Product & SaaS
What is Retention?
Retention measures how many users return over time, usually by cohort (D1, D7, D30) — the metric most correlated with PMF.
Retention has 2 views: rolling (% still using on a given day) and classic (% using anytime after). A flat curve (stabilizes) indicates a healthy product; an ever-declining curve indicates lack of PMF.
Benchmarks in B2B SaaS: D30 ≥ 30% is OK; D90 ≥ 20% is good; D180 ≥ 15% is excellent. Consumer/social have different curves (more aggressive early, but stabilize).
Frequently asked questions
Retention vs churn — which to use?
Mirrored concepts (retention + churn = 100%). Use cohort retention to see curve "shape"; churn for a single number.
How to improve retention?
Start with aha moment: users reaching aha in < X minutes retain much more. Onboarding is lever #1.