← DictionaryChurn
also called churn rate, attrition
The rate at which customers stop buying or cancel.
How fast customers leave.
What It Is
Churn is a Business item, filed under Unit Economics. The canonical meaning is the rate at which customers stop buying or cancel.
It is something measured and compared over time, so one reading in isolation tells you almost nothing. That definition is deliberately narrow — the narrowness is what makes it usable.
How It's Used
Churn earns its keep in commercial decisions, pricing conversations and how the business runs. In real work it sits close to Retention Rate, Lifetime Value and Recurring Revenue. The practical test is whether it is measured the same way each period, against something.
Why It Matters
The cost of being vague about Churn shows up later, not today. When it is unclear, margin leaks in places nobody is looking. Deciding it deliberately costs one conversation. Leaving it undecided costs several.
It is a score. Scores are only interesting when you compare them. How fast customers leave.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Inside the industry, Churn is used tightly and assumed to be understood: the rate at which customers stop buying or cancel.
Away from the jargon, it is how fast customers leave.
The Bottom Line
Churn pays off when it is specific and costs you when it is not. How fast customers leave.