You're correct that Mixpanel has limited support for object-type properties, especially when it comes to using them in filters or breakdowns for reports like retention. Specifically, while objects can be used in some core reports as filters and breakdowns, their keys (i.e., the individual parts of the object) are not fully supported in the UI, and you cannot directly filter on a nested value within an object property in retention analysis Supported Properties Data Type - Overview.
Recommended Approach:
- Store the numeric and date/time values as separate properties.
This is the best practice in Mixpanel. By storing each value as its own top-level property (e.g., numeric_value and date_value), you ensure that both can be used independently in filters, breakdowns, and all types of reports, including retention. Mixpanel’s five primary data types (String, Numeric, Boolean, Date, List) are fully supported for these operations, whereas object properties are not Property Data Types.
- Workarounds for existing data:
There is no built-in way in Mixpanel to extract or reference a nested value from an object property for use in filters or breakdowns. The documentation does not mention any function or transformation that would allow you to "pluck" a value from an object property in the context of retention analysis. If you need to use the numeric value for filtering, you will need to update your data model to send it as a separate property.
Summary:
To enable filtering on the numeric value in retention charts, you should store the numeric and date/time values as separate properties rather than as parts of an object. This will make your data fully compatible with Mixpanel’s analysis features and avoid the limitations of object-type properties in the UI Supported Properties Data Type - Overview.
If you have already ingested data as an object, you would need to update your tracking implementation to send these as separate properties going forward. There is no workaround in the UI or via custom properties to extract a nested value from an object for use in retention filters.
