Is your growth rate formula hiding important seasonal or segment patterns?

Been digging into our growth metrics and wondering if we’re missing something important.

Our overall growth rate looks steady but I have a feeling there might be seasonal trends or specific user segments driving different patterns that aren’t showing up in the standard calculations.

Same thing happened with our food delivery app. We’re celebrating 8% monthly growth, then I break it down by day and realize weekends are doing all the heavy lifting.

Weekdays were tanking while weekend orders went crazy. I would’ve completely missed this just looking at monthly numbers.

Our student users also had crazy swings during semester breaks that disappeared in the overall data. Now I always check growth by user type and time period first before looking at the big picture.

Your gut’s probably right - dig into whatever segments actually drive your business.

Your total growth rate’s hiding the real story. Switch to weekly cohort analysis - monthly data misses the micro patterns you need to see. And segment by user value, not just where they came from. High-paying users often have totally different seasonal patterns than free users. I’ve seen apps where premium signups tank 40 percent in summer while free users explode.

Seasonal shifts can change your growth numbers.

Break down your data by month and user segments - that’s where you’ll see what’s actually happening. I always check cohorts by acquisition source since it shows patterns that disappear in overall numbers. Different channels often perform better at specific times of year.

Split your data by traffic source. Paid ads might drop during holidays while organic stays flat.