A strong product can still lose trust with a bad exit
Adobe received the lowest churn grade even though Photoshop, Acrobat, and Illustrator remain strong products. The problem was not that the tools became worse. The problem was the cancellation process.
A popular plan is billed monthly but is actually an annual contract, so it can look like a month-to-month plan. Customers who cancel during the first year owe an equal to 50% of the remaining contract amount. That condition was placed in fine print and small hover details, so many customers only noticed it when they tried to cancel.
The cancellation path included hidden buttons, another password check, offers, surveys, warnings, phone prompts, dropped chats, and long waits. One customer even emailed Adobe’s CEO to ask how to cancel. The FTC and DOJ sued Adobe in June 2024, and the case settled in March 2026.
Key points
- A strong product can still create churn risk if cancellation feels unfair.
- Monthly on an annual contract must be explained clearly.
- An should never be hidden in fine print.
- s should avoid unnecessary steps, pressure, and delays.
- Hard exits are a trust problem, not a real strategy.