Feature adoption

Not every feature retains equally. Understanding which features predict retention, then nudging users toward them, is retention leverage.

Find your sticky features

Analyze retention by which features users adopted. Some features are strongly correlated with retention; others aren't.

Then nudge

• Empty-state CTAs
• In-app recommendations
• Email nudges for users who haven't tried the feature
• Onboarding updates to surface the feature

Avoid

• Feature promotion for sake of engagement metric
• Annoying prompts users ignore
• Celebrating shallow feature touches (open doesn't = adoption)

What to do with this

• Define feature adoption as repeated usage (3+ times, 2 weeks), a single click is a visit, not adoption
• Correlate feature adoption with retention, if adoption doesn't predict retention, you're tracking a vanity feature
• Design onboarding to push users to the 2-3 features most correlated with retention, not every feature equally
• Kill features with low adoption after 6 months, every unused feature is a maintenance tax slowing the core experience
• Watch for the "power user gap", if top 10% adoption rates are 10x median, the feature is too hard to discover or configure