One-time buyers dominate your customer base – even if you’re a #1 brand

For all brands, even large ones, the majority of buyers only purchase once a year. This varies by how often the category is purchased and by brand size.

3 out of 4 brand buyers buy only once

For the average brand in our BG20 database 73% of buyers were one-time buyers in 2024 and less than 10% purchased more than three times. The biggest group for almost any brand is the one not shown on this chart: buyers that only buy other brands or those that do not buy the category at all.

Only 40% of #1 brand buyers in frequent categories buy more than twice

For big brands in categories with high frequency this picture should look dramatically different. Right? Well, not so much. 60% of buyers of such brands only purchase the brand once or twice per year. Even in high frequency categories, some #1 brands have 65% one-time buyers, while others only have 21%.

Only 16% of #1 brand buyers in infrequent categories buy more than twice

Unsurprisingly, in categories with low purchase frequency occasional buyers make up a much larger percentage of the buyer base of #1 brands. Over 80% of buyers of such brands buy the brand only once or twice per year. Some #1 brands in low frequency categories have 90% (!) one-time buyers, while others only have 40%.