What Is Cohort Analysis? | Vantage
Cohort Analysis Cohort analysis groups users who share a common characteristic (most commonly their sign-up week or month) and tracks their behavior over time. By comparing cohorts, PMs can see whether product changes improve user behavior. A retention cohort chart shows what percentage of each cohort returns at Day 1, Day 7, Day 30, etc.
Why cohort analysis matters
Aggregate metrics mask trends. Overall monthly active users might be growing, but if each cohort retains worse than the last, the product has a leaky bucket. Cohort analysis reveals whether recent product changes are helping or hurting user behavior.
How it works
Group users by sign-up date (weekly or monthly cohorts). Track a specific behavior for each cohort over time: return visits, feature usage, or purchases. Plot the data in a cohort table (rows = cohorts, columns = time periods). Compare rows: is the latest cohort retaining better than previous cohorts? If yes, recent changes are working.
Common mistakes
Only looking at aggregate metrics without cohort breakdown
Too short observation periods (need at least 4-6 weeks for meaningful retention data)
Not segmenting cohorts by acquisition channel or plan type
Confusing correlation with causation (product changes may not be the cause)
Related terms
How Vantage relates
Vantage connects to your analytics data so cohort insights can inform product specs. When creating a project to improve retention, the AI can reference your actual cohort data to ground the PRD.