Offering Discounts via In App Purchase

Posted by Tyler Spraul, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) on September 10, 2020 — Updated on September 10, 2020

There are a few ways to offer discounts for in app purchases: Promo Codes, Discounting via Price Changes, and Introductory Offers. Each option is unique, so make sure to review each one before deciding on how you want to proceed.

Why We Recommend Stripe Coupons

We recommend creating coupons within your Dashboard to offer discounts because it works for both iPhone + Android customers and gives a lot more tracking and customization options on the back end, whereas Apple does not allow you to see / edit / refund specific accounts with purchases made via In App Purchase.

Discount via Promo Codes

Promo Codes can grant free lifetime access to one-time-purchase programs, OR one month of free access for a subscription, but keep in mind that subscriptions will not renew automatically, because these are designed to be used for press reviews.

When customers redeem in-app purchase promo codes, the app will automatically download if the app is free and not currently installed on their device. Customers aren’t able to rate or review an app that was downloaded using a promo code.

Codes are valid for four weeks from the day they’re generated. You can provide up to 100 promo codes for each in-app purchase product, with a limit of 1,000 total codes for all in-app purchases for an app every six months (resetting on January 1 and July 1).

Here is Apple’s guide for Promo Codes: Promo Codes Overview

Here’s how customers can redeem their codes:
1. Open App Store
2. Open your account page by tapping on your profile image
3. Tap Redeem Gift Cards or Code
4. Tap to enter the code manually
5. Enter your code and Redeem it

Discount via Price Changes

You can set up discounted pricing within App Store Connect for one-time-purchase programs as well as subscriptions.

To accomplish this, you can navigate to the In App Purchases section of App Store connect, and click to Plan a Price Change for the In App Purchase that you want to adjust. You can set the start & end dates (if any) and the new price.

Here’s Apple’s Guide for Purchase Pricing: Pricing Setup Overview

Introductory Offers:

You can offer a discounted price or a free trial to new subscribers of a subscription so they can join at a discounted rate before renewing at the full rate.

To accomplish this, you can navigate to the In App Purchases section of App Store connect, and click to Create an Introductory Offer for the subscription that you want to adjust. You can set the start & end dates (if any) and the custom introductory offer.

There are three types of introductory offers: free trial (no payment required to start, then automatically renew once trial ends), pay up front (pay a single amount to get in, then automatically renew at the regular rate after a custom time period), and pay as you go (pay a discounted rate for a custom time period, then automatically renew at the regular rate). You can choose the length of the introductory offer based on the standard subscription duration.

Here’s Apple’s Guide for Introductory Offers: Introductory Offers Overview

Now you know how to offer discounts through In App Purchase!

Tyler Spraul is the director of UX and the head trainer for Exercise.com. He has his Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medicine and is an NSCA-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®). He is a former All-American soccer player and still coaches soccer today. In his free time, he enjoys reading, learning, and living the dad life.