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What Are User Cohorts?

See how customers are grouped into cohorts and how their performance over time reveals insights into retention and repeat purchase behavior.

Paula Paić avatar
Written by Paula Paić
Updated over a week ago

User cohorts are groups of customers who share a common characteristic—most commonly, the time of their first purchase. Cohort analysis allows you to track how different groups of customers behave over time, giving you a deeper understanding of long-term performance and customer retention trends.

In the Lebesgue app, the User Cohorts section within the Lifetime Value tab helps you analyze these patterns using powerful visualizations and metrics.

How Does It Work?

Each row in the cohort table represents a group of users based on the month they made their first purchase. From left to right, you can track their activity and value generation over time—month by month—allowing you to monitor:

  • How frequently customers reorder
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  • How much revenue they’ve generated over 6 or 12 months
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  • Retention patterns over time
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  • Changes in user behavior based on acquisition month

This gives you a clear, data-backed view of how valuable each customer group is, and whether your acquisition strategies are attracting loyal, high-value buyers.


Cohort Views: Cumulative vs. Prediction

  • Cumulative View:
    This setting shows the actual total revenue or orders generated by each cohort over time. Use it to measure real performance and see how retention compounds month-over-month.
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  • Prediction View:
    This leverages a statistical model to forecast future customer behavior based on past data. It’s perfect for understanding long-term customer value, even if you don’t yet have 6+ months of post-purchase data.
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What Does the Average Row Show?

The bottom row of the table represents an average value across all selected cohorts. However, this average isn’t simply a flat mean—more weight is given to recent cohorts, as these provide more relevant and up-to-date insights into how your store is performing today.
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Use Cases for Cohort Analysis

Tracking user cohorts can help you answer questions like:

  • Are customers acquired in November more loyal than those in January?

  • Does a specific campaign or discount create higher-value, longer-retained customers?

  • How long does it take for the average customer to reach break-even in terms of acquisition cost?

  • Are my repurchase rates improving over time?

This is particularly valuable for subscription brands, retention-focused DTC stores, and businesses that rely heavily on repeat purchases.
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Need Help?

If you’re not sure how to get started with cohort analysis, we’re here for you:

  • Chat with Us: Use the chat icon in the app or on our website.
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  • Schedule a Call: Book a personalized consultation with our Customer Success team and speak directly with:
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We’ll walk you through how to apply cohort data to your specific business model.
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Related Articles:

  • What Is Lifetime Value?

  • Understanding The LTV Analysis Feature

  • LTV By Product

  • LTV By Marketing Channel

  • LTV By Discount

  • LTV By Country

  • LTV By State

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