Ecommerce Churn Rate Calculator
Determine your customer attrition percentage and retention health.
What is Ecommerce Churn Rate?
For an ecommerce business, Churn Rate (also known as attrition rate) is a key metric that measures the percentage of customers who stop purchasing from your store over a specific time period. While acquisition focuses on bringing new shoppers in, churn focuses on how many existing shoppers you are losing.
High churn indicates that your store may have issues with product quality, customer service, or post-purchase engagement. Conversely, a low churn rate suggests high customer loyalty and a healthy "sticky" brand.
How to Calculate Churn Rate
The standard formula used by this calculator takes into account the customers you had at the start, the new ones you acquired, and the total you had left at the end. This allows us to isolate the number of customers who actually left.
Customers Lost = (Customers at Start + New Customers) – Customers at End
Churn Rate = (Customers Lost / Customers at Start) × 100
Example Calculation
Let's say you run a subscription box service or a recurring order ecommerce store:
- Start of Month: 1,000 active subscribers.
- New Subscribers: 200 acquired during the month.
- End of Month: 1,150 active subscribers.
First, calculate how many left: (1,000 + 200) – 1,150 = 50 customers lost.
Then, divide by the starting count: 50 / 1,000 = 0.05.
Churn Rate = 5%.
Why Churn Matters for Ecommerce
Tracking churn is vital because customer retention is generally cheaper than acquisition. According to industry data, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
- Revenue Predictability: Lower churn makes monthly recurring revenue (MRR) more predictable.
- LTV Growth: Customers who stay longer have a higher Lifetime Value (LTV), justifying higher ad spend.
- Brand Health: It acts as an early warning system for dissatisfaction with shipping, pricing, or product utility.
Benchmarks: What is a Good Churn Rate?
Benchmarks vary by industry, but generally:
- SaaS / B2B: 3-5% monthly churn is acceptable.
- Subscription Box: 6-10% monthly churn is common.
- Standard Ecommerce (Non-subscription): Calculate based on "Repeat Purchase Rate" instead, as churn is harder to define without a subscription model.