The ideal cohort retention curve not only flattens but also increases over time, indicating that users are becoming more engaged with your product.

The key insight from cohort retention curves is that the shape of the curve matters more than the absolute number of users; a flat curve indicates potential for user accumulation over time.

If your cohort retention curves do not flatten out, it suggests that you haven't yet created a product that users want to keep using.

If your retention curve slopes downwards, it indicates a lack of product-market fit, regardless of initial growth metrics.

When evaluating cohort retention, focus on the overall shape of the retention curve rather than isolated metrics from specific time points. Be cautious when using analytics tools for measuring cohort retention, as they may not accurately reflect what you think they do.

Measuring retention is critical; if you don't have a product that retains users, you shouldn't focus on growth yet.

A viable business has a retention curve that levels off, indicating product-market fit for a segment of the market.

If your cohort retention curves are not improving, it's crucial to engage with your users to understand their needs and make necessary adjustments.

Visualizing cohort retention trends helps you understand how user engagement changes over time relative to the initial cohort size, allowing for better analysis of user retention. Cohort retention curves are essential for understanding user engagement over time, as they track the percentage of new users who return to use the product repeatedly.