Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saletides.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
What retention cohorts show
Retention cohorts track, for a group of customers who first purchased in a given month, what percentage came back to make another purchase in subsequent months. Navigate to Cohorts → Returning Customers in the sidebar.Reading the cohort table
The cohort heatmap shows:- Rows — each row is one cohort, identified by the month customers first purchased
- Column 0 — always 100% (this is the cohort itself)
- Column 1 — % who made a second purchase within the next period
- Column 2+ — % still purchasing in subsequent periods
- Color — darker shading indicates higher retention
Example
| Cohort | Month 0 | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | 100% | 28% | 15% | 10% |
| Feb 2024 | 100% | 31% | 17% | 11% |
| Mar 2024 | 100% | 35% | 19% | — |
Period granularity
Toggle between monthly and weekly cohort views using the control above the chart. Monthly is best for long-term trend analysis; weekly is useful for spotting short-term changes after a specific campaign or product launch.Cohort size
The first column shows the absolute cohort size — how many customers made their first purchase in that period. This context matters: a cohort of 500 customers with 30% retention is far more significant than a cohort of 10 with 40%.Subscription retention cohorts
For stores using WooCommerce Subscriptions, the subscription retention cohort shows what % of subscribers from each month are still active in subsequent months. This is the standard subscriber churn view — the inverse of retention is your churn rate.Averages row
At the bottom of the cohort table, SaleTides shows an averages row — the weighted average retention at each period across all cohorts. Use this as your baseline when evaluating individual cohorts.Bar chart view
Switch to the bar chart view to compare retention at a specific period (e.g., Month 3 retention) across all cohorts. This makes it easy to see whether retention at a fixed point is trending up or down over time.What good retention looks like
There is no universal benchmark — it varies heavily by industry and product type. However, some general guidelines for ecommerce:| Retention at Month 3 | Assessment |
|---|---|
| < 10% | Below average — focus on post-purchase engagement |
| 10–20% | Average for most ecommerce stores |
| 20–30% | Good — strong repeat purchase culture |
| 30%+ | Excellent — indicates high customer loyalty |