Retention tech

Retention tech I’m so excited about!

By Audrey Gottlieb · Updated November 2026

Ready to modernize your stack?

Record retention rates rarely come from one big change. They come from removing friction at every step of the customer journey — and increasingly, from the tools you choose to do it with.

A core part of my work is modernizing a company’s MarTech stack: auditing what you have, finding the gaps, and introducing the right tools so your team can do things it simply couldn’t before — from AI-ready segmentation to real-time GEO reporting. I’ve rebuilt brands’ stacks in ways that are still in use today, and I keep a close eye on what’s next.

These are the companies I’m most excited about right now, organized by the retention problem each one solves.

Disclosure: I have no paid relationship with any company listed.

Perception

Peec AI

The problem

You don’t know what’s stopping customers from buying from you, why they’re choosing other brands, or what’s preventing them from staying with yours.

What it does

Surfaces the objections customers have about your brand, quickly and objectively. You can see exact volume, across generative search platforms in aggregate. You can easily and literally do a “double click” to identify your next best action.

Why it matters for retention

An objection found early is a cancellation prevented. Yes, you should always have a powerful cancellation flow. But the goal is to always prevent customers from even getting into it, and instead having your cancellation flow there as an effective backstop.

UnlocksAn always-on, objective read on brand perception across AI search

Best forBrands that want a faster read on customer perception than surveys or reviews can give

Reach

BirdseyePost

The problem

Inboxes are getting smarter and more crowded, so email no longer guarantees anyone sees your message.

What it does

Personalized direct mail for Shopify brands. It includes automatic postcards for events like cart abandonment or sign-up, and QR codes that bring recipients back into your email and SMS flows.

Why it matters for retention

In a digital world full of AI, direct mail is making a comeback as a channel that guarantees eyes on your message, where email no longer can, while still offering strong segmentation.

UnlocksA guaranteed-attention channel that plugs into your existing email and SMS segments

Best forWin-back and high-value customer reactivation

Subscription friction

Zaymo

The problem

Every extra page or login between a subscriber and “skip this order” is a chance they’ll cancel instead.

What it does

Lets subscribers skip, delay, swap or reactivate orders directly inside the email, with one tap and no login. It works with subscription platforms such as Recharge, Skio and Stay, via Klaviyo.

Why it matters for retention

I’ve seen firsthand how much ease of subscription management drives churn — it was one of three fixes behind a 43% churn reduction in one quarter → Zaymo takes the extra pages and clicks out of the process entirely.

UnlocksSubscription management with no extra pages, logins or clicks

Best forSubscription brands with high skip, pause or cancellation rates

Channel blind spots

Brij

The problem

Omni-channel brands treat each channel as a silo, so they never see the full customer, or what their marketing spend actually drives.

What it does

Turns anonymous retail shoppers into known customers through QR codes on packaging and in stores, connecting retail buyers with your DTC data.

Why it matters for retention

For any omni-channel brand, this is a no-brainer. It moves you to more accurate attribution of your marketing performance and spend, and gives you a better read on customer behaviour across every channel.

UnlocksOne view of the customer across retail and DTC, and attribution you can trust

Best forBrands selling in both retail and DTC, or launching a DTC channel alongside retail

MarTech stack modernization

Tools are only half the story

A new tool won’t fix retention on its own. The value comes from choosing the right one for your biggest leak, integrating it with your existing stack, and changing how your team works to take advantage of it. That’s where most stack upgrades stall — and where I come in.

Start with your biggest retention leak — perception (Peec AI), reach (BirdseyePost), subscription friction (Zaymo) or channel blind spots (Brij)
Then pilot one tool against one metric for 30–60 days, and scale only what moves the number

Ready to modernize your stack and rethink your approach to retention?

Let’s talk →