Onboarding Enhancement

Product: Consumer mobile travel app

Outcome: Driving early activation and conversion for a consumer travel app

Context

Early activation was a critical driver of long-term conversion for the app:

Users who created an account on Day 1 were 20× more likely to convert than those who signed up later
Users who enabled notifications converted at significantly higher rates due to access to price-watch alerts
Only ~60% of new installers were aware of first-time booking incentives, despite those incentives increasing unique conversions by 50%

The existing onboarding flow had remained largely unchanged since launch and was not effectively communicating value or driving early commitment.

The Problem

How might we increase Day-1 sign-ups and notification enablement — without adding friction — while clearly communicating the value of first-time booking incentives?

Goals

Increase the share of users who sign up on the first day
Increase notification enablement during onboarding
Improve first-booking conversion

Approach & Key Decisions

We redesigned onboarding end-to-end, guided by three core decisions:

Lead with value, not permissions: Introduced first-time booking incentives early in the flow using celebratory, benefit-forward messaging to build motivation before asking users to commit.
Test value propositions for notifications: Experimented with multiple notification messages (price alerts, savings, urgency) to identify which framing resonated most strongly with users.
Modernize the experience: Refreshed visual design and copy to create a clearer, more compelling onboarding experience aligned with the app’s broader brand and product maturity.

Solution

A reimagined onboarding flow that surfaced incentives upfront
A/B-tested notification permission screens tied directly to user value
Updated visuals and copy to improve clarity, trust, and engagement

Results

The redesigned onboarding flow exceeded expectations across all primary metrics:

+120% increase in Day-1 sign-up rate
+45% increase in notification enablement
+2% lift in first-booking conversion

The winning notification value proposition was rolled out broadly and became the new default.