Conversion Rates of In-App Purchases Compared to Web Purchases on iOS ⇥ revenuecat.com

Jacob Eiting, of RevenueCat:

Turns out, in-app purchases are good for conversion rates. In fact, at least 30% better. That’s one of the things we found while running the first large-scale, side-by-side test of in-app vs web purchases in history.

[…]

The initial conversion rate for variant B is between 27% and 30%, while the equivalent web flow in variant D is between 17% and 19%. This is a large decrease, a 25% to 45% relative drop between the two. Digging into the funnel, most of that drop occurs from the payment sheet through to purchase. That’s a lot of fall off.

This is limited data, but maybe one reason In-App Purchases convert better is because Apple says other means of purchasing must be kneecapped.

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch:

[…] Last week, the Patreon iOS app (version 125.5.0) added an option that let users pay via the web using a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, Venmo, PayPal, and even Apple Pay.

These options appeared within an in-app browser, providing a more seamless checkout experience for Patreon users. Now, Patreon’s checkout flow opens in an external browser instead — a change Patreon made based on Apple’s feedback.

Again, it is worth emphasizing this approach is just for digital goods purchases and remains U.S.-only. Apple has no problem with people entering their credit card details from within Amazon’s app, but apparently a browser sheet offers an experience too straightforward for users buying Patreon subscriptions.