Voluntary vs involuntary churn
Voluntary churn is a customer deciding to leave. Involuntary churn is a customer leaving because a payment failed, a card expired or a renewal broke. They look identical in a cancellation report and require completely different interventions.
Why it matters for ARPU
Involuntary churn is often a double-digit share of total churn and is far cheaper to fix than persuading someone who genuinely wants to go. Splitting the two is usually the fastest retention win available.
Related terms
Churn rateChurn rate is the share of customers, or of revenue, lost in a period.DunningDunning is the sequence of retries and communications that recovers a failed payment: retry timing, card-update prompts, alternative payment methods and grace periods.Save offerA save offer is an incentive presented to a customer who is about to leave: a discount, a pause, a plan downgrade or a service remedy.Churn predictionChurn prediction estimates the probability that a given customer will stop paying within a defined horizon, using behavioural, transactional and service signals.