Customer Retention Rates by Industry in 2025: Benchmarks, Churn Insights, and How to Improve Yours
Last updated on
May 26, 2025
Find Customer Retention Rates by Industry in 2025
Knowing how your customer retention rate (CRR) compares to your industry benchmark isn’t just helpful - it’s strategic. If you're seeing high churn but don’t know if it's “normal,” you’ll either panic unnecessarily or miss a red flag. Retention rates are just numbers - until you understand the behaviors behind them.
Each one tells you why the rate is what it is - and how to shift it.
This report breaks down the average customer retention rate by industry using the latest 2025 benchmarks. You'll learn:
What counts as a “good” retention rate in your vertical
Why retention varies so widely between B2B and B2C
How top brands actually improve retention beyond discounts
At Propel, we’ve audited retention systems across ecommerce, SaaS, healthcare, fintech, media, and more. This post combines verified data with on-the-ground insights from real lifecycle programs - so you don’t just see the numbers, you understand the behaviors behind them.
Each benchmark comes with a plain-English analysis and a proven tactic to move it in your favor.
A high CRR means your customers aren’t just trying your product - they’re staying loyal. Which, in most cases, is the fastest route to compounding revenue.
What are Average Customer Retention Rates by Industry? [The 2025 Update]
Customer retention rates vary dramatically across industries, shaped by customer expectations, switching costs, and the nature of the product or service itself. While sectors like media and professional services enjoy retention rates of 80% or higher, industries such as retail and hospitality often struggle to retain even 60% of their customers.
These benchmarks give businesses critical insight into what “good” retention actually looks like within their category - helping leaders identify whether churn is a strategic red flag or simply a competitive norm.
Retention rates vary by industry - and dramatically. Here's how they stack up in 2025:
Industry
Avg. CRR
Why It’s High or Low
Media
84%
Subscription model with habitual engagement
Professional Services
84%
Long-term contracts and strong client relationships
Automotive & Transportation
83%
High trust and recurring service needs
Insurance
83%
Annual renewals + sticky products
IT Services
81%
Service continuity and integration
Construction & Engineering
80%
Project-based repeat business
Financial Services
78%
Account lock-in, broad product mix
Telecommunications
78%
Bundles + high switching costs
Healthcare
77%
Relationships, necessity, and recurring visits
IT & Software
77%
SaaS lock-in and long onboarding cycles
Banking
75%
High friction to switch
Consumer Services
67%
Mix of loyalty and casual, price-driven users
Manufacturing
67%
Contract cycles and B2B trust
Retail
63%
Commoditized, deal-driven
Hospitality, Travel, Restaurants
55%
High churn due to choice overload + lack of personalization
📺 Media
Retention Rate: 84%
Why: Subscription model with strong content keeps users engaged.
Our Expert Insight: Your content cadence is your retention lever. For one streaming client, we saw session drop-offs after 4 days without push reminders. Adding a “new for you” alert every 72 hours boosted monthly retention by 11%.
👨💼 Professional Services
Retention Rate: 84%
Why: Personalized, long-term service relationships build loyalty.
Our Expert Insight: B2B services win on proactive value. One agency client retained 93% of customers after automating monthly “impact recaps” that showed outcomes - not just deliverables.
🚗 Automotive & Transportation
Retention Rate: 83%
Why: Maintenance cycles and brand trust fuel repeat business.
Our Expert Insight: Loyalty is built at the oil change, not the sale. A regional dealership reduced churn by 23% with mileage-based service reminders via SMS.
🛡️ Insurance
Retention Rate: 83%
Why: Annual renewals and trust in providers prevent churn.
Our Expert Insight: One insurer lifted retention 17% by switching to benefit-focused renewal reminders: “Here’s what you’d lose if you left.”
💻 IT Services
Retention Rate: 81%
Why: Long-term support and integrations make switching painful.
Our Expert Insight: A managed IT client boosted 90-day retention by adding a 1-page “ROI Snapshot” at the end of onboarding. Show value early, or you lose renewals.
🏗️ Construction & Engineering
Retention Rate: 80%
Why: Repeat contracts and B2B trust.
Our Expert Insight: A specialty contractor doubled repeat business by automating post-project feedback requests. Staying top of mind = more rebookings.
