# Do Companies That Add Discount Badges to Their Paywall Keep Them?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Author: Ali Abouelatta, Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Updated: July 2026
Sample size: n=1133
Category: [Does X work? Tactic-level experiment evidence pages](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/category/does-x-work-tactic-level-experiment-evidence-pages)
Tags: paywall, pricing, monetization, experiments, upsell
HTML: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-companies-keep-discount-badges-after-testing-them
Markdown: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-companies-keep-discount-badges-after-testing-them.md

**Answer.** Across 162 tracked app screens where Lazyweb Research detected a discount element being added, 147 (91%) still had it in later captures and only 15 showed a later detected removal.[1] Discounts are also the single most-touched tactic in the corpus: 1,133 of 4,814 detected experiments (24%) mention a discount, across 222 companies.[2] But 'kept it' here means no later experiment removed it, not a measured revenue lift.

> Of 162 tracked app screens where a discount element was added, 147 (91%) still showed it in later captures — Lazyweb Research, July 2026 (n=1,133 discount-touching experiments).

## The finding: discounts stick once added

Discount badges ('SAVE 20%', '% off', strikethrough sale copy) are the most frequently touched tactic in Lazyweb's experiment corpus: 1,133 of 4,814 detected before/after experiments mention a discount, spanning 222 companies.[2][3] On the persistence side, of 162 canonical screens where a discount element was *added*, only 15 later showed a detected removal — 147 (91%) kept it.[1] That is a high retention proxy relative to other tactics, but it is a proxy: 'kept it' means no later captured experiment on the same screen removed the discount, and capture cadence varies by company.

## Direction of change

Among discount-touching experiments Lazyweb could classify by direction, additions outnumber removals roughly 3.5-to-1:

| Direction | Experiments |
| --- | --- |
| Added | 238 |
| Removed | 68 |
| Mixed | 35 |
| Changed / unclassified | 792 |

Source: direction heuristic over what_changed + learning text.[4] Note that 792 of 1,133 rows could not be cleanly classified as add or remove — read the 238/68 split as 'of the classifiable changes.'

## How to apply it

If you are deciding whether to add a discount badge, the observed pattern is that peers who add one rarely walk it back (91% persistence across 162 screens).[1] But two cautions from the data: the raw '%save %' match inflates the discount bucket, and one detected example (Cartesia) *removed* its yearly-default 'SAVE 20%' toggle to re-anchor on monthly pricing for a developer audience.[5] Treat the badge as a default-on lever most peers keep, not a universal win.

## Caveats

These are detected UI diffs with LLM-inferred rationale, not measured A/B outcomes. No conversion or revenue lift is observed anywhere in this corpus.[6] Retention is a persistence proxy: absence of a later detected removal is weaker evidence than an observed removal, and the 1,133 count is 'experiments that mention a discount,' inflated by broad keyword matching.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 147 of 162 screens (91%) kept the added discount; 15 later removed | retention__discount: reversal EXISTS check on same canonical screen, tactic=discount |
| 1,133 discount-touching experiments across 222 companies | tactic_mentions__discount_badges |
| 4,814 total detected experiments | total_detected_experiments |
| 238 added / 68 removed / 35 mixed / 792 unclassified | direction_split__discount |
| Cartesia removed its yearly-default 'SAVE 20%' toggle | qualitative: discount badges, cartesia, 2026-07-04 |
| 0 measured A/B outcomes (learnings are LLM-inferred) | family universe note: learnings are LLM-inferred hypotheses, never measured results |

## Methodology

Universe: 4,814 detected before/after UI experiments across 362 companies in Lazyweb's ~800-app mobile corpus, captured 2022-10-10 to 2026-07-04. Tactic tagged by keyword match on what_changed + learning; retention is a persistence proxy (no later detected removal on the same canonical screen), not a measured A/B result. July 2026 pull.

## Visual references

Real, in-market app screens tracked by Lazyweb Research:

- Zoom: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/business1_zoom/lazyscreenshots/2024_07_20_12-08-30_89E55E02.png
- Hims: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_hims/compare/2026-01-28/1771006623919_t__-_914.PNG
- Canva: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_canva/paywall/compare/2026-05-24/1779646320851_01_02_paywall.png
- Nyt Games: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_nyt_games/paywall/compare/2026-05-29/1780027702930_00_NYTGames-20260529-040822-01.png

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. Retention proxy: of 162 screens where a discount was added, 15 showed a later detected removal.
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. 1,133 experiments mention a discount (discount / % off / save …) across 222 distinct companies.
- [3] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. Corpus of 4,814 before/after UI diffs captured 2022-10-10 to 2026-07-04.
- [4] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. Direction heuristic; 792 of 1,133 rows unclassified — publish as 'of the classifiable changes.'
- [5] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. Cartesia (2026-07-04): removed monthly/yearly toggle with yearly-default 'SAVE 20%'.
- [6] Lazyweb Research analysis of 4,814 detected experiments (362 companies, mobile-app corpus), July 2026. Learnings are LLM-inferred hypotheses about observed diffs, never measured A/B results.

## Related questions

- [Should You Add or Remove a Discount Badge? What Companies Actually Do When They Iterate?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/should-you-add-or-remove-a-discount-badge-what-companies-do)
- [How Many Detected Experiments Change CTA Copy, and What Do Apps Rewrite It To?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-many-experiments-touch-cta-copy)
- [Do Companies Keep Hero Image and Video Swaps After Testing Them?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-companies-keep-hero-media-swaps-after-testing)
- [Do Apps That Add Social Proof to Their Screens Keep It?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-apps-that-add-social-proof-keep-it)
- [How Many Detected Experiments Touch Social Proof, and What Changed?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-many-experiments-touch-social-proof)
- [Does Adding Social Proof to the Hero Actually Get Tested?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/does-social-proof-in-the-hero-get-tested)
- [Do 'Limited Time Offer' Countdown Timers Get Rolled Back?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/do-limited-time-countdown-offers-get-rolled-back)
- [How Many Detected Experiments Touch Urgency or Countdown Timers?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/how-many-experiments-touch-urgency-countdowns)

## Explore the evidence

- [Billing toggle experiment kit](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/billing-toggle-experiment-kit?utm_source=lazyweb&utm_medium=research&utm_campaign=billing-toggle-kit)
- [Cal AI annual-plan and trial presentation](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/cal-ai-paywall-annual-plan-and-trial)
- [Monthly versus annual billing toggles](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/monthly-vs-annual-billing-toggle-pricing)
- [Billing cadence versus plan tiers](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/annual-billing-toggle-vs-plan-tiers)
- [Cal AI trial-introduction screens](https://design.lazyweb.com/flow/cal-ai/onboarding-paywall)

## Continue your research

[Connect Lazyweb to your coding agent](https://www.lazyweb.com/mcp-install)