Retention Curve Analysis 2025: Read & Act o...

Retention curves reveal the health of your business over time. Learn to read the signals and take action on what they reveal.

Anatomy of a Retention Curve

Retention curves show what percentage of a cohort remains active over time. Shape indicates business health and customer satisfaction trajectory.

Healthy curves flatten after initial drop, indicating stable long-term retention. Curves that never flatten indicate ongoing problems.

Look for where retention stabilizes or accelerates decline. These inflection points indicate critical moments in the customer journey.

Target interventions at inflection points. If Day 30 is critical, focus onboarding improvements there. Match actions to curve signals.

A curve that drops initially then flattens at a high level (70%+ for B2B, 40%+ for B2C). Continuous decline without flattening is concerning.

Overlay curves on the same chart normalized to cohort start. Look for improving or declining trends across successive cohorts.

Retention curves are one of the most powerful analytical tools available. Learn to read them and they will guide strategic decisions.