💳 Financial Services
Retention Rate: 78%
Why: Relationship-based banking and advisory services.
Our Expert Insight: One bank’s weekly personalized finance tips drove 4x more engagement than any upsell campaign. Smart advice builds long-term value.
📞 Telecommunications
Retention Rate: 78%
Why: Contract lock-ins and bundled plans.
Our Expert Insight: One telecom brand improved satisfaction 22% with plan usage insights: “You’re only using 60% of your data - want to downgrade?”
🏥 Healthcare
Retention Rate: 77%
Why: Trust and necessity lead to stickiness.
Our Expert Insight: A musculoskeletal care platform saw 40% lower churn after adding pre-appointment nudges and post-care summaries - trust reinforced via lifecycle.
🧑💻 IT & Software
Retention Rate: 77%
Why: Subscription models and daily usage habits.
Our Expert Insight: A SaaS tool cut churn by activating key features early. Triggering a 3-day “core feature” nudge raised retention from 60% to 71%.
🏦 Banking
Retention Rate: 75%
Why: High friction to switch; multiple services tied in.
Our Expert Insight: One neobank retained 26% more users over 6 months by linking spending data to personalized goals: “You saved $18 this week - wanna save more?”
🧹 Consumer Services
Retention Rate: 67%
Why: Quality and convenience vary.
Our Expert Insight: A home cleaning brand cut churn by 35% with photo summaries of each service (“Here’s what we did today”) - proof beats promises.
🏭 Manufacturing
Retention Rate: 67%
Why: B2B relationships, but price matters.
Our Expert Insight: Retention spiked 21% after targeting decision-makers by title. One client found churn was tied to champion turnover—not pricing.
🛍️ Retail
Retention Rate: 63%
Why: Low brand loyalty and price sensitivity.
Our Expert Insight: For a DTC CPG client, reorder nudges underperformed. But a 7-day usage tips email series post-purchase cut churn by 29%.
🍽️ Hospitality, Travel & Restaurants
Retention Rate: 55%
Why: Seasonal use and lots of alternatives.
Our Expert Insight: One hotel group tripled rebookings by running geo-targeted win-backs: “You stayed in Miami - want 10% off Key West?”
Which Industries Have High Churn Rates? [Retention Risks]
Not all churn is created equal. In every industry, churn stems from different causes - some behavioral, some operational.
High churn rates are most common in industries where competition is fierce, switching is easy, or customer relationships are purely transactional. Financial services, cable providers, retail, and ecommerce businesses face some of the steepest drop-off rates - ranging from 21% to 25% annually.
Customers in these markets are highly responsive to pricing, convenience, and promotional incentives, making it hard to build loyalty unless you deliver a truly differentiated experience.
Industry
Churn Rate
Why
Financial / Credit Services
25%
Competing offers, aggressive promotions, and low switching barriers lead to high turnover.
Cable & TV Services
25%
Cord-cutting, streaming alternatives, and poor customer support drive cancellations.
General Retail
24%
Price wars and easy access to competitors reduce loyalty.
Online Retail / Ecommerce
22%
One-click switching, commoditized products, and lack of personalization.
Telecom & Wireless
21%
Contracts expire, service quality varies, and customers chase better deals.
💳 Financial / Credit Services
Churn Rate: 25%
Why: Competing offers, aggressive promotions, and low switching barriers lead to high turnover.
Our Expert Insight: One credit union slashed churn by 22% after we implemented lifecycle nudges tied to major spend categories. Customers stay when they’re shown smarter ways to manage - not just spend.
📡 Cable & TV Services
Churn Rate: 25%
Why: Cord-cutting, streaming alternatives, and poor customer support drive cancellations.
Our Expert Insight: For a regional cable provider, we reduced voluntary churn by 18% by proactively offering “pause” options before full cancellations. Sometimes the best save strategy is giving them breathing room.
🛍️ General Retail
Churn Rate: 24%
Why: Price wars and easy access to competitors reduce loyalty.
Our Expert Insight: A national retailer regained 9% of lost customers using a post-abandonment win-back series that focused on “what’s new,” not discounts. Novelty drives re-engagement when loyalty doesn’t exist.
🛒 Online Retail / Ecommerce
Churn Rate: 22%
Why: One-click switching, commoditized products, and lack of personalization.
