New User Subscription Flow
New users rarely purchased the monthly premium pass in their first month, leaving a major revenue gap. I led the launch of the Welcome Pass, a short, lower-priced subscription that gave new users an achievable first win and guided them into premium content.
Role
UI/UX Designer
Teams
UX, PM, Dev
Duration
12 Weeks
Platforms
Mobile, Tablet
TL;DR
Only 0.6% of new users purchased the monthly premium pass in their first month.
This created a major revenue gap during onboarding, the most critical time for conversion. Data showed that while engaged users often purchased in their second month, the first month was a lost opportunity. Confusing UI and poor product value left new users with little reason to buy.
Welcome Pass, a 7-day subscription tailored for new users.
The Welcome Pass is a 7-day subscription built only for new users. It's priced lower with smaller thresholds, making it feel more achievable for new users. It is offered together with the monthly Garden Pass, giving users the choice to buy one, both, or neither.
The Welcome Pass doubled early conversion and grew new-user revenue by 5%.
Within three months, conversion rose from 0.6% to 1.2%, with more new users purchasing a pass. Weekly active users increased by 3%, showing stronger early retention.
Garden Joy is a simulation mobile game where players design outdoor spaces using virtual decor, plants, and landscaping elements to complete themed challenges and earn rewards.
Garden Pass: a monthly battle-pass system that rewards consistent play with in-game items.
Each month, Garden Pass offers two tracks: a free track and a premium track unlocked via purchase. Users complete design Challenges to progress along the pass to unlock rewards. The pass resets monthly, creating urgency for players to engage consistently throughout the month to maximize value.
Only 0.6 % of new users purchased the Garden Pass in their first month.
Data and qualitative feedback showed that while highly engaged users often purchased the Garden Pass in their second month, the month they joined was a major revenue loss.
This low conversion indicated two issues:
We needed a solution that would capture early revenue and simplify the Garden Pass experience.
I explored several solutions, but none were without problematic trade-offs.
I began by addressing the perceived poor value of the Garden Pass, focusing first on potential pricing and progression solutions that could make the premium track feel worthwhile without undercutting revenue or disrupting the in-game economy. I explored three main solutions: prorated rewards, discounted late-month pricing, and reduced Challenge thresholds.
These ideas didn't fully addressed clarity, fairness, and revenue preservation, but were valuable for understanding the trade-offs.
Exploration 1: Prorated Rewards
Exploration 2: Discounted Late-Month Pricing
Exploration 3: Reduced Challenge Threshold
We introduced the Welcome Pass:
a 7-day, new-user-only subscription.
Validating the concept before investing in visual polish.
I created early mocks to explore flows and UI, emphasizing clarity and simplicity. The goal was to validate and test the concept with UXR before investing more time in visual polish.
Building an MVP to confirm that the Welcome Pass would increase early engagement and revenue.
We built an MVP using the existing Garden Pass system, adding only a simple confirmation pop-up. This allowed us test the purchase intent through user interviews and A/B tests, while also gathering feedback on rewards, pricing, and clarity.
The concept worked, but the confirmation pop up was causing friction.
New users responded well to an early, achievable win, which boosted engagement. However, drop-off at the confirmation pop-up suggests confusion between the two passes. Even though the idea worked, the entry flow and UI still need refinement.
Streamlining the UI reduced friction, clarified progression, and highlighted the value of the Welcome Pass.
The Welcome Pass turned a broken funnel into a high-performing growth driver.
Three months post-launch, we saw promising results from the Welcome Pass. The feature not only addressed the initial revenue gap but also strengthened early engagement and retention.