Retention and churn analysis

Retention measures how many users stick around over time. Its evil twin, churn, tracks who leaves. A 5% monthly churn means you lose half your users in a year. Understanding why users stay or go drives product improvements that matter.^[1]

Calculate retention cohorts by grouping users who started in the same period. Track Day 1, Day 7, Day 30 retention to spot drop-off patterns. B2B products might measure monthly or annual retention. Consumer apps often focus on daily and weekly rates.

Improving retention beats acquiring new users for sustainable growth. It costs 5-25x more to acquire a customer than to retain one.^[2] Small retention improvements compound into massive long-term gains. Focus on the "aha moment" that hooks users early.