Our Expert Insight: A fashion brand saw 3x higher retention when we segmented flows by category preference and purchase frequency. Personalization isn't just first name - it’s relevance at SKU level.
📱 Telecom & Wireless
Churn Rate: 21%
Why: Contracts expire, service quality varies, and customers chase better deals.
Our Expert Insight: We helped a wireless carrier cut churn by 16% by introducing proactive upgrade notifications paired with loyalty perks. Customers don’t churn when they feel rewarded before they complain.
Understanding retention by industry isn’t enough. You also need to adjust your benchmarks based on your business model. B2B and B2C brands face entirely different retention dynamics - driven by sales cycles, onboarding friction, switching costs, and emotional loyalty.
Here’s how the numbers differ - and what they mean for strategy.
Account-managed relationships with outcome accountability
Manufacturing (OEM)
67–75%
Repeat orders but sensitive to price, champion turnover risk
IT & Managed Services
80–89%
Recurring support + integration dependencies
B2B Financial Advisory
78–85%
Retention driven by relationship, not product alone
Key Drivers:
Contracts with switching friction
High onboarding cost (effort + time)
Value realization tied to workflows, not moments
Implication: Retention must be proactive and periodic. Even happy customers churn when decision-makers change or perceived ROI flattens. Reporting, QBRs, and 90-day lifecycle checkpoints are non-negotiable.
B2C Retention Benchmarks
Industry
Average Retention Rate
Notes
Subscription Boxes
45–55%
High churn post-trial; Box 3 is typical drop-off point
Ecommerce (DTC)
25–30%
First-purchase churn drives majority of leakage
Media & Streaming
68–75%
Driven by content novelty and binge cadence
Fintech (Consumer)
65–75%
Sensitive to trust, fees, and perceived control
Healthcare Platforms
60–80%
Higher trust but drop-offs between visits or treatments
Key Drivers:
Low switching cost
Emotional loyalty more than product value
Churn often happens silently (no cancellation, just inactivity)
Implication: You need journey-based retention, not campaign-based. Lifecycle touchpoints, content personalization, and predictive nudges are mandatory. Discounts don’t fix churn - relevance does.
Why This Matters?
Most lifecycle programs fail because they benchmark against the wrong model. A 70% retention rate in B2B SaaS might signal red flags. That same number in B2C subscription ecommerce is elite.
Propel’s advice: Segment your metrics by model. Retention isn’t a KPI - it’s a strategy class.
Customer retention isn’t random - it’s driven by specific, measurable factors. If you're seeing churn, it's likely because one of these is missing. Here's what the data shows:
1. Customer Service Still Drives Loyalty
69% of U.S. consumers say their loyalty depends on how they’re treated. A single unresolved issue can break trust. On the other hand, responsive, consistent service creates emotional loyalty that competitors can’t easily shake.
2. Personalization Is No Longer Optional
Customers who receive personalized experiences are 60% more likely to become repeat buyers. One-size-fits-all messaging doesn’t work anymore. Today’s consumers expect relevant recommendations, smart timing, and brand experiences that reflect their behavior and preferences.
3. Loyalty Programs Keep Customers Around
84% of consumers say they’re more likely to stick with a brand that offers a loyalty program. But points alone won’t cut it. The programs that work best feel personal—think exclusive drops, early access, and meaningful rewards tied to real behavior.
4. Trust Is the Most Valuable Currency
81% of customers say trust directly impacts their purchase decisions. That includes how you handle data, your pricing transparency, your customer policies, and even your brand values. High trust translates into high retention.
5. Lifecycle Marketing Turns First Purchases into Habits
Retention doesn’t happen in one message - it happens across a journey. Lifecycle marketing maps communications to each stage of the customer’s experience, from onboarding to reactivation. Brands that use behavior-driven flows, not just one-off blasts, see higher repeat purchase rates, stronger LTV, and lower churn.
Bottom line: Retention isn’t just about discounts or drip emails. It’s about delivering experiences that feel valuable, personal, and trustworthy - at every step of the customer journey.
Retention strategies must reflect your business model, buyer psychology, and service delivery cadence. Below is a tactical breakdown by industry, based on Propel’s client work and tested lifecycle strategies.
Media
Primary issue: Inactivity after content fatigue. What works: Behavioral nudges timed to dropout windows.
