1. What is Retention Rate?

Retention rate measures the percentage of people or items that remain in a group over a specified time period. It's commonly used in business to track customer retention, employee retention, or product retention.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the retention rate formula:

Where:

• \( \text{Retained} \) — Number of people/items remaining at the end of the period
• \( \text{Total at Start} \) — Initial number of people/items at the beginning

Explanation: The formula calculates what percentage of the original group was retained over the measured time period.

3. Importance of Retention Rate

Details: Retention rate is a key metric for understanding customer loyalty, employee satisfaction, and product durability. High retention typically indicates satisfaction and reduces acquisition costs.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of retained people/items and the total starting number. Both values must be positive numbers, and retained cannot exceed total at start.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's a good retention rate?
A: It varies by industry, but generally rates above 85% are good, above 90% are excellent. Customer retention benchmarks vary widely by sector.

Q2: How is retention different from churn?
A: Retention measures who stayed, while churn measures who left. They're complementary metrics (Retention = 100% - Churn Rate).

Q3: What time period should I use?
A: Common periods are monthly, quarterly, or annually. Choose based on your business cycle and how quickly changes occur.

Q4: Can retention be over 100%?
A: Normally no, since you can't retain more than you started with. If calculating "net retention" including new additions, it could exceed 100%.

Q5: How often should I measure retention?
A: Measure regularly (monthly/quarterly) to spot trends, but also track longer-term (annual) retention for strategic insights.