Been tracking everything from session length to feature usage but half these metrics seem like vanity numbers.
What engagement signals have you found that actually correlate with users sticking around 6+ months later?
Time to value is the big one. How fast users hit their first meaningful moment in your app. If someone completes their core action within 24 hours, they’re 4x more likely to be active at 6 months. Could be posting their first photo, making their first purchase, or finishing onboarding. The other metric that works is return visits in week 2. Users who come back days 8-14 have much higher long-term retention than those who don’t.
Feature adoption in the first week is what matters most for me. Users who try at least 3 core features early usually stay around.
Session frequency beats session length every time. Someone opening the app 5 times for 2 minutes each is way more valuable than one 20 minute session.
Depth of engagement beats breadth for me. I look at how many sessions it takes someone to complete their first real workflow in the app.
Ran this analysis on a productivity app - users who finished a complete task cycle within their first 5 sessions had 60% better retention at month 6. The ones who just browsed features without completing anything meaningful churned fast.
Also track repeat behavior patterns. If someone does the same core action 3+ times in their first two weeks, they usually build it into a habit. That habit formation is what keeps them coming back months later.
This video breaks down how to measure feature adoption properly and spot the signals that matter:
Most engagement metrics lie to you. Focus on completion rates and repeat usage of your main value prop.
Push notification opens are pretty good for predicting retention. Users who engage with notifications week 3 usually stick around longer.
Users who create content in month one stay forever.