Whale Back!

How to identify your best customers returning after months of inactivity in WooCommerce

Flag high-LTV customers returning after 6+ months of dormancy

Badges orders from customers who have spent over £1000 lifetime, have been dormant for more than 180 days, and are now placing an order over £150. This is your best customer coming back - a VIP retention moment that deserves special treatment.

Customer info
The problem

Your highest-spending customers are irreplaceable. When one returns after months of silence with a substantial order, it is a make-or-break moment for retention. Without a flag, the order is processed routinely and the opportunity to roll out the red carpet is lost - potentially for good.

The solution

OrderBadger can identify your highest-spending customers returning after a long absence and flag them for VIP treatment.

Who this is for

Any store with high-value repeat customers - luxury, premium DTC, specialist retailers, and B2B suppliers where a small number of customers drive a disproportionate share of revenue.

At a glance
Registered customers only Threshold: lifetime spend over £1000 Dormancy window: 180+ days inactive Current order must exceed £150 Badge: Whale Back! (green)
People also search for
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How it works

Checks three conditions: the customer must be returning after 180+ days of dormancy, their total lifetime spend must exceed £1000, and the current order total must be over £150. When all three are true, the order is badged and routed to the inbox.

Treat this as a VIP moment. Consider priority fulfilment, premium packaging, a personal thank-you note from the founder or account manager, and a loyalty offer to encourage continued re-engagement. Add the customer to a VIP win-back email sequence.

Rule template

Plain English rule Customer is reactivated after 180 days and customer lifetime spend is over £1000 and order total is over £150

Write this (or something similar) in the OrderBadger rule builder. The AI compiler turns it into executable logic automatically.

Make it yours

Adjust thresholds
  • Lower 'over £1000' lifetime spend to 'over £500' to catch returning mid-tier customers who are still worth the VIP treatment.
  • Reduce 'over £150' order total to 'over £75' if a smaller reorder still signals genuine re-engagement for your product range.
  • Change '180 days' to '90 days' if your purchase cycle is shorter and a 3-month absence already counts as dormant.
Add or remove conditions
  • Add 'and customer has 5 or more previous paid orders' to ensure the returning customer was a genuine repeat buyer, not someone who spent a lot in a single order. …er lifetime spend is over £1000 and order total is over £150 and customer has 5 or more previous paid orders
  • Add 'and shipping is domestic' if your win-back campaign or personal note programme only applies to domestic customers. …er lifetime spend is over £1000 and order total is over £150 and shipping is domestic

Badge preview

Default: Whale Back!

When this rule matches

Whale Reactivated High Order
Order total: £200.00  |  Guest: no
Customer is reactivated after 180+ days, lifetime spend is 2500 (over £1000), and order total is £200 (over £150) - all three conditions met.
Whale Reactivated Boundary Values
Order total: £150.01  |  Guest: no
Customer is reactivated, lifetime spend is 1001 (just over £1000), and order total is £150.01 (just over £150) - all conditions met at boundary.

When this rule does not match

Whale Not Reactivated
Order total: £300.00  |  Guest: no
Customer has high lifetime spend and a large order, but is not flagged as reactivated - they have been active within the last 180 days.
Reactivated Low Ltv
Order total: £180.00  |  Guest: no
Customer is reactivated after 180 days and order is over £150, but lifetime spend is only 400 - below the 1000 threshold.
Whale Reactivated Small Order
Order total: £80.00  |  Guest: no
Customer is reactivated with high lifetime spend, but order total is only 80 - below the 150 threshold.

Workflow

This rule includes workflow features that help your team act on flagged orders.

Inbox
Yes

Good to know

  • Lifetime spend (prior_gross_paid_spend) is the cumulative total of all previous paid orders. It does not deduct refunds.
  • The 180-day reactivation flag is pre-computed. The rule checks the flag rather than calculating days directly.
  • Guest checkouts cannot trigger this rule because they have no customer history.

Frequently asked questions

  • How is this different from the customer-reactivated-after-180d rule?
    The existing reactivation rule fires for any customer returning after 180 days regardless of spend. This rule adds two extra conditions - lifetime spend over £1000 and current order over £150 - to specifically identify your highest-value returning customers.
  • Does lifetime spend include refunded orders?
    The prior_gross_paid_spend field tracks gross spend from paid orders. Refunded amounts are not deducted, so a customer with significant refunds may still qualify. Consider combining with the refund-history rule if this is a concern.
  • Why require a minimum order total of £150 for the current order?
    The order total threshold ensures the customer is making a meaningful return purchase, not just a token order. A whale coming back with a 150+ order is re-engaging seriously and deserves the full VIP treatment.
  • Can I lower the lifetime spend threshold for my store?
    Yes. Edit the rule text to change 1000 to a value that represents a high-value customer for your business and recompile.

Related rules

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