DropoffRate

DropoffRate is a metric used in analytics to quantify the share of participants who discontinue a process at a given point. It is commonly applied to conversion funnels, onboarding sequences, surveys, and content consumption paths. Dropoff rate can be measured at individual steps of a funnel or over a time window, depending on the analysis.

Calculation typically follows a step-based approach. The dropoff rate at step i is calculated as the number of users who start step i but do not proceed to step i+1, divided by the number of users who start step i. Expressed as a percentage, it indicates the proportion of users who abandon the process at that step. Completion rate and conversion rate are related concepts, with dropoff rate often summing to 100 percent across steps in a closed funnel.

Common contexts include e-commerce checkout funnels, onboarding sequences, form submissions, and multimedia consumption. For videos, a related notion is the video drop-off or viewer retention, which tracks when viewers stop watching before the end or at specific timestamps.

Interpreting dropoff requires attention to methodology. Definitions of “start” and “complete” can affect results, and measurements may be influenced by sample size, cross-device activity, and timing. Dropoff should be analyzed alongside other metrics such as overall conversion, average time to completion, and user cohort trends to identify friction points and opportunities for improvement.

Strategies to reduce dropoff include simplifying steps, reducing required fields, improving clarity and guidance, providing progress indicators, shortening processes, and conducting A/B tests to evaluate changes.