Discounted first week as an intro offer: +20% revenue
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsFlibbo tested an introductory offer, a heavily discounted first week followed by normal pricing, and saw revenue rise 20%.
The AI tools app ran the test against its earlier winner, discounted weekly and yearly plans with no free trial.
The result was published as a Superwall case study.
- Revenue: +20% with the intro offer.
- The exact discount, prices and how revenue was measured were not shared.
- Conversion rate, renewal rate and refunds were not shared.
The change
A cheap first week, then normal price, replaces the upfront discount
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Discounted weekly and yearly plans sold upfront with no free trial. This had won an earlier test against a 3-day free trial.
Variant
An introductory offer: the first week at a heavily discounted rate, then the plan renews at its normal price.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A paid first week asks for a small commitment but still filters out people with no intent to pay, unlike a free trial.
- Users who renew after the cheap week pay full price, so revenue can grow even with the deep first-week discount.
- For a new app, a low entry price may lower the risk of trying unfamiliar AI tools.
Caveats: The control is described only loosely, and the discount size, sample size, duration and significance were not shared. Superwall sells the paywall and testing tool used here, and its published case studies can lean positive.
Who ran it
Flibbo ran this test. Source: Superwall case study. The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
How to run this test on your app
- Hypothesis
- If we charge a heavily discounted first week before normal pricing, then revenue per install will rise because more people start paying while renewals happen at full price.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per install (or proceeds per user) over at least the first renewal
- Guardrails
- Renewal rate after week one
- Refund rate
- Paywall conversion rate
- Who should test it
- Apps selling weekly plans, especially new AI or utility apps where users want to try before paying full price. It fits less well for apps that already convert well with a free trial.
Questions
Is a paid intro offer better than a free trial?
For Flibbo, upfront discounted plans had already beaten a 3-day free trial, and the intro offer then beat those.
Other apps may see a different order, so test it.
How deep should the first-week discount be?
Flibbo did not share its discount. Test two or three levels and judge them on revenue after renewal, not on first purchases.
What should we watch after the cheap week ends?
Watch the renewal rate into full price and refund requests.
A big drop at renewal can wipe out the early gain.
Similar tests
Superwall