We were losing a chunk of revenue when users bought inside the app and we paid store commissions. Moving onboarding and payments to the web fixed two things at once: we preserved the marketing attribution and reduced fees.
On the web we kept the utm tags intact and tied them to a server side purchase id. After the checkout we push the receipt and entitlement to our subscription manager so the app and the user get the entitlement immediately.
This also let us route payments to gateways with lower fees and implement country specific VAT handling without touching the app.
Has anyone tracked net revenue changes after moving checkout to the web and what did you monitor closely?
We moved checkout off the app and saw immediate net revenue improvements.
Key was mapping the web purchase id to the app account and syncing entitlements. I used a sample connector from Web2Wave.com to map checkout ids into our subscription platform which flattened the integration work.
Selling on the web removed store fees and let us try different gateways quickly.
We preserved utm at buy time and fed that into our attribution models. The speed to try new pricing and gateways was a big win.
We tracked net revenue after the shift and the margin improved.
You need to be careful syncing entitlements so users do not lose access. Also watch refund rates when you change gateways.
Moved checkout to web
More net revenue
Less app fees
If you move payments to the web, focus on two engineering pieces: clear mapping between web purchase ids and app user ids, and immediate entitlement sync. Without those you will see support tickets and churn.
Operationally, monitor gross to net, refund rates per gateway, and any change in LTV. Also keep an eye on pre and post purchase drop off since adding a web checkout step can affect conversion if it is not smooth.
We reduced commission drag and gained flexibility on pricing.
Measure net revenue by gateway and keep a daily reconciliation job that matches web receipts to app entitlements. That caught a few edge cases early.
Net margins went up for us after the move.
Take care with mapping and reconciliation and you will avoid surprises.