What is your stickiness metrics really saying?

Stickiness is a commonly used engagement metric by product managers and investors to assess the frequency with which users interact with an app, often calculated using the DAU/MAU ratio popularized by Facebook. However, despite its prevalence, the metric can be misleading if not understood in context, as different sets of data can yield the same stickiness results, which may not fully capture the user behavior or the app's inherent qualities. The article discusses various examples to illustrate how stickiness ratios can result from different user engagement patterns, emphasizing that a high stickiness ratio might not always equate to a successful product. It argues that while stickiness can provide insights, it should be complemented with additional metrics and contextual analysis to truly understand user behavior and make informed product decisions. The author, Joseph Pacheco, highlights the importance of delving deeper into raw engagement data to obtain a comprehensive view, rather than relying solely on stickiness as a one-size-fits-all metric.