6 Cycle Retention Report
Track subscription retention through the first six billing cycles with detailed breakdowns of pending, cancelled, dunning, failed, and successful renewals at each stage.
The 6 Cycle Retention Report is your most detailed view into how subscriptions perform through their first six billing cycles. For each cycle (R1 through R6), the report breaks down exactly what happened — how many subscribers were available to renew, how many cancelled, how many entered dunning, how many ultimately failed, and how many successfully renewed. This granular view lets you pinpoint exactly where in the subscription lifecycle you're losing customers and take targeted action.
What This Report Includes
This report tracks all recurring subscription offers from their initial sale through six successive renewal cycles, based on the date the subscription was originally ordered.
Subscriptions Included:
- Recurring subscription offers only
- Tracks each subscription through 6 successive renewal cycles (R1–R6)
- Only successful (non-declined) sale and capture transactions with a completion or skip date count toward retention
- Test orders are excluded
- Date range is based on Subscribed Date (when the subscription was originally created)
Why This Matters: Not all churn happens at the same point. Some businesses lose most subscribers at R1 (first renewal), while others see steady attrition across cycles. This report reveals your specific churn pattern so you can invest retention resources where they'll have the most impact.
Report Metrics
Subscriptions
The total count of recurring subscription offers. This is the cohort denominator — all per-cycle "Overall Success" percentages are calculated against this number, giving you a true cumulative retention view.
Each renewal cycle includes the following metrics. These repeat for cycles R1 through R6.
Available
The count of subscriptions that reached this renewal cycle — meaning the subscription was still active and eligible for a renewal charge. Subscriptions that cancelled, failed, or expired before reaching this cycle are not counted.
Pending
Subscriptions at this cycle that are still awaiting their renewal charge. These haven't been processed yet and will eventually move to success, failed, or cancelled.
Pending Rate
Percentage of available subscriptions still pending at this cycle. High pending rates on recent dates are normal; high pending rates on older dates may indicate processing delays.
Cancellation
Subscriptions that were actively cancelled at this cycle before the renewal charge was attempted. These represent voluntary churn — the customer decided not to continue.
Cancellation Rate
Percentage of available subscriptions that cancelled at this cycle. A spike at a specific cycle may indicate a pricing, product, or timing issue that could be addressed.
Dunning
Subscriptions at this cycle where the renewal charge was declined but the subscription hasn't been cancelled yet. These are still in your dunning recovery pipeline.
Dunning Rate
Percentage of available subscriptions currently in dunning at this cycle. Compare this across cycles to understand whether payment failure rates increase over the subscription lifetime.
Failed
Subscriptions at this cycle where all dunning attempts were exhausted and the subscription was cancelled due to payment failure. These represent involuntary churn.
Failed Rate
Percentage of available subscriptions that ultimately failed at this cycle. High failed rates suggest opportunities to improve payment recovery processes, update card-on-file programs, or optimize dunning schedules.
Skip
Subscriptions that chose to skip this renewal cycle. The subscription remains active and will be eligible for the next cycle.
Skip Rate
Percentage of available subscriptions that skipped this cycle. Monitor skip trends — consistent skipping may indicate the billing frequency doesn't match customer consumption patterns.
Eligible
The count of subscriptions that reached a terminal state for this cycle — either cancelled, failed, skipped, or successfully renewed. This excludes pending subscriptions and represents the denominator for the "Eligible Success" calculation.
Success
Subscriptions that were successfully charged at this renewal cycle. This is the count of customers who made it through the renewal process and continued their subscription.
Eligible Success Rate
Percentage of eligible subscriptions (excluding pending) that successfully renewed at this cycle. This gives you a "completion rate" that excludes subscriptions still in process.
Overall Success Rate
Percentage of the original cohort that successfully renewed at this cycle. This is calculated as Success at this cycle divided by total Subscriptions, giving you a true cumulative retention curve. This is the most important metric for understanding your retention trajectory.
Available Dimensions
Use these dimensions to slice and filter your 6-cycle retention data for deeper analysis.
