shopify-admin-rfm-customer-segmentation
Read-only: scores every customer on Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value to segment them into actionable groups (Champions, Loyal, At-Risk, Lost).
What this skill does
## Purpose
Performs full RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) analysis across the entire customer base. Each customer is scored 1-5 on three dimensions — how recently they purchased, how often they purchase, and how much they spend — then classified into actionable segments: Champions, Loyal Customers, Potential Loyalists, At-Risk, Hibernating, and Lost. Read-only — no mutations.
## Prerequisites
- Authenticated Shopify CLI session: `shopify store auth --store <domain> --scopes read_orders,read_customers`
- API scopes: `read_orders`, `read_customers`
## Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------|
| store | string | yes | — | Store domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com) |
| days_back | integer | no | 365 | Lookback window for order history |
| segments | integer | no | 5 | Number of quintile buckets per dimension (3 or 5) |
| min_orders | integer | no | 1 | Minimum orders for a customer to be scored |
| tag_customers | boolean | no | false | If true, add RFM segment tag to customer (requires write_customers scope) |
| format | string | no | human | Output format: `human` or `json` |
## Safety
> ℹ️ Read-only by default. If `tag_customers: true`, will add tags via customerUpdate mutation — use `dry_run: true` first.
## RFM Segment Definitions
| Segment | R Score | F Score | M Score | Description |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|-------------|
| Champions | 5 | 5 | 5 | Best customers — recent, frequent, high spend |
| Loyal Customers | 3-5 | 4-5 | 4-5 | Consistent buyers with strong spend |
| Potential Loyalists | 4-5 | 2-3 | 2-3 | Recent buyers who could become loyal |
| New Customers | 5 | 1 | 1-2 | Just made first purchase |
| Promising | 4 | 1-2 | 1-2 | Recent but low frequency — nurture them |
| Need Attention | 3 | 3 | 3 | Average across all dimensions — slipping |
| About to Sleep | 2-3 | 2 | 2 | Below average recency and frequency |
| At Risk | 1-2 | 4-5 | 4-5 | Were great customers, haven't bought recently |
| Hibernating | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-3 | Low on all dimensions — nearly lost |
| Lost | 1 | 1-2 | 1-5 | Haven't bought in a very long time |
## Workflow Steps
1. **OPERATION:** `orders` — query
**Inputs:** `query: "created_at:>='<NOW - days_back days>'"`, `first: 250`, select `createdAt`, `totalPriceSet`, `customer { id, email, firstName, lastName, numberOfOrders }`, pagination cursor
**Expected output:** All orders in window with customer linkage; paginate until complete
2. Aggregate per customer:
- **Recency** = days since last order
- **Frequency** = total number of orders in window
- **Monetary** = total spend in window
3. Score each dimension 1-5 using quintile bucketing:
- Sort all customers by each metric
- Divide into N equal-sized groups (quintiles)
- Assign scores (5 = best for recency [most recent], frequency [most frequent], monetary [highest spend])
4. Map (R, F, M) score combination to named segment using the definitions above
5. **OPERATION:** `customers` — query (enrichment)
**Inputs:** Customer IDs from each segment for contact details
**Expected output:** Email, name, tags for top customers in each segment
## GraphQL Operations
```graphql
# orders:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query OrdersForRFM($query: String!, $after: String) {
orders(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
edges {
node {
id
createdAt
totalPriceSet { shopMoney { amount currencyCode } }
customer {
id
email
firstName
lastName
numberOfOrders
}
}
}
pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
}
}
```
```graphql
# customers:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query CustomerDetails($query: String, $after: String) {
customers(first: 250, after: $after, query: $query) {
edges {
node {
id
email
firstName
lastName
numberOfOrders
totalSpentV2 { amount currencyCode }
tags
createdAt
}
}
pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
}
}
```
## Session Tracking
**Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.**
**On start**, emit:
```
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SKILL: RFM Customer Segmentation ║
║ Store: <store domain> ║
║ Started: <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC> ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
```
**After each step**, emit:
```
[N/TOTAL] <QUERY|MUTATION> <OperationName>
→ Params: <brief summary of key inputs>
→ Result: <count or outcome>
```
**On completion**, emit:
For `format: human` (default):
```
══════════════════════════════════════════════
RFM SEGMENTATION REPORT (<days_back> days)
Customers scored: <n>
─────────────────────────────
Champions: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
Loyal Customers: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
Potential Loyalists: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
At Risk: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
Hibernating: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
Lost: <n> (<pct>%) Avg spend: $<n>
Top Champions:
<name> (<email>) R:<n> F:<n> M:<n> Spend: $<n>
Top At-Risk (win-back candidates):
<name> (<email>) Last order: <date> Lifetime: $<n>
Output: rfm_segments_<date>.csv
══════════════════════════════════════════════
```
For `format: json`, emit:
```json
{
"skill": "rfm-customer-segmentation",
"store": "<domain>",
"period_days": 365,
"customers_scored": 0,
"segments": {
"champions": { "count": 0, "pct": 0, "avg_spend": 0 },
"loyal": { "count": 0, "pct": 0, "avg_spend": 0 },
"at_risk": { "count": 0, "pct": 0, "avg_spend": 0 },
"lost": { "count": 0, "pct": 0, "avg_spend": 0 }
},
"output_file": "rfm_segments_<date>.csv"
}
```
## Output Format
CSV file `rfm_segments_<YYYY-MM-DD>.csv` with columns:
`customer_id`, `email`, `first_name`, `last_name`, `recency_days`, `frequency`, `monetary`, `r_score`, `f_score`, `m_score`, `rfm_segment`
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Recovery |
|-------|-------|----------|
| `THROTTLED` | API rate limit exceeded | Wait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times |
| Guest orders | Orders without customer | Skip — cannot attribute to RFM profile |
| Single-order customers | New or one-time buyers | Include with F=1; they'll naturally score low on frequency |
## Best Practices
- Use `days_back: 365` for most stores to capture seasonal buying patterns. Use `days_back: 180` for fast-fashion or consumables.
- Champions and Loyal segments are ideal targets for exclusive offers and early access campaigns.
- At-Risk customers should receive win-back campaigns immediately — use with `customer-win-back` skill.
- Export Lost segment to an exclusion list to stop wasting ad spend on them.
- Cross-reference with `customer-cohort-analysis` for cohort-level RFM trends over time.
- Use with `customer-spend-tier-tagger` to auto-tag customers based on RFM segment.
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