Apple has introduced a new subscription retention feature that allows app developers to show messages and special offers to users as they go through the process of cancelling a subscription.
Announced on Wednesday, the feature enables developers to display retention messages within the App Store subscription cancellation flow. These can include text, images or special offers designed to encourage subscribers to stay.
Developers can offer discounts before cancellation
Developers can configure retention messages through App Store Connect for auto-renewable subscriptions. They can also set eligibility criteria to determine which subscribers see particular messages and specify how much time must pass before a user can receive another message.
Apple has also introduced a separate Retention Messaging API, allowing developers to select messages based on individual subscribers’ subscription details. Access to the API is available by request.
The update means App Store users may encounter discounts or other incentives, alongside messages highlighting reasons to maintain a subscription, before completing the cancellation process.
The feature gives developers another way to retain subscribers at the point when they are considering leaving a service.
