A customer who hasn't ordered in 60 days isn't gone — they're forgetting. Win-back automation reminds them at the right moment with the right incentive, in their language, on their preferred channel.
What "lapsed" means
Industry definition: a customer is "lapsed" once they've gone past their typical order interval × 1.5. For most restaurants:
- High-frequency operations (taquerías, coffee shops, lunch spots): typical interval is 1–2 weeks. Lapsed at 30 days.
- Mid-frequency (full-service casual, sports bars): typical interval is 3–4 weeks. Lapsed at 60 days.
- Low-frequency (fine dining, special occasion): typical interval is 6–8 weeks. Lapsed at 90 days.
Eatsy ships with sensible defaults per operation type but you can customize.
The win-back ladder
Don't fire one win-back message and forget. Use a ladder of escalating offers:
- Day 30: Soft nudge — "We miss you. Here's what's new on the menu." No discount.
- Day 45: Light incentive — 10% off your next order.
- Day 60: Stronger incentive — $5 off or free delivery.
- Day 90: Last try — 20% off or free dessert.
After day 90, the customer is unlikely to come back from automated outreach alone. They need a human touch (a personal call, a thoughtful birthday reward, a major event like a new menu launch).
Don't escalate too fast
A 25% off coupon at day 30 trains customers to wait for discounts. The ladder works because the customer first gets a no-strings reminder, then a small incentive, then a bigger one if they still don't return. Patience here protects margin.
Channel order matters
For each customer, win-back fires through their preferred channel:
- WhatsApp if opted in (highest open rate)
- Push if Branded App installed
- Email as the fallback
Sending the same message via three channels at once is overkill — customers feel hounded. The system picks the best channel per customer automatically.
How to configure
Open Marketing → Campaigns → Win-Back Automation
Toggle on. Pick a default ladder template or customize each step.
Set the lapse intervals
Default: 30, 45, 60, 90 days. Adjust if your operation has different rhythm — e.g., a sports bar might use 21, 35, 50, 75.
Pick incentives per step
Free range — no discount, % off, $ off, free item, free delivery, bonus loyalty points. Match to your margin tolerance and customer expectations.
Approve the EatsyAI-drafted copy
EatsyAI writes EN + ES versions for each step. Tone matches your brand voice. Edit if needed.
Enable
Lapsed customers automatically enter the ladder. New customers don't trigger anything until they hit the lapse threshold for the first time.
Reading the results
Marketing → Campaigns → Win-Back → Results. Per-step conversion rates, recovered customer count, recovered revenue, average ticket on win-back.
Most operations see 12–18% total recovery (across all 4 steps) and a 90-day customer LTV uplift of 8–14%. The economics are strong because lapsed-customer reactivation has near-zero marginal cost.
What to do after the ladder ends
Customers who don't return after day 90 are flagged in the dashboard. You can:
- Add them to a "deep lapse" segment for one-off campaigns (anniversary specials, major menu launches)
- Manually call them (yes, the phone) — this works surprisingly well for high-LTV customers
- Forget them — sometimes customers move, change jobs, or just stop eating out. That's life.
See also: WhatsApp Campaigns, Loyalty Program Design.