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Understanding Prebuilt Retention Reports: Weekly User Return Rates Explained

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On the prebuilt retention reports, does this actually mean that 100% of my users return to the app at least once each week? When I mouse over the report, it only says "3 users".

  • Avatar of kapa.ai
    kapa.ai
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    Based on the information provided in the knowledge sources, I can address your question about the retention report in Mixpanel. It's important to note that a 100% retention rate doesn't necessarily mean all your users are returning each week, especially if you're only seeing "3 users" when hovering over the report.The retention report in Mixpanel can sometimes be misleading if not interpreted correctly. According to the Mixpanel blog post on stickiness metrics, there are scenarios where a high retention or stickiness percentage might not tell the whole story.For example, the blog post mentions: "Example D: 1 user, 7 days In this case, we're back to having only one unique user, but that user returned every single day during the period measured, yielding a stickiness ratio of 100%. This is the best possible stickiness ratio, far exceeding any wildly successful commercial product on the market today. While that's a "great number," this example further shows why stickiness can't be taken at face value and must be weighed with other metrics. That is, who cares about a great stickiness ratio if the number of users isn't meaningful? The behavior of one user simply isn't predictive of users acquired in larger numbers."In your case, seeing only 3 users when hovering over the report suggests that you might be dealing with a very small sample size. This small number of users could be skewing your retention rate to appear higher than it would be with a larger user base.To get a more accurate picture of your user retention, you should consider: 1. The total number of users in your cohort (which appears to be very small in this case). 2. The specific time frame you're looking at. 3. How retention is calculated for your particular report (e.g., "on or after" vs. "on" specific days).For a more detailed understanding of how retention is calculated in Mixpanel, you can refer to the Mixpanel Docs on Retention Reports, which provide information on how averages are calculated and how to interpret the results.In conclusion, while your report shows 100% retention, the small number of users (3) suggests that this high percentage may not be representative of a larger user base and should be interpreted cautiously.

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  • Avatar of Dorian W.
    Dorian W.
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    kapa.ai I have had 27 active users in the period

  • Avatar of kapa.ai
    kapa.ai
    APP
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    Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! đź“š

  • Avatar of kapa.ai
    kapa.ai
    APP
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    Thank you for providing that additional information about having 27 active users in the period. This context helps clarify the situation, but I'm afraid I don't have enough information from the knowledge sources to give you a complete answer about your specific retention report.However, I can provide some general insights about interpreting retention data in Mixpanel based on the available information: 1. Sample size: With 27 active users, you have a more meaningful sample size than the 3 users you mentioned earlier. This should give you a more reliable retention rate, though it's still a relatively small number.2. Retention calculation: Mixpanel calculates retention based on the behavior you've defined. According to the Mixpanel Docs on Retention, retention measures how many users continue to come back and find value from your product over a specified period.3. Interpreting the data: The Mixpanel Docs on Basic Features of Retention mention that the retention curve chart displays data as both a line chart and a table. The color mapping in the table gets darker for higher retention percentages, but it's important to note that the scale is relative to each cohort row.4. Incomplete data: Keep in mind that some data might be incomplete. The docs state, "Boxes with an asterisk (*) indicate that the data is still in flux and not set yet because the time is still ongoing."To get a more accurate understanding of your specific retention report, you might want to: 1. Check the exact retention criteria you've set for your report. 2. Look at the breakdown of users across different time periods. 3. Consider using cohort analysis to segment your users and gain more detailed insights.If you need more specific guidance on interpreting your particular retention report, I recommend reaching out to Mixpanel's support team or consulting their documentation for more detailed explanations of your specific use case.

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