Glossary /
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Written by Peko Research Team.Last updated: 09/15/2026.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a customer generates for your business across their entire relationship with you, before they churn.
Published: 05/01/2026
Updated September 2026 — Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a customer generates for your business across their entire relationship with you, before they churn. For most independent F&B businesses, CLV = Average Order Value × Visit Frequency per Year × Average Customer Lifespan in Years.
This is part of our full CLV playbook for F&B. Also worth reading: The CLV formula and calculator (quick answer) and Glossary: average order value.
Quick facts
- Definition
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a customer generates for your business across their entire relationship with you, before they churn.
- Why it matters
- For most independent F&B businesses, CLV = Average Order Value × Visit Frequency per Year × Average Customer Lifespan in Years. A small change in any of the three multipliers compounds dramatically.
- Worked example
- A café with $8 AOV, 2× monthly visit frequency, and 12-month average lifespan has CLV = $8 × 24 × 1 = $192. Push lifespan to 24 months and CLV jumps to $384 — without acquiring a single new customer.
- Related terms
- Customer churn, Repeat customer rate, Loyalty program
For most independent F&B businesses, CLV = Average Order Value × Visit Frequency per Year × Average Customer Lifespan in Years. A small change in any of the three multipliers compounds dramatically.
Reducing churn by even 5 percentage points usually doubles CLV, because customer lifespan extends from ~14 months to ~28 months. This is why retention investment outperforms acquisition spend almost every time once you're past the launch phase.
Worked example
A café with $8 AOV, 2× monthly visit frequency, and 12-month average lifespan has CLV = $8 × 24 × 1 = $192. Push lifespan to 24 months and CLV jumps to $384 — without acquiring a single new customer.
Numbers on this page: named sources are listed below; figures without a named source are PEKO merchant data, Vietnam, Jan 2024 – Jun 2026, or PEKO estimates where modelled. See the datasets behind these numbers.
FAQ
How do I calculate CLV for my restaurant?
CLV ≈ Average Order Value × Annual Visit Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan (in years). Pull the first two from POS; estimate the third from when active customers typically churn.
What is a good CLV for an F&B business?
There is no universal benchmark — it depends on price point. The more useful KPI is the CLV-to-CAC ratio: aim for ≥3:1 (lifetime value at least 3× the cost to acquire).
Sources
The definitions and figures on this page reference the sources below:
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