Customer lifecycle stages
What the four stages — New, Due Reorder, Lapsed and Lost — mean — and how to tune the day-thresholds that define each stage for your brand.
Written by The Ordinary Team · Updated On this page
Every purchased customer is automatically placed in a lifecycle stage based on how long it’s been since their last order. The counts for each stage are on the Customers page, at the end of the row of counters across the top — scroll the row sideways to reach them.
The four stages
The defaults are tuned for typical consumable DTC brands; adjust them to match your replenishment cadence.
| Stage | Default threshold | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| New | ≤30 days since last order | Recently acquired / recently active |
| Due Reorder | 31-60 days since last order | Overdue for replenishment |
| Lapsed | 61-90 days since last order | Disengaging; retention win possible |
| Lost | More than 90 days since last order | Cold; reactivation rather than retention |
Customers with zero orders don’t appear in these buckets — they’re “Prospects” (see Customer lists and segments).
Why it matters
Each stage implies a different marketing action:
- New — welcome series, cross-sell, plant the seeds for reorder.
- Due Reorder — replenishment reminder email or SMS. Highest ROI segment. These are customers who intended to come back and just forgot.
- Lapsed — win-back campaign. Offer a small discount.
- Lost — reactivation campaign. Bigger offer or no-strings-attached gift. Low expected return per customer but large pool.
Tuning thresholds
The defaults don’t fit every brand. If you sell:
- Consumables that last 30 days (supplements, coffee) — defaults are right.
- Longer-cycle goods (apparel, home) — bump thresholds: New ≤60, Due Reorder 61-120, Lapsed 121-180, Lost more than 180.
- Subscription-primary (Recharge) — thresholds matter less because renewals auto-generate orders. Use subscription status instead.
Adjust them on Settings → Attribution, in the Customer Lifecycle card:
Three day fields:
- New Customer (up to X days)
- Due Reorder (up to X days) — must be greater than New
- Lapsed (up to X days) — must be greater than Due Reorder
Anything past the Lapsed value is Lost. Click Save, and the Customers page counts use the new thresholds from then on.
Filtering by stage
On the Customers page, click Sort and choose Last order: ascending puts the longest-gone (Lost) customers first, descending puts the most recent buyers first. The Days Since Order column shows where each customer sits against your thresholds. Or search by email if you want a specific person.
Related features
- Customer lists and segments — the full Customers page tour.
- Cohorts — what each month’s new customers are worth as they age, rather than a bucket (Advanced).
- Offer calculator — model a win-back discount’s ROI.