Introduction
RFM segmentation automatically splits your customers into 10 behavioral groups, calculated from their purchase history using three criteria: the recency of their last purchase, the frequency of their orders and the monetary amount spent.
There is nothing to set up or define: the segments are standard, automatically recalculated, and described in plain language. They answer a question that standard analytics don't — not what happened, but who to act on.
💡 In your segment library, RFM segments are identified by the RFM badge. The other segments shown alongside them (for example Dormant Points or Members Never Redeemed) rely on other criteria and are not covered by this article.
Eligibility requirements
The segment calculation requires enough data to be reliable. Your store must have:
at least 3 months of usable history,
at least 50 distinct purchasing customers,
at least 50 paid orders.
⚠️ PrestaShop stores are limited by the data available: RFM segmentation may not be usable depending on your setup.
💡 RFM segmentation is available on the Enterprise plan. It is currently rolling out in private beta: to get access, submit a request from the loyoly.io/segmentation page or contact your CSM.
The 10 segments
Segment | Who these customers are |
Champions | Your best customers: they buy often, recently, and spend the most. Pamper them and make their loyalty a priority. |
Loyal customers | Your loyal customers: they buy regularly. Retain them and strengthen their loyalty. |
Potential loyalists | They have the profile to become loyal but aren't there yet. A little engagement is enough to tip the balance. |
New customers | Just arrived, with a modest first purchase. The challenge is to get them back before they forget you. |
Promising customers | A recent and significant first purchase. These customers have strong potential: now is the right time to build a lasting relationship. |
Need attention | Their engagement is slowing down. Not in danger yet, but without action they may drift away. Re-engage them quickly. |
About to sleep | They used to be active and are showing up less and less. A targeted offer may be enough to wake them up before it's too late. |
Can't lose them | Former top customers who have disappeared. Their past value is too high to let them go without reacting. |
At risk | They haven't purchased in a long time. Without action, they may leave for good. Act fast. |
Lost customers | Inactive for a very long time with a weak history. One last reactivation attempt before removing them from your active campaigns. |
How segments are calculated
RFM thresholds are recalculated on a monthly snapshot specific to your store, then frozen for the month. A customer therefore always belongs to the same segment for a given month, which makes month-over-month comparisons reliable.
💡 The analysis of all 10 segments is always available, whether you have activated them or not. You can explore your customer base before deciding to act.
Track how your customer base evolves
The Flow view shows how your customers move from one segment to another month over month. It answers the only question that matters over time: is your customer base improving or deteriorating?
Each segment's detail view also shows its loyalty and referral performance — loyalty revenue, reward usage rate, points burn rate, referral revenue. You see not only who makes up a segment, but also how your program actually performs on it.
Use a segment
In the segment library, each card has a Use button. Click it to make the segment available in your actions: it then switches to the Used state.
This is a deliberate step, separate from the analysis: creating a live segment requires significant computation, so you only activate the ones you actually need.
Once a segment is used, it becomes available wherever you target your customers:
as a target in your missions, rewards and push notifications,
as a trigger or filter in your automations,
as a filter in your CRM, with the segment also displayed on each customer's profile.
If you have a question about how to interpret a segment or what action to take, talk to your CSM or contact our support team via chat.