Cohort Analysis Explained

Updated February 17, 2026

How to read the retention table and what it tells you about customer behaviour.

Cohort Analysis Explained

Cohort analysis groups customers by when they first purchased and tracks their repeat purchase behaviour over time.

Accessing Cohort Analysis

Go to Dashboard > Analytics > Cohorts.

The Retention Table

The retention table shows rows of cohorts (groups of customers who made their first purchase in the same month) and columns of subsequent months.

Each cell shows the percentage of the cohort that made at least one additional purchase in that month.

Example:

Cohort (First Purchase)Month 0Month 1Month 2Month 3
January 2026100%28%18%12%
February 2026100%31%

Month 0 is always 100% (the month of first purchase). Dashes indicate future months with no data yet.

Cohort Types

Switch between:

  • Signup cohorts – groups users by when they created their account.
  • Subscription tier cohorts – groups users by their current plan (FREE, STARTER, PRO, ENTERPRISE).
  • What to Look For

  • A steep drop between Month 0 and Month 1 suggests your product lacks repeat-purchase appeal or your follow-up strategy needs work.
  • Cohorts from seasonal periods (e.g., December) often show abnormally high Month 0 values but lower retention — factor this in.
  • Was this article helpful?

      Chat with us
      Cohort Analysis Explained – Help Center – Selletto Pro