Retention Is the New ROI

What 15 Years of Retention Data Tells Us About LuckyDiem’s Power to Drive Incremental Sales

At LuckyDiem, we’re in the business of measurable marketing — delivering performance and retention through Card-Linked Offers (CLOs) that integrate directly into financial apps used by millions of consumers. But beyond performance, there’s a deeper question we help brands answer:

Can you retain the customers you acquire — and do they grow in value over time?

A recent piece by a16z partner Andrew Chen dives into retention curves and how they define whether a product or strategy will thrive or fail. We believe LuckyDiem and CLOs pass this test with flying colors — and here’s why.

💡 CLOs Solve for the #1 Challenge in Marketing: Retention

According to Chen, “you can’t fix bad retention.” Most digital ad strategies pour money into acquisition but fail to keep consumers engaged. This is especially true for platforms like Google and Meta, which rely heavily on third-party data, cookie-based tracking, and one-time conversions.

LuckyDiem flips that script.

By partnering directly with banks and fintechs, our CLOs are fueled by first-party, deterministic data — which means:

• We know exactly when a user made a purchase

• We tie that purchase directly to an offer they saw

• We automatically reward them with no codes or uploads required

This creates a retention flywheel. Once a user sees how easy it is to earn real rewards — and gets that first surprise cashback — they come back. Again and again.

🔁 Revenue Retention > User Retention

Not every user becomes a daily loyalist. That’s okay. What matters is that those who stay tend to spend more. This is exactly what LuckyDiem sees with top retail clients:

• Consumers who activate one offer go on to redeem across multiple merchants.

• High-frequency categories like QSR, grocery, and fuel perform especially well.

• The revenue per retained user consistently expands over time.

It’s a perfect example of what Chen calls the magic of revenue retention.

🧩 Retention Is Relative to Use Case — CLO Fits the Moment

Another takeaway from the essay is that retention is tied to how a product fits into a user’s life. A hotel booking app won’t be used every day — but that doesn’t make it a bad product.

CLOs shine because they meet consumers where they already are:

• In their banking apps

• While checking card statements

• During moments of purchase intent

By offering frictionless, embedded value in a channel consumers trust, LuckyDiem becomes part of their financial behavior — not a separate app they have to remember to open.

🛠️ Churn is Asymmetric — and CLO Reduces Friction

Once a user churns from a rewards program, it’s hard to get them back. But LuckyDiem’s "set it and forget it" CLO model makes churn unlikely:

• No logins, no browser extensions

• No need to remember promo codes

• Offers are redeemed just by paying with a card

That’s the definition of low-friction engagement — and it’s why CLO has some of the highest re-engagement rates in retail marketing.

🚀 Viral Growth is Meaningless Without Retention

Chen warns: "Crazy viral growth with bad retention always fails." With CLO, we start with the bottom of the funnel. There’s no fluff — just real purchases tracked and rewarded.

That’s why leading brands use LuckyDiem not as a “top-of-funnel awareness tool,” but as a performance engine that:

• Acquires new customers

• Drives repeat visits

• Proves incrementality

In a world where most ad platforms are guessing, LuckyDiem delivers proof.

🎯 The Big Idea: Retention Is the New ROI

Retention is not just a KPI — it’s the core indicator of marketing efficiency. With LuckyDiem, brands don’t have to hope for retention. It’s built into the model:

• Deterministic data ensures accurate attribution

• Closed-loop measurement ensures you only pay for results

• Embedded activation ensures seamless consumer experience

That’s why CLOs work — and why LuckyDiem is the most efficient way to grow your business.

Want to learn more?

Let's talk about how LuckyDiem can help your brand drive measurable results and high-value repeat customers. Contact us today at info@luckydiem.com.