---
title: What is Retention curve?
url: https://markin.ai/glossary/retention-curve
category: Retention and churn
---

# Retention curve

> A retention curve plots the share of a cohort still active against time since acquisition. Its shape matters more than any single point: a curve that flattens indicates a durable core, while one that keeps declining means the product never reached habit.

## Why it matters for ARPU

Flattening the curve raises lifetime value more than any single campaign, and it is where onboarding decisions pay back for years.

## Related terms

- [Cohort analysis](https://markin.ai/glossary/cohort-analysis), Cohort analysis groups customers by a shared starting characteristic, usually acquisition month, and follows each group over time.
- [Churn rate](https://markin.ai/glossary/churn-rate), Churn rate is the share of customers, or of revenue, lost in a period.
- [Survival analysis](https://markin.ai/glossary/survival-analysis), Survival analysis models time until an event, handling customers who have not churned yet as censored rather than discarding them.
- [Lifetime value](https://markin.ai/glossary/lifetime-value), Lifetime value is the discounted margin a business expects from a customer over the whole relationship.

## Go deeper

- [Retention decisioning](https://markin.ai/solutions/retention-decisioning), Bending the curve on purpose.
- [Retention analytics vs retention decisioning](https://markin.ai/compare/retention-analytics-vs-retention-decisioning), Charting it vs changing it.

Source: https://markin.ai/glossary/retention-curve