New-customer share of orders
New vs Returning Customers: Share of Orders from New Customers
As of Aug 2026 adtribute customer panel Next update: Monthly, once the previous month completes across the panel
The monthly median new-customer share of orders across the DTC brands in our panel, from real ad spend and Shopify orders rather than surveys or platform averages.
What share of e-commerce orders come from new customers? As of August 2026, the median new-customer share of orders across the DTC brands in our panel is 45.54 percent, down 7.8 points from 53.35 percent a year earlier. The middle half of these brands sits between 31.22 percent and 60.78 percent.
Key takeaways
- The new-customer share is the fraction of a month's orders placed by first-time customers: the acquisition-versus-retention mix of a DTC business.
- As of August 2026 the median is 45.54 percent, down 7.8 points from 53.35 percent a year earlier, with the middle half of brands between 31.22 percent and 60.78 percent.
- Since July 2023 the median has ranged from 45.54 percent (August 2026) to 61.61 percent (December 2023), down 15.7 points over the full window.
- The series is a balanced panel from July 2023: the same brands in every month, so the line moves because the market moved, never because the panel changed.
The data
| Period | Lower quartile | New-customer share of orders (median) | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 31.22% | 45.54% | 60.78% |
| Jul 2026 | 34.57% | 46.05% | 57.95% |
| Jun 2026 | 34.90% | 47.10% | 56.13% |
| May 2026 | 37.17% | 46.55% | 57.19% |
| Apr 2026 | 38.49% | 49.91% | 60.33% |
| Mar 2026 | 38.74% | 52.48% | 61.52% |
| Feb 2026 | 35.84% | 51.41% | 63.76% |
| Jan 2026 | 31.42% | 52.50% | 64.00% |
| Dec 2025 | 33.93% | 53.46% | 68.76% |
| Nov 2025 | 29.33% | 48.87% | 63.99% |
| Oct 2025 | 35.29% | 49.26% | 61.26% |
| Sep 2025 | 36.01% | 54.70% | 66.42% |
| Aug 2025 | 35.12% | 53.35% | 64.58% |
| Jul 2025 | 35.62% | 54.08% | 66.83% |
| Jun 2025 | 36.97% | 52.35% | 63.29% |
| May 2025 | 37.15% | 52.92% | 63.09% |
| Apr 2025 | 36.39% | 51.85% | 62.55% |
| Mar 2025 | 40.50% | 54.89% | 63.56% |
| Feb 2025 | 39.35% | 53.29% | 64.59% |
| Jan 2025 | 32.85% | 55.53% | 67.61% |
| Dec 2024 | 40.04% | 57.02% | 67.32% |
| Nov 2024 | 35.53% | 50.82% | 64.31% |
| Oct 2024 | 38.94% | 57.81% | 69.67% |
| Sep 2024 | 38.30% | 55.71% | 68.74% |
| Aug 2024 | 42.41% | 57.01% | 68.07% |
| Jul 2024 | 40.62% | 57.32% | 70.32% |
| Jun 2024 | 39.87% | 57.38% | 67.18% |
| May 2024 | 39.92% | 58.41% | 70.18% |
| Apr 2024 | 38.79% | 57.06% | 71.23% |
| Mar 2024 | 38.77% | 58.79% | 70.84% |
| Feb 2024 | 41.17% | 56.92% | 72.68% |
| Jan 2024 | 37.27% | 59.45% | 72.89% |
| Dec 2023 | 41.91% | 61.61% | 79.29% |
| Nov 2023 | 36.93% | 54.56% | 69.65% |
| Oct 2023 | 42.25% | 56.66% | 72.09% |
| Sep 2023 | 40.65% | 60.13% | 73.40% |
| Aug 2023 | 41.80% | 61.52% | 77.26% |
| Jul 2023 | 40.81% | 61.23% | 73.21% |
By industry
Latest month, same methodology, each computed from its own balanced panel.
| Segment | Aug 2026 | vs all industries | vs a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 45.54% | - | ▼ -7.8 pts |
| Beauty & personal care | 41.59% | -3.9 pts | ▼ -11.4 pts |
| Fashion & accessories | 53.87% | +8.3 pts | ▼ -6.5 pts |
| Health & nutrition | 41.91% | -3.6 pts | ▼ -8.0 pts |
| Home & living | 46.17% | +0.6 pts | ▼ -3.0 pts |
What this means for e-commerce and DTC brands
Every DTC growth model quietly assumes a mix of new and returning customers, and this line shows that mix in real time. When acquisition gets expensive, budgets shift from prospecting to CRM, email and subscription mechanics, and the share of orders from returning customers rises. The benchmark tells you which world your brand is in: a high share with rising CAC means you pay full price for growth, a low share means your economics depend on retention actually holding.
What this benchmark does not tell you
New customers are identified by the age of the customer record at first order, so guest checkouts that later register can blur it at the margins. The share is measured in orders, not revenue, and returning customers often place larger orders. Business-model mix drives the band: a subscription brand and a gifting brand should never converge. The panel reflects adtribute's customer base, which skews toward growth-stage direct-to-consumer brands.
Frequently asked questions
What share of e-commerce orders come from new customers?
For the DTC brands in our panel, first-time customers place a median 45.54 percent of orders as of August 2026, down 7.8 points from 53.35 percent a year earlier, and the middle half of brands sits between 31.22 percent and 60.78 percent. By industry, the median ranges from 41.59 percent in beauty & personal care to 53.87 percent in fashion & accessories.
What is a good percentage of returning customers?
Measured as a share of orders, the median DTC brand gets 54.5 percent of its orders from returning customers, the middle half between 39.2 and 68.8 percent. Good depends on the business model: consumables and subscriptions should sit well above the median, gifting and durables below it.
Is a 20 percent returning customer rate good?
If it is measured as a share of orders, 20 percent returning orders means 80 percent new, which is above the top quartile of 60.78 percent for new-customer share. That is typical for a young or durable-goods brand and low for consumables. If it is measured as the share of customers who ever buy again, 20 percent is a different metric, closer to the repeat purchase rate.
What is the difference between returning customer rate, new-customer share and repeat purchase rate?
New-customer share is the fraction of a month's orders placed by first-time buyers. Returning customer rate is usually the reverse: the fraction of orders, or of customers, that have bought before. Repeat purchase rate follows a cohort: the share of new customers who order again within a set window, 90 days in our benchmark. Always check which denominator a figure uses before comparing.
Why is the share of new customers falling?
The panel's median moved from 61.23 percent in July 2023 to 45.54 percent in August 2026. As acquisition gets more expensive, brands lean on email, SMS and subscriptions to sell to existing customers. That is not bad by itself, but a falling share alongside flat revenue means the acquisition engine has stalled behind a healthy-looking top line.
Where does this benchmark come from, and how often is it updated?
It is aggregated from the connected ad accounts, first-party tracking and Shopify orders of a subset of adtribute customers, all direct-to-consumer brands. The panel is balanced, the same brands in every month since July 2023, so the line moves because the market moved, not because the panel changed. A new customer is one whose customer record was created with that order. Only medians and quartile bands are published, never a single brand's value, and the series updates every month.
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