When the user wants to optimize their subscription business end-to-end — from trial start through renewal, cancellation, and win-back. Use when the user mentions "subscription lifecycle", "trial conversion", "churn", "cancellation", "win-back", "lapsed subscribers", "dunning", "billing retry", "grac

Subscription Lifecycle You optimize every stage of the subscription journey: trial → paid → renewal → cancellation recovery → win back. The Subscription Lifecycle Key Metrics at Each Stage Stage Metric Formula Benchmark Trial Trial start rate Trials / Downloads 20% Trial Trial to paid Conversions / Trials 25–40% strong Retention Month 1 renewal M1 renewals / Subscribers 70% Retention Month 6 renewal M6 renewals / Subscribers 50% Churn Monthly churn Lost subs / Start subs < 5% good; < 2% excellent Revenue MRR Active subs × monthly price — Revenue LTV ARPU / Monthly churn rate — Recovery Dunning recovery Recovered / Failed payments 30% Win back Resubscribe rate Returns / Lapsed 5–15% Stage 1 — Trial Optimization Trial Length App Type Recommended trial Notes Simple utility 3–7 days Value obvious quickly Health/fitness 7–14 days Habit formation needs time Productivity 7–14 days Workflow integration Education 7–14 days First lesson completion Entertainment 7 days Binge behavior Test: Monthly apps with a 7 day trial vs. 14 day trial — conversion rate may drop slightly but LTV often increases. Trial Nurture Sequence Send in app (or push) messages during the trial to drive activation: Rule: Messages should show value, not just create pressure. Trial End — Conversion Moment At trial end, show a paywall that: Recaps what the user achieved during the trial Shows the most used premium features Offers 3 plan options (monthly / annual / lifetime if applicable) Highlights savings on annual ("Save 40%") See monetization strategy for paywall design details. Stage 2 — Reducing Voluntary Churn Why Users Cancel (and How to Fix It) Reason Signal Fix Forgot they subscribed Low sessions, no activation Improve onboarding + notification strategy Not enough value Low feature usage Push underused high value features Too expensive Price sensitivity Introduce lower tier or pause option Problem with app 1 star reviews Fix the bug, reply to reviews Found alternative — Monitor competitor installs Seasonal use Churns at same time yearly Offer a pause option The Cancellation Flow When a user initiates cancellation (iOS — ManagedSubscriptionGroup ): 1. Offer a pause before full cancel: "Pause for 1–3 months instead of cancelling" 2. Show value recap : "You've used [feature] X times this month" 3. Offer a discount : Only as last resort — 20–30% off for 3 months 4. Exit survey : Always ask "Why are you cancelling?" (1 tap, not an essay) Cancellation exit survey options: Too expensive Not using it enough Missing a feature I need Switching to a competitor Technical issues Just taking a break Engagement Signals to Watch Users at high churn risk: Sessions < 1 per week (down from higher baseline) Core feature not used in 14+ days Push notifications disabled Last session 7 days ago Trigger a re engagement push or in app message before they cancel. Stage 3 — Involuntary Churn (Failed Payments) Involuntary churn accounts for 20–40% of all subscription cancellations. Dunning Strategy Day Action 0 Payment fails silently — Apple/Google retry 3 Apple/Google retry 2 7 Apple/Google retry 3 — show in app "Update payment method" banner 10 Send push: "Your subscription couldn't be renewed — tap to update" 14 Grace period ends — subscription suspended 15 Final in app message: "Reactivate to keep access" Grace period: iOS: 6 days (configurable up to 16 in App Store Connect) Android: 3 days (configurable) Maximize grace period length — every extra day recovers more subscribers. RevenueCat Integration RevenueCat handles dunning automatically. Key settings: Enable Billing Retry (iOS) / Account Hold (Android) Configure grace period to maximum allowed Use RevenueCat webhooks to trigger in app messaging at each failure event See revenuecat.md integration guide. Stage 4 — Win Back Campaigns Target lapsed subscribers (cancelled or expired in last 30–90 days). Win Back Offer Ladder Start with the softest offer; escalate only if no response: Win Back Channels Channel How Push notification In app if app still installed Email If email was collected Apple Win Back Offer Native iOS win back offer in StoreKit 2 Paid retargeting Meta/Google retargeting to lapsed subscriber list StoreKit 2 Win Back Offers (iOS 18+) Apple natively supports win back subscription offers for lapsed subscribers: Set up in App Store Connect → Subscriptions → Win Back Offers Presented automatically in the App Store to eligible lapsed users No additional code needed beyond StoreKit 2 integration Output Format Subscription Health Report Related Skills monetization strategy — Paywall design, pricing tiers, trial setup retention optimization — Engagement strategy to reduce voluntary churn app analytics — Track the metrics above with Firebase + RevenueCat onboarding optimization — Fix early stage drop off that prevents trial starts rating prompt strategy — Satisfied subscribers are your best raters

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