We experimented with a very generous web refund and win‑back flow: instant partial refunds and time‑limited discount offers for churned users. The surprising bit was not only the short term finance cost but the brand lift. Users who received a quick refund often returned later and had higher reactivation rates than those who went through standard in‑app refunds.
Operationally this required tracking purchase origin, automating refunds through our gateway, and measuring the downstream LTV of refunded users. It was cheap to test by running the flow only on a small percentage of churned users.
Has anyone else balanced short term refund cost against long term LTV gains? What metrics did you watch?
We tried instant refunds on a small cohort. It cost some money but net LTV improved because those users came back at a higher rate.
Automate refunds through your gateway and write the outcome to the order record. I used a small webhook listener and a JSON payload to keep records clean.
Refunds are a growth lever if you treat them as experiments. We ran an A/B test. The refund group had higher NPS and higher 90 day reactivation. That offset the refund cost in sustained revenue.
Measure reactivation rate, repeat purchases, and support load. Automate the flow so you can scale the test quickly.
We offered a simple 30 day web refund. Users were happier and some returned.
Keep the win back offer simple. Too many options confuse people.
Refunds raised trust. Test small cohorts.
Treat refunds and win‑backs as retention levers you can A/B. Track cohort LTV forward for at least 90 days. Key metrics: cost of refund, reactivation rate, and incremental revenue per refunded user. If the reactivation rate and subsequent purchases outweigh the refund cost, it is a net positive.
Automate the refund path so it is immediate. Slow refunds kill the effect. Also track NPS and support tickets to quantify brand impact.
We saw 18 percent higher 60 day retention in the refunded cohort. Worth running.
I watched reactivation rate and successive purchases. Those mattered most.
Keep the refund UI clear. Confusing flows create tickets.