Trigger content-based push notifications 48–72 hours after session inactivity.
Use past watch behavior (genre, series) to recommend content—not static trending lists.
Send a “You left off at…” reminder within 2–3 days of dropout to reactivate dormant viewers.
Tool stack: Customer.io, OneSignal, Segment.
Professional Services
Primary issue: Lack of visibility into value between milestones. What works: Monthly impact summaries that translate activity into outcomes.
Automate a “Monthly Recap” email that lists projects in motion, value delivered, and what’s coming next.
Anchor each item to a tangible business metric—cost saved, hours reduced, leads delivered.
Use templated reports or dynamic HTML logic to scale across clients.
Tool stack: Customer.io, Google Sheets + Zapier, Airtable.
Automotive and Transportation
Primary issue: Passive churn caused by service neglect or delayed maintenance. What works: Lifecycle reminders linked to time or mileage triggers.
Create service-based automations (e.g. “3 months since oil change”) with CTA to book.
Use last-visit date or mileage input as a logic field to personalize reminders.
Follow up with unbooked customers using a 3-step sequence: reminder, urgency, limited slot.
You should consider hiring a retention marketing agency when your internal team doesn’t have the time, expertise, or results to justify doing it in-house.
Here are clear signs it’s time to bring in experts:
You’re relying on basic email blasts or generic automations instead of behavior-based lifecycle journeys.
Your churn is flat or rising, despite new tools or acquisition growth.
You’re collecting customer data but not using it to drive segmentation or personalization.
You’re underutilizing platforms like Customer.io or Klaviyo - you have the tech, but not the strategy.
Your team is stretched thin and can’t focus on retention while scaling.
Working with a partner like Propel - a Platinum Customer.io Partner - gives you access to retention specialists who know how to turn email, SMS, and in-app flows into long-term revenue. From onboarding to reactivation, they help brands build automated journeys that reduce churn and boost LTV.
Average retention rates give you a useful benchmark - but benchmarks don’t build loyalty. Improving your customer retention rate (CRR) means identifying the right levers - behavioral data, lifecycle timing, channel mix - and pulling them with precision.
If you're not seeing the results you want from your current retention efforts, the problem usually isn’t your tools -it's your execution.
We help high-growth brands turn retention from a scattered afterthought into a fully automated, data-driven growth engine. Whether you're struggling with onboarding drop-off, churn recovery, or increasing lifetime value, our team knows how to build, test, and scale retention programs that actually perform.
Frequently Asked Qusetions on Customer Retention Statistics
What’s a good customer retention rate?
A “good” customer retention rate depends entirely on your industry. For most businesses, a retention rate above 75% is considered strong. But benchmarks vary:
Retail & ecommerce: 60–70% is typical
Subscription businesses: 75–85% is ideal
SaaS & B2B: 85–90% is the standard for healthy growth
Media & financial services: Often exceed 90%
Is 70% a good retention rate?
Yes - but with caveats. 70% is a solid retention rate for industries like ecommerce, consumer services, or mobile apps, where competition is high and switching costs are low. However, in SaaS, banking, or professional services, 70% may signal that you're losing too many customers after onboarding or renewal.
Use your industry benchmark as a baseline, and then evaluate your own customer journey to spot drop-off points.
Is 80% a good retention rate?
Absolutely. An 80% retention rate is considered very good in most sectors—especially in fast-moving verticals like ecommerce or DTC brands. It usually means:
Your onboarding and value delivery are strong
You’ve built customer trust
Your product or service solves a recurring need
In retention-first industries like SaaS or insurance, 80% is often the minimum target for growth-stage companies.
Do customer retention rates increase by 5% for every 1% increase in customer satisfaction?
Not exactly—but you're referencing a commonly cited stat. The idea comes from a range of studies (notably by Bain & Company) showing that:
A 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25–95% increase in profits
And a small uplift in customer satisfaction can significantly reduce churn
So while it's not a 1:5 ratio, the underlying truth is clear: satisfaction and retention are deeply linked. Even small improvements in experience, support, or personalization can lead to major gains in customer lifetime value.
What’s the difference between retention and churn?
Retention is who stays. Churn is who leaves. You want one high, the other low.
Why should I care about CRR if acquisition is strong?
Because acquiring a customer costs 5x more than retaining one. High churn burns growth.
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