Object persistence refers to the ability of an object in programming to maintain its state and data even after the program that created it has ended. This is crucial for applications that need to save user data, such as databases or file systems. By storing objects in a persistent storage medium, developers can retrieve and manipulate them later, ensuring continuity in user experience. In many programming languages, object persistence is achieved through techniques like serialization, where an object's state is converted into a format that can be easily stored and retrieved. Common formats for serialization include JSON and XML. This allows complex data structures to be saved and restored, facilitating data management in software applications.