benefits for their spend. Don’t forget, building community is all about nurturing, so make your rewards relevant to the audience – even ask them what they want!’

Katie continues, ‘Consider how a loyalty programme may tie your brand and marketing efforts together – can you gain points for signing up to newsletters? Leaving a review? Engaging with your brand off-site? Make it worth their while.’

Similarly, Alexander Otto, Head of Corporate Relations at Tradebyte reflects on ensuring that loyalty-incentives are personalised to the customer to bring desired results.

He says, ‘With acquisition becoming more difficult and costly, retention is a top priority. Consumers expect brands to understand their preferences, delivering hyper-personalised experiences across all touchpoints.’

‘A unified approach—applying customer records across channels to reward and unlock loyalty perks—enhances convenience and engagement, representing a true advantage. Brands can use data intelligently to craft tailored messaging, streamline purchases, and foster emotional connections.’

Alexander also prompts retailers to consider Retail media networks (RMNs) to reduce consumer decision fatigue and support their loyalty strategies.

3. Consider brand partnerships

Retailers can work with other brands to support their retention strategy. Brand partnerships can be effective if executed well e.g., with non-competing brands, complimentary customer experiences, and tactful offerings.

Charlie Row, UK & BNL Solutions Client Partner for UK & BNL Partnerships Development Hub at Awin says that ‘Over the peak period, many retailers are focussed on attracting new customers, but retaining them is crucial. Cardlytics highlight that interestingly, 90% of a brand’s customers are not loyal, and 48% of top shoppers spend 79% of their budget with competitors.’

‘To grow loyalty, retailers should consider utilising innovative partners to personalise experiences both during and after the purchase. Retailers can stand out by providing bespoke, highly targeted offers and engage with customers where they can. During the post-purchase stage, retailers could host a refer-a-friend link to incentivise the referrer and referee and by hosting an offer towards another complimentary retailer. Brand partnerships and retail media campaigns are the fastest growing partner type on Awin currently.

4. Gain and use customer feedback

Retailers may also find value in consistently monitoring customer feedback to ensure that negative experiences are limited. Retailers can use the data they have from feedback forms and customer support conversations to do this.

Mary Rebecca Harakas, Senior Product Marketing Manager at commercetools reveals that ‘54% of retail leaders said existing customers are more likely to return if they feel the brand understands their needs and exceeds their expectations.’

Commercetools’ 2024 study ‘Building Brand Influence in 2025: Exploring Effective Strategies,’ shows ‘the increasing value of customer feedback in guiding CX improvement strategies.’

Rebecca says, ‘In the past, leveraging feedback was difficult — it could take months for a retailer to gain insights. Today, AI tools collect and analyse customer support conversations across all channels in real-time, uncovering granular insights and enabling retailers to quickly pinpoint problems with products, packaging, shipping, and more.’

This means that ‘Solutions can be implemented proactively before becoming larger issues, enhancing customer satisfaction, preventing widespread disruptions, and strengthening long-term customer retention.’

5. Offer an apology after negative experiences

Retailers can also monitor customer feedback to quickly provide apologies for when things go wrong.

Experts at Prisync describe how ‘Customers are usually highly engaged right after a purchase, and this is the best time to offer encouragement, like discounting for their next shopping. Additionally, apology vouchers or store credits can help recover customers after a negative experience, eventually transforming seasonal shoppers into lifelong customers.’

Alongside these efforts, Prisync suggest using ‘personalised discounts, offers, and dynamic pricing to motivate customers to return. According to DemandSage, increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25% up to 95%.’

Apologise to customer

6. Provide and gain accurate information

Providing customers with accurate information, as well as receiving accurate customer data, can be a core part of your retention strategy.

Justin Thomas, VP Sales EMEA North at Akeneo says, ‘the entire customer journey starts and ends with product experiences, including comprehensive product information, accurate data, and omnichannel uniformity amongst others.’

‘Issues such as unclear, inaccurate, conflicting, or outright missing product information, descriptions, and specifications not only limit sales but ultimately create an expectations gap leading to dissatisfaction when a product arrives, which, in turn, results in higher returns rates, decreased sales, and lost loyalty.’

Justin continues, ‘Customers expect a seamless brand experience across all touchpoints, from physical stores to online platforms and social media. For retailers, the challenges of managing and enriching product data across numerous channels are immense, but maintaining accurate product information everywhere a customer encounters the product is crucial to build lifelong brand advocacy.’