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Subscribed Date | The date the subscription was created |
| Subscribed Hour | Hour of day when the subscription was created (0–23) |
| Subscribed Day Of Week | Day of the week the subscription was created |
| Subscribed Week | ISO week number of subscription creation |
| Subscribed Month | Month and year of subscription creation |
| Subscribed Year | Year the subscription was created |
| Customer ID | The customer's ID in the system |
| Customer Email | The customer's email address |
| Customer Information | Combined customer details (name, email, phone) for searching |
| Connection | The connection (CRM instance) associated with the customer |
| Order ID | The unique order identifier |
| Order Offer ID | The unique identifier for a specific offer within an order |
| Offer Status | The current status of the offer |
| Connection Offer Status | The offer status as defined by the connection |
| Subscription Billing Status | Current billing status of the subscription |
| Days To Cancel | Number of days between subscription creation and cancellation |
| Cancel Reason | The reason provided for cancellation |
| Is Blacklist | Whether the customer is on the blacklist |
| Is Gift | Whether the order was marked as a gift |
| Offer | The offer associated with the subscription |
| Offer Name | Display name of the offer |
| Offer Code | The unique offer code |
| Primary Offer Category | Primary category assigned to the offer |
| Secondary Offer Category | Secondary category assigned to the offer |
| Campaign | The campaign associated with the order |
| Primary Campaign Category | Primary category assigned to the campaign |
| Secondary Campaign Category | Secondary category assigned to the campaign |
| Charge Frequency | How often the subscription is billed |
| Is Prepaid Offer | Whether the offer is a prepaid subscription |
| Discount Code | Discount or coupon code applied to the order |
| Discount Name | Display name of the applied discount |
| Merchant | The merchant account used for processing |
| Merchant Group | The merchant group the merchant belongs to |
| Card Bin Number | First six digits of the card number identifying the issuing bank |
| Card Type | Card brand (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Amex) |
| Card Issuer | The bank or institution that issued the card |
| Card Category | Category of the card (e.g., Consumer, Business) |
| Card Country | Country where the card was issued |
| Is Prepaid Card | Whether the card is a prepaid card |
| Ship Country | Shipping destination country |
| Ship State | Shipping destination state or province |
| Tracking 1–20 | Custom tracking field values associated with the order |
Key Business Insights
1. Retention Curve Shape
Plot the Overall Success Rate from R1 through R6 to visualize your retention curve:
- Steep early drop (R1–R2) → Focus on onboarding and first-cycle experience
- Gradual decline → Healthy pattern; optimize incrementally at each stage
- Cliff at specific cycle → Investigate pricing changes, fulfillment gaps, or competitive timing
2. Voluntary vs. Involuntary Churn
At each cycle, compare Cancellation Rate vs. Failed Rate:
- High cancellation = product/value problem → improve offers, engage customers pre-renewal
- High failed = payment problem → optimize dunning, implement card updater
3. Dunning Pipeline Health
Monitor the Dunning Rate at each cycle. Subscribers in dunning represent recoverable revenue. If dunning rates are high but recovery rates are low, your dunning schedule may need optimization.
4. Skip Pattern Analysis
If Skip Rates increase at specific cycles, customers may be over-supplied. Consider offering flexible subscription frequencies or quantity adjustments rather than losing them entirely.
Optimization Strategies
Reduce R1 Churn
- Improve post-purchase communication and expectation-setting
- Send renewal reminders before the first rebill
- Offer incentives for the first renewal
Recover Failed Payments
- Optimize dunning schedules and retry timing
- Implement automatic card updater services
- Offer alternative payment methods for failed cards
Address Mid-Cycle Churn
- Analyze cancellation reasons at the specific problem cycle
- Test loyalty offers or subscription modifications at danger points
- Introduce engagement touchpoints between billing cycles
Pro Tips
- Cohort Comparison: Select different date ranges to compare retention curves across acquisition periods — this reveals whether recent cohorts are performing better or worse than historical ones
- Filter by Offer: Different products may have dramatically different retention patterns. Filter to identify your strongest and weakest subscription offers
- Overall vs. Eligible: Use Overall Success Rate for strategic planning and Eligible Success Rate for operational optimization
- Combine with Dunning Report: Cross-reference cycles with high failed rates against your Dunning Report to understand recovery performance at each stage
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do the numbers for recent dates show high Pending rates?
A: This is expected. Subscriptions ordered recently haven't had time to reach later renewal cycles. As time passes, pending subscriptions will resolve into success, failed, or cancelled states.
Q: What's the difference between Overall and Eligible success rates?
A: Overall Success Rate divides by the total original cohort (Subscriptions), giving you true cumulative retention. Eligible Success Rate divides only by subscriptions that have reached a terminal state for that cycle, excluding those still pending. Overall is better for strategic analysis; Eligible is better for understanding processing performance.
Q: Why might Subscriptions not equal the sum of all statuses at a given cycle?
A: Some subscriptions may not have reached that cycle yet (still active at an earlier cycle), or may be in transition states. The Available metric at each cycle tells you how many actually reached that renewal point.
Q: How does this differ from the 36 Cycle Retention Report?
A: This report provides detailed per-cycle breakdowns (pending, cancellation, dunning, failed, skip, and success) for cycles R1–R6, making it ideal for diagnosing why subscribers churn at each stage. The 36 Cycle Retention Report extends the view to 36 cycles but only tracks success counts and overall success rates — giving you the long-term retention curve without the per-cycle operational detail. Use this report for early-lifecycle diagnostics; use the 36 Cycle report for long-term retention trends and lifetime value projections.
Updated 6 days ago