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Step-by-Step Guide to Creating & Analyzing Cohorts

Core Cohort Types

  1. Customer Journey: Track how customers flow through lifecycle stages and transition between segments over defined time intervals.

  2. Funnel Analysis: Visualize step-by-step conversion rates and drop-offs through a defined sequential path.

  3. Customer Repeats: Measure customer retention and repeat engagement over rolling time windows (Month 0 to Month 11+).

Cohort Type 1: Customer Journey

The Customer Journey cohort helps you analyze multi-period customer flow (such as moving from Champions to At Risk) using interactive Sankey diagrams.

Step 1: Access Cohorts & Select Build Your Own:

Navigate to Analytics > Cohorts in the left menu.

Select Build your own from the top right or start from a pre-built template.

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Step 2: Choose Customer Journey Cohort

In the modal prompt, click Customer Journey to analyze how customers flow through a sequence of events over time.

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Step 3: Configure Steps & Rules

Set the View by time granularity (e.g., Monthly, Half-Yearly, Yearly) and click + Add Condition to define filtering rules (e.g., RFM Segment, Loyalty Points, Tier Name).

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Step 4: Save the added rules

Click on the Save & Generate to generate the cohort. Please note, it will take 15 minutes to create a cohort. 

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Step 5: Analyze the Preview Results (Sankey Diagram)

Once steps are defined, the interactive Sankey diagram displays cohort movements across the selected time periods.

Hover over any specific block or connecting node to reveal detailed transition statistics, including total customer volume, destination breakdown, and transition percentages.

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Step 6: Create Targetable Segments & Review Data Table

Click any flow connection or use the tabular data view to convert transition paths directly into targetable audience segments.

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Cohort Type 2: Funnel Analysis
Step 1: NavigatingSelect toFunnel Cohort AnalyticsType:

Step
    1.

  • LogClick Build your own on the Cohorts main screen, then select Funnel in tothe yourCreate OptCultureCohort workspaceselection window.

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    Step 2: Define Funnel Sequential Steps:

    In the left configuration panel:

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    1. Step 1: Add source conditions (e.g., Enrollment Date = this year).

    2. Step 3: Add progression conditions (e.g., Sales Date = this year).

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    3. ClickStep the Home / Dashboard icon3: orAdd navigateconversion/frequency tothresholds the(e.g., AnalyticsTotal menuVisits on> the3).

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    4. Click Save & Generate to calculate funnel statistics.

    Step 3: Inspect Funnel Metrics & Conversion Percentages:

    Hover over any funnel stage to view the total customer count and conversion rate relative to the initial step.

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    1. Click thewho Edit DashboardVisited icon(cleared all steps up to this point) versus those who Not visited (pencildropped symbol)off at thethis top-rightspecific cornerstage).

      Step 4: Create Targeted Retargeting Segments:. 

  • OrganizeClick youron viewany funnel segment or click Create in the bottom metrics table under the Actions column to prioritizecreate cohorta metrics,targeted includingsegment RFMfor Customercustomers Segmentswho andcompleted Topor Departments.dropped

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    Cohort Type 3: Customer Repeats
    Step 1: Select Customer Repeats Cohort Type

    Click Build your own from the main Cohorts screen, then select Customer Repeats in the modal popup

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    .Step 2: Set Retention Steps & Initial Trigger Event

    In the left configuration panel:

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    1. Select the View by time interval (e.g., Monthly).

    2. Choose the First Event anchor field (e.g., First Purchase Date).

    3. Click Save & Generate to build the retention matrix heat map.

    Step 3: EvaluatingAnalyze CohortRetention PurchasingMatrix Trends& AcrossCell DepartmentsDetails

    1. LocateThe retention matrix displays acquisition months along the vertical axis (e.g., Jan 2026, Feb 2026) and elapsed periods across columns (TopM0, DepartmentsM1, M2... M11):

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      • M0: Initial baseline cohort size (100%).

      • M1, M2, etc.: Percentage of the initial cohort returning in that specific period.

      • Hover over any cell to see exact dates, retention percentages, and active customer counts.

      Hovering directly on a cell also gives you options to segment customers:

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      • Visited: Customers who actively returned in this specific period.

        . 

      • AnalyzeNot purchasingvisited: volumeCohort bymembers categorywho toskipped/did identify which product departments drivenot repeat behaviorin withinthis specificperiod.

        acquisition windows
      . 

    2. Observe rank movement tags (e.g., green +2 or red -1) to monitor shifting product preferences over 30-day reporting windows. 

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      Step 4: TrackingGenerate Cohort Progression in RFMRetention Segments from Table View

      1. GoScroll down to the Customertabular Segments (RFM) treemapdata view.

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      2. numerical

        Reviewbreakdowns customerof volume distributionretention across groupsmonthly suchcohorts. asClick Create under the ChampionsActions, Atcolumn Risk,for andany Needcohort Attention.row

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        3. export
      3. Clickthose orusers hoverdirectly oninto a segmenttargetable block to analyze cohort member counts and determine which groups require immediate re-engagement campaigns.
        4. segment.

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