📊 Forbes Magazine on Customer Retention Percentages:

Forbes articles often reference studies showing that most businesses have a 15–30% repeat customer rate, depending on industry.

For example, in e‑commerce, Forbes cites that 92% of shoppers only buy once from a given site, meaning only a small fraction return.

This supports the idea that the majority of new customers do not come back without deliberate retention strategies.

Forbes Business Council (Dec 12, 2022) reported that acquiring a new customer can cost 5–7 times more than retaining an existing one.

Forbes has highlighted that existing customers spend significantly more than new ones:

Returning customers spend 31% more per order than first-time buyers.

The top 10% of loyal buyers spend up to 3 times more per order than the other 90%.

Businesses have a 60–70% chance of selling to an existing customer, compared to only 5–20% for a new prospect (a figure Forbes often cites from Marketing Metrics)

Retention is cheaper and more profitable: Marketing to existing customers costs far less and yields higher spending.

Acquisition is resource-heavy: New customers require advertising, sales, and onboarding investments that drive up costs.

Repeat customers drive revenue: Though they represent a smaller share of traffic, they account for a disproportionately large share of sales.

✅ In summary: Forbes reports that only about 15–30% of new customers return, acquiring new customers costs 5–7 times more than retaining existing ones, and repeat customers spend 31% more and are far more likely to buy again.

Sources:

Forbes Business Council (Dec 12, 2022); SaveMyCent retention statistics (Aug 11, 2025, cited by Forbes).