The offerwall is one of the fastest growing tools in the mobile app ecosystem - for both monetization and user acquisition - yet some developers are hesitant to add it to their ad unit monetization strategy. But this is often due to assumptions that are no longer relevant, or not even true.

Let’s break down and debunk the most common misconceptions developers have about offerwall.

Misconception #1: Offerwalls cannibalize IAPs

By giving users an alternative way to get premium content outside the in-app store, some app developers think offerwalls will demotivate them from making in-app purchases - but data shows that offerwalls have the opposite effect. Let’s remind ourselves of the target audience for offerwalls: users who are highly engaged in the game but prefer to invest their time rather than money to advance further. Despite this preference, by giving these highly engaged, non-paying users a “taste” of premium content, developers can significantly improve their retention, help users progress deeper into the game, and ultimately improve the chances of them becoming paying users. 

Tapas, for example, wanted to diversify their monetization strategy beyond in-app purchases, since the paywall often causes churn. When they tested the Tapjoy offerwall and its optimization tools, they immediately saw their eCPM jump by over 30% - and their revenue jumped over 20x.

Misconception #2: Offerwalls negatively impact retention

We’ve heard claims that offerwalls send users to other games and they don’t come back. However, a good offerwall strategy does exactly the opposite. Our statistics show that retention among offerwall users is 40% higher than non-offerwall users, at the D7, D14, and D30 marks.

Offerwalls keep users playing the game for longer - instead of just quitting once they’re out of resources, users can access the offerwall to get the premium content they need to continue playing. The fact they commit to a time-consuming task reinforces their desire to return to the game and reap the rewards, ultimately increasing retention. 

For example, when Nexters tested increasing a new offerwall exchange rate, they had the same concern. By using Tapjoy offerwall’s A/B testing tool, however, they could confirm, without any risk, that this new offerwall exchange rate had no impact on churn - and they managed to boost their eCPM 50%. 

The table below, based on data from Kongregate, demonstrates the offerwall's positive impact on retention in two midcore games. From D1 to D90, users who engage with offerwalls have significantly higher retention rates compared to users who do not.

Misconception #3: Users get frustrated by offerwalls' poor UX and leave your app

In the early years, offerwalls did not always offer the best user experience and at times, users would return to the gameplay frustrated by the experience. But as we’ve developed product improvements and the quality of advertisers has increased, the offerwall UX has improved significantly. Rather than driving users out of your app, users that convert in the offerwall and engage actually have higher session frequency. According to our data, users who engage increase their play frequency by 1.6x.

Let’s look at this in greater detail:

Quality advertisers, quality offers

Some developers still worry that advertisers’ offers will be similar to the low quality surveys of the early offerwall days. But nowadays, users get a range of direct-to-consumer offers, like reaching a certain in-game level, unlocking a character, or making an in-app purchase - all from high quality advertisers. This diversity of options increases the users’ experience, and it’s an important reason why the offerwall is such a popular ad unit among users - and helps maximize developers’ revenue.

A multi-reward system

To maximize conversions for their event, advertisers are able to optimize each step of the offerwall user flow - including the steps in the offer itself. With multi-reward CPE campaigns, users get a more engaging experience by completing multiple offers to earn multiple rewards - which means a better user experience and higher retention. Not to mention, when users leave the offer, they can see where they left off with the progress bar - and see just how close they are to reaching their next reward. 

This way, developers can rest assured that their users will go through a positive UX flow, and that they won’t close the offerwall frustrated or disappointed. 

Misconception #4: Offerwalls won't make a difference in my ad monetization strategy

Finally, and most importantly, some developers believe a combination of user-initiated rewarded video ads and system-initiated ad units, like banners and interstitials, is ample when it comes to ad unit monetization. However, savvy monetization managers understand why offerwalls are not just a luxury or peripheral ad unit, but a central part of any monetization strategy. 

Strong demand from advertisers, who are reaping the benefits of the CPE bidding model to acquire high quality users at scale through offerwalls, means the offerwall represents a significant incremental revenue stream for developers. According to our data, the average eCPM for offerwall in the US in 2023 is a whopping $295 - which is 16 times higher than eCPMS from video ads. 

For example, not only did Nexters boost their eCPM 50% with the Tapjoy offerwall, but by optimizing their monetization strategy, they increased their revenue 40%. Essentially, implementing and optimizing the offerwall only helped to complement their monetization strategy. 

Best in class customer support

The earliest versions of offerwalls had little-to-no customer support functions, so if the user ran into any bugs - like not receiving their reward after completing an offer - they would have to get in contact with the developer and/or leave a negative review on the app store.

Today, if users experience any bugs, the Tapjoy offerwall has a button for users to easily access our internal customer support team. Not to mention, this team also closely communicates with developers and advertisers to guarantee a smooth flow for all stakeholders. 

To learn how to get started with the Tapjoy offerwall, check out our tips, or get in contact with your account manager.