Cohort Analysis

Find out which months produced your best customers ever.

Cohort analysis shows which channels acquire repeat customers and which acquire one-time buyers. By the Numbers builds the curves Shopify Analytics can't.

Install free on Shopify Talk to a Shopify data expert →

60-second install · 14-day free trial · No credit card required

5.0 from 81 reviews on the Shopify App Store

Last 30 days · Apr 5 – May 4Compare: No comparisonSegment: All Customers

Cohort Retention

% returning by month

7,432 customers · 7 cohorts

Avg M3 → 56%

Apr 2025

100%

72%

58%

45%

38%

32%

29%

27%

May 2025

100%

68%

52%

41%

35%

31%

28%

Jun 2025

100%

75%

61%

48%

40%

36%

Jul 2025

100%

71%

55%

42%

37%

Aug 2025

100%

78%

63%

49%

Sep 2025

100%

70%

54%

Oct 2025

100%

74%

M0–M24

Retention curves

Two years of repeat-rate visibility

By channel

Sliced

Meta vs Google vs Klaviyo vs Organic

By SKU

Drilled

Which first product creates loyalists?

Stop optimizing for first orders. Optimize for second ones.

Day-one ROAS measures only the first order. The Meta campaign with the cheapest CPA can have the worst LTV. Cohort retention shows, month by month, which acquisition source paid back.

Repurchase rate by acquisition month and channel
Cumulative revenue per cohort over 24 months
Side-by-side comparison of Meta, Google, Klaviyo, and Organic cohorts
Drill into which first-purchased SKU created loyal customers

Last 30 days · Apr 5 – May 4Compare: No comparisonSegment: All Customers

Cohort Retention by Acquisition Channel

% returning · M0 → M5

Klaviyo wins by 14pt

Klaviyo Email62%

Google Ads48%

Meta Ads28%

TikTok Ads18%

Filter the cohort. Find the leak.

Cohorts tend to leak in a particular month, such as M2 when a consumable runs out or M6 when loyalty points expire. Slice by segment, channel, or SKU to see the leak as a kink in the curve. That is when to launch a flow.

Cohort Retention

100%

72%

58%

45%

38%

32%

100%

68%

52%

41%

35%

100%

75%

61%

48%

100%

71%

55%

100%

78%

Month 0Month 5

67%

Avg Retention

4.2x

LTV Multiple

-18%

Churn Rate

Send your spend to the cohort that pays you back.

Add ad spend and get cohort-attributed ROAS. The same dashboard shows which channels acquire customers worth keeping and which bring in one-time buyers.

Platform ROI

Google Ads

Spend: $4,200

+312%

Meta Ads

Spend: $3,800

+245%

TikTok

Spend: $2,100

+189%

Klaviyo

Spend: $890

+420%

Use it when

Three retention questions cohorts answer

Channel mix

You can't justify cutting a Meta budget your CFO is staring at.

Pull the M3 repeat rate by channel. If Meta cohorts repeat at half the rate of Google, you have the evidence to justify the cut.

Onboarding

First orders ship fine. M2 falls off a cliff.

Filter the cohort to first-time buyers of your hero SKU. If M2 retention drops, the post-purchase flow is the lever, not the discount.

Pricing

You're testing a subscription tier and want a baseline.

Compare M6 retention pre/post-launch on the same cohort definition. The lift, or lack of one, is your decision criterion.

“By the Numbers has been hugely helpful - letting us create segments and cohort analysis we can't do with Shopify alone. Their support team is very responsive.”

OtherlandDTC · Home fragrance

“Incredible app, incredible support. They care about their business and customers. They've built a really great analytics platform.”

Ornamentally YouDTC · Decor

From the blog

Related guides

See your first cohort curve tomorrow.

Install free on Shopify. We backfill your full history overnight.

Install free on Shopify See pricing →

60-second install · 14-day free trial · No credit card required