UK Managing Director at Melissa, Barley Laing, argues that collecting accurate customer data can also reduce negative customer experiences; ‘ ‘A good place to start is to seamlessly and accurately collect customer data, particularly address data, at the onboarding stage. After all, it’s only with clean and verified delivery addresses that retailers can provide a fast and frictionless shopping experience that customers expect.’

Barley recommends retailers explore address lookup or autocomplete tools, noting that ‘These deliver accurate address data in real-time by providing a properly formatted, correct address at the onboarding stage, when the user starts to input theirs. This should be possible regardless of where globally the customer is based, from Burnley to Berne, Harrogate to Honolulu.’

‘Tools such as these are very important because around 20 per cent of addresses entered online contain errors.’

Other recommendations from Barley include ‘Utilising the National Change of Address (NCOA) database against held customer data highlights those who have moved or passed away.’ Also, geocoding can ‘convert up-to-date address data into latitude and longitude (rooftop level) coordinates for faster, more accurate deliveries, boosting retention rates and reducing the chance of costly ‘return-to-sender’ issues.’

7. Be innovative post-sale

EVP Customer Growth at nShift, Gary Carlile exclaims that ‘Brands that innovate in fulfillment, delivery, and returns will not only stay competitive but redefine what growth means in the eCommerce space.’

Gary shares three key areas where businesses can stand out in 2025:

Fulfillment optimisation: Keeping promises, building trust – When customers click “buy,” they expect their orders to arrive quickly and reliably. Delivering on these promises builds trust and ensures repeat business.
Post-purchase excellence: Turning delivery into loyalty – Delivery doesn’t stop when a package reaches your customer. The post-purchase experience defines loyalty, advocacy, and future purchases.
Reverse logistics: Turning challenges into profit – ecommerce return rates can reach 30%, but returns don’t have to be a cost centre: they can be a strategic driver for growth and build customer loyalty, if handled well.

8. Be flexible, offer choice, and communicate effectively

Flexibility and effective communication during the post-purchase stage of the purchasing journey can accelerate customer retention rates.

Georgia Leybourne, CMO of Linnworks shares, ‘My trick for customer retention is to treat a customer as well as, if not better than, one’s prospects. It starts on your site (or in your store) with easy access to all your inventory with accurate stock levels, then you need a straightforward and intuitive check out process with all fulfilment options clearly outlined.

‘Next up,’ says Georgia, ‘is delivering to expectations with full transparent communication if something goes awry and finally there is the follow up … according to a Linnworks survey with 2000 consumers in 2024, 72% of customers who experience a reliable delivery, will go on to buy from that retailer again … it takes Connected Commerce Ops to make this a reality.”

Gavin Murphy, CMO at Scurri highlights the importance of demonstrating all fulfilment options to the customer and urges retailers to be flexible; ‘To optimise the last mile for retention, price and speed of delivery are increasingly being challenged by a third factor – flexibility.’

He tells us that ‘Delivery preferences are highly contextual, and customers are willing to pay for convenience. Adding the option of multiple carriers and delivery options – visible at checkout or earlier in the process – increases transparency and creates a point of differentiation from competitors.’

9. Make returns less tedious

There is always a chance that a purchase will result in a return, but a core strategy is to not make the return process so tedious that a customer would not want to come back.

Marko Kiers, Chief Commercial Officer at ReBound, explains ‘Brands should make it easy for customers to initiate returns and provide convenient options such as local drop-off points.’

‘Transparent communication and fast refunds are key aspects of building trust. Customers now expect tracking for returns just as they do for deliveries, and lack of visibility can frustrate them.’

Marko continues, ‘Optimising the returns journey and keeping consumer informed can help to reduce customer service enquiries by up to 90%, as it removes the need for customers to get in touch to chase updates. In 2025, a seamless returns experience is a key differentiator for brands to successfully retain customers.’

10. Keep up to date with industry trends

Remember to keep tracking customer behaviour to understand how to best reengage them. Industry reports, comprehensive studies and benchmarking data can all add to your knowledge of industry trends.

By understanding where customers are most likely to engage with your products, on which channel, and their preferences for delivery and returns, you can develop a strong retention strategy.

You can also keep up to date with trends through retail news channels, industry webinars and podcasts, and events.