Retention
The measure of how many users keep coming back to a product over time — the clearest signal of whether it delivers lasting value.
Retention tracks whether users return — day over day, week over week, month over month. It is the truest test of value: acquisition and activation get people in the door, but only a product worth coming back to holds them. A flat or rising retention curve is the strongest evidence of product-market fit.
Retention and churn are two sides of one coin. Because the cost of keeping a user is far below the cost of acquiring a new one, small improvements to retention compound into outsized effects on growth and unit economics.
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Related terms
ChurnThe rate at which users or customers stop using a product or cancel over a given period — the inverse of retention.ActivationThe point at which a new user first experiences the core value of a product — the 'aha moment' that predicts whether they'll stick around.OnboardingThe designed experience that guides a new user from first launch to their first real success with a product.North Star MetricThe single metric that best captures the core value a product delivers, used to align a whole team's decisions around one number.