Cohort analysis

Cohort analysis follows a fixed group of users or customers sharing a starting characteristic over time. In GA4's cohort definition, users share an acquisition period and subsequent activity is assessed against that original group.[1] For customer analysis, a merchant could operationally define a cohort as customers whose first order occurred in the same month. This differs from comparing a newly selected set of all active customers each month.

A store could investigate whether shoppers acquired through a discount campaign later purchase again. Compare cohorts at the same age since first purchase, not just in the same calendar month. Older groups otherwise have more opportunity to return. Also specify whether returning means a visit, another purchase or an active subscription, because these answer different business questions.