The Customer Lifecycle Map shows how your customers move between lifecycle stages (Recent, Loyalists, Champions, At Risk, etc.) based on purchase behavior. Use it to assess customer health, spot trends, and target segments for reactivation or retention campaigns.
This article covers how to access the map, interpret stage transitions, and save segments for campaigns.
Before You Begin
Accuracy: The map is most accurate for stores with at least 100 returning customers (5–7% of total contacts). If you don't meet this threshold, Omnisend uses default stage thresholds.
Time frame: Only orders placed in the last 365 days count toward lifecycle calculations.
How Lifecycle Stages Are Calculated
Omnisend assigns each customer to a lifecycle stage using RFM analysis (Recency, Frequency, Monetary):
Recency: Days since the customer’s last order.
Frequency: Number of orders placed in the last 365 days.
Monetary: The customer’s average order value.
Customer behavior is evaluated by comparing individual RFM values to your store’s typical purchase patterns, such as average repeat purchase time and average order value.
If your store doesn’t have enough data to build a personalized lifecycle model (fewer than 100 returning customers or less than 5–7% returning customers), Omnisend uses the following default thresholds:
Recent: Last purchase less than 40 days ago.
Needs nurturing: Last purchase 40–90 days ago.
At risk: Last purchase 90–180 days ago.
About to be lost: Last purchase more than 180 days ago.
Customers automatically move between lifecycle stages as their behavior changes. For example, a Recent customer who hasn’t placed an order in 50 days will move to the Needs nurturing stage.
💡 For full definitions of each stage (Loyalists, Champions, High Potential, etc.), see Analyze Customer Lifecycle Stages.
Access the Lifecycle Map
To access your Lifecycle Map, navigate to Audience → Customer breakdown and scroll down to view the full Customer Lifecycle Map.
The map displays customer groups based on the number of orders (vertical axis) and order value (horizontal axis). Each box represents a lifecycle stage (e.g., Recent customers, Champions, At risk).
View Contacts & Save Segments
To see which customers belong to a specific stage, hover over a lifecycle stage box (e.g., "About to lose") → Click View Contacts to preview the customer list.
💡 Tip: After clicking View contacts, you can preview all customers in a specific lifecycle stage. You can also save this list as a segment by clicking Save segment.
You can also click Retention Tactics to see recommended actions for that stage (e.g., "Send VIP early access offer to Champions").
💡 Tip: Use saved lifecycle segments in Campaigns or Automation to personalize messaging by stage.
Use Cases
Re-engage at-risk customers before they churn
Send an automated reactivation workflow that targets customers who haven’t made a purchase in the last 90–180 days.
Step 1. Go to Audience → Customer Breakdown and open the Lifecycle Map. Hover over the At risk stage and click View contacts.
Step 2. Click Save segment and name it At Risk – Reactivate.
Step 3. Go to Automations and create a new workflow and set the trigger to Contact enters segment “At Risk – Reactivate.”
Step 4. Add messages to your workflow and send a limited-time discount or a product recommendation.
FAQ
Are all orders taken into account?
Only orders placed in the last 365 days count toward lifecycle calculations. Older orders don't affect your current map.
What happens if I delete contacts from my Audience?
Orders from deleted contacts remain in the Lifecycle Map for 365 days from the order date. After that, they're removed.
How often do lifecycle stages update?
Lifecycle stages recalculate once per day. Customers can move from one stage to another (e.g., from "At Risk" to "Recent" after placing an order) based on daily updates. Segments based on lifecycle stages also update once daily.
Have any additional questions? Contact us at [email protected] or via in-app chat.