Cohort Retention Analysis

Cohort Retention Analysis groups customers by the month they were acquired and tracks what percentage remain active each subsequent month. The result is a retention curve (or matrix) that shows whether retention is improving over time. This is the board-level metric every retention firm reports — and the gap between Wallefy and generic loyalty platforms.

How to read a cohort retention curve

X-axis: months since acquisition. Y-axis: % of cohort still active. A healthy curve flattens (most retention loss in months 1-3, then stable). A bad curve keeps dropping indefinitely. Compare cohorts across acquisition months to spot whether your retention is improving — newer cohorts retaining at higher rates means your product is getting better.

Industry cohort retention benchmarks

Healthy 6-month cohort retention by industry: coffee 35-50% (daily ritual stays sticky), gym 60-80% (commitment + sunk cost), medspa 50-70% (treatment cycles), dental 75-90% (recall cycle), HVAC 25-40% (seasonal lumpiness), retail 30-45% (commodity competition), ecommerce 20-35% (high competition).

How to use cohort data

Find the dropoff cliff — typically months 2-4 for most local businesses — and design lifecycle automations to fire BEFORE that cliff. For coffee that's a 5-7 day "we miss you" push. For medspa a 60-day reactivation. For HVAC a 90-day pre-seasonal nurture. The right intervention at the right cliff doubles retention.