Engine Used: Churn Engine
Product Type: Mobile content platform with trial-to-paid model
Industry: Consumer Subscription (B2C SaaS)
Metrics Moved: –38% churn at payment step, +17% trial-to-paid conversion, +21% checkout completion
B2C Subscription App: Reducing Churn at the Payment Wall
The Challenge
The product successfully drove free trial signups, but lost nearly 40% of users at the payment step. Churn hit at two critical moments: during checkout and immediately after trial expiration.
Despite strong onboarding and early engagement, users either abandoned the paywall or disappeared silently. The team had no re-engagement plan, no pre-expiry reminders, and a checkout experience that lacked trust or clarity. Conversions were stalling, and revenue was leaking at the very point it was supposed to lock in.
Our Diagnosis
The Churn Engine audit revealed friction and silence in the two most important moments:
Checkout Friction: The payment flow buried pricing options behind toggles, lacked secure checkout indicators, and ended on a generic confirmation page. Drop-off spiked on mobile.
Lifecycle Silence: There were no trial-end emails, no upgrade nudges, and no usage summaries to reinforce value. Trial users simply hit a dead end with no reason or reminder to convert.
We mapped the full churn funnel and found 3 high-impact fixes that could recover lost revenue fast.
Suggested Fixes
Rebuilt the payment UX: 2-click flow with clear pricing and trust signals
Added secure checkout visuals, social proof, and refund terms
Deployed Day 5 and Day 6 trial-end email reminders
Added a usage recap + benefits stack before paywall trigger
Introduced a win-back sequence with soft CTA + incentive offer
The Results
Checkout completion rate increased 21%
Trial-to-paid conversion rate rose 17%
Payment-step churn dropped 38%
Lifecycle win-back emails reactivated 12% of lapsed users
Net gain: $60K+ in recovered ARR within 30 days