Had this exact issue with a productivity app. 78% retention looked great until I dug into the user behavior.
Our best users - the ones crushing tasks daily - were leaving after 3 months. They’d hit their goals and bail. The high retention? Just inactive users who forgot to cancel.
Switched to tracking retention by engagement instead of blanket numbers. Suddenly our real problem was crystal clear - we weren’t sticky enough for users who actually mattered.
Now I segment retention by value first thing. Overall numbers are usually BS.
Break down your users by revenue and how fast they hit their first key action. Heavy users probably get value quickly, then realize they don’t need the app anymore. That’s totally different from people who never really got into it. Track your week-one cohorts by usage patterns. Users who dive deep early either become your best customers or churn fast after they get what they want. Figure out which one you’re dealing with first.