Definition
Churn rate is the share of customers or subscribers who leave you in a given period. A 32% churn means just under a third of customers aren't back next period.
Also called: Churn, Churn rate, Attrition rate, Customer lossFollow the same customers over time.
customers buying in month 3. Each column shows the time since acquisition.
01Group customers by the date of their first purchase.
Why small swings in churn matter so much
Churn and retention are two sides of the same coin: 32% churn is 68% retention. But the effect on CLTV isn't linear. It compounds over time. A customer with 20% monthly churn stays with you markedly less time than one at 10%, and the difference in total customer value is far larger than the ten percentage points suggest.
For subscription and repeat-purchase businesses, churn is therefore one of the most important numbers there is. A small improvement in how many customers stay can do more for the bottom line than a big improvement in acquisition.
How to fight churn
Churn is rarely caused by one thing: poor onboarding, a product that doesn't meet expectations, no contact between purchases, or price friction. Post-purchase flows, replenishment reminders, loyalty programs and proactive contact before the statistical drop-off date all pull churn down.
Klaviyo's predictive analytics can estimate churn risk at the profile level, so you can step in before the customer drops off — not after. Predicting churn and acting on it is cheaper than re-acquiring the lost customer.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between churn and retention?
They're mirror images: retention is the share that stays, churn is the share that drops off. 68% retention equals 32% churn. You steer by one and keep an eye on the other.
Why is churn so important?
Because the effect on CLTV compounds over time. Even a small reduction in churn extends the customer lifetime noticeably and raises the customer value that decides what you can afford to pay for acquisition.
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About the author
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen
Growth hacker and fractional CMO with 10+ years' experience and hundreds of millions in managed ad spend behind him. Background from larger Danish and international scale-ups, and from the agency world.
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