24% Conversion Increase for Golf Mobile App after Optimizing Trial-to-Paid Membership Funnel

Key Takeaway

By reducing the steps required for users to progress from free trial to paid membership, we streamlined the conversion funnel, resulting in a 24% increase in conversion rate and a 40% increase in average revenue per user. This approach balanced intuitive, emotional decision-making (System 1 thinking) with logical, in-depth analysis (System 2 thinking), ensuring a seamless and engaging user experience.

24%

conversion rate

40%

average revenue per user

Client Overview

SwingU is a top-rated golf app providing rangefinding, scorekeeping, and performance insights for over 7 million users worldwide. The platform enhances the golfing experience with precise shot tracking and strategic play guidance, making it a trusted companion for golfers of all levels.

Opportunity Background

SwingU's app required users to complete multiple steps to upgrade from a free trial to a paid plan. Although a previous experiment had reduced the original four-step funnel to three steps by merging the promotion and plan selection pages, drop-offs still occurred. These findings presented an opportunity to optimize the funnel further by reducing steps, clarifying messaging, and simplifying decision-making to encourage faster progression.

Note:

This experiment builds on our earlier upgrade to the screen redesign (see case study here) to help users better understand the value of subscription plans. In this follow-up, we shifted our focus from communicating value to optimizing the funnel.

Solution

Quantitative research and session recordings revealed inefficiencies in the process and highlighted key friction points. Users found the upgrade pop-up redundant and unclear, with repetitive messages and confusing calls to action. The distinction between Free, Plus, and Pro plans wasn't communicated early enough, leading to confusion and increased cognitive load. The multi-step process required too many actions, which discouraged conversions.

To address these issues, we made targeted changes to improve user engagement and progress, including:

Collapsed funnel steps
We replaced the original Upgrade Pop-up with a redesigned comparison table page, merging the promotion and plan selection steps. This reduced the funnel from three steps to two, minimizing user actions and lowering cognitive load.
Enhanced comparison table UI
We introduced a dropdown UI for the comparison table, allowing users to toggle between a simplified view of key features and a detailed breakdown of all plan benefits. This design appealed to both quick decision-makers and users seeking in-depth analysis.
Fear of loss messaging
To drive urgency, we added dynamic elements, such as displaying the total number of active users, creating a sense of competition and fear of missing out on exclusive benefits.
Improved visual hierarchy
Key features of the most desirable plans were positioned above the fold in the collapsed table view, ensuring they were immediately visible and compelling to users.

Before

After

Results

The streamlined funnel delivered statistically significant improvements:

+24%increase

in Conversion Rate

+40%increase

in average revenue per user

+13%increase

in average revenue per paying user

These results demonstrated the effectiveness of reducing funnel steps, simplifying decision-making, and leveraging dynamic visuals to engage users emotionally and logically.