Web vs in-app subscriptions: Web subscriptions result in 6% drop in takehome revenue

The experiment aimed to compare web versus in-app purchase (IAP) flows for subscriptions, revealing that while web purchase options may result in stickier subscribers, they significantly decrease initial conversion rates. After three weeks of testing with different variants (B, C, and D) using the Dipsea app, it was found that web-only purchase options reduced the trial start rate due to the added friction of an external checkout process. The IAP-only variant achieved a higher initial conversion rate at 27%, whereas web-only was at 18.1%. Although web subscribers showed a slightly higher trial-to-paid conversion rate, the reduction in initial conversions led to fewer overall paying customers compared to IAP. A dual-option variant (IAP + web) offered some balance, providing a slightly better trial conversion rate but not significantly boosting overall pay conversion. Revenue per user was lower with web-only purchases, although the gap narrowed after accounting for reduced fees. The study concluded that while introducing web purchase options could improve subscriber quality, it also presents challenges in terms of lower initial conversions and overall revenue, suggesting that developers should carefully weigh these trade-offs and consider running their own experiments to optimize purchase flows.