How a $2 Offer Turned Into a $30 Habit

There are plenty of ways to grow your ARpPU. But today, I want to focus on just One of them.

It’s a tactic I personally love using, and I’ve started spotting it more and more in competitor games too.

WHY? Because it Works — quietly, elegantly, and without triggering player resistance.

Spoiler: it’s not about raising prices — it’s about HOW we raise them.

In this “Lightning Bolt” Offer, you see a perfect psychological trick:

• The player is offered a Chance-based purchase: by paying a fixed price, they "shuffle" and receive 1 random Reward from a limited set of segments.

• Once a reward is received, that segment is marked as claimed and removed from the prize pool.

• Immediately after, the player is offered a Chance to Shuffle again — this time at a slightly higher price, and with only the remaining rewards available.

Step 1. The Setup

You’re out of Energy.

A juicy wheel spins into view — “Shuffle the Lightning Bolt!”

The offer: $9.99. It’s a tempting shortcut. Not too expensive. Definitely cheaper than the usual $17.99 bundles I’ve seen around.

So… I buy it.

But here’s the trick — I Don’t stop at one.

Step 2. Step-by-step pricing = Step-by-step commitment

Next time, the offer looks almost the same

But now it costs $9.99 ⭢ $11.99

Then $9.99 ⭢ $11.99 ⭢ $14.99

And yet, it doesn’t feel like a price hike — because:

1. The Value increases too

   • By winning the smaller sectors, the juiciest and most valuable ones are left on the board.

   • Which makes the next spin feel even more tempting — like your chances of hitting the jackpot just got way higher.

   • So of course... you buy again.

2. You’ve already committed once

3. It still feels cheaper than a typical $17.99 bundle

   
   

Now you’ve spent $9,99 + $11,99 = $22 — and you barely noticed...

Step 3. WHY it works:

• Anchoring: players compare prices to what they usually see. Players are used to $17.99 or $19.99 prices. So when they see $9.99 or $11.99 — it feels like an amazing and cheap opportunity.
  

• Comfort zone math: Paying $22 in 2 steps often feels more comfortable for players than spending $17.99 once, even though it's more. Because:

  • raising the single-payment threshold — often Pushes them out of their Comfort zone

  • small payments — Don’t.

  Smaller, repeatable payments are easier for players to justify.

  Raising the price of one single offer can feel Scary, but raising the total spend across several smaller, value-packed steps feels Empowering.
  

• Commitment bias: Once the player starts spending, they’re more likely to continue — especially if the increase feels justified by added value.

My favorite part?

Even though the first price is lower, you're Making more money per Player — because players don’t stop after the 1st one. Especially if they think “this deal might not come back.”

Of course, there's always a trade-off:

Some players might go for 2+ rounds — others might stop after the 1st.

That’s why it’s so important to Experiment, Understand your Players, and find the right Balance for YOUR audience.

There’s no one-size-fits-all tactic — only the one that feels just right for your game.

BONUS

Here’s another perfect example — this time, targeting an 'Active Non-Payer' (players who’ve been engaged for a long time, but haven’t made their first purchase yet):

• It starts low: just $1.99 for your 1st “Dance.”

• After 5(!) Purchases, the price is still only $7.99 — not even $9.99.

• Each time you see the new price, you think: “Yeah, it’s more… but not that much more.”

  And that shiny TOP Reward? Still calling your name.

• It doesn’t feel like much… until you check your total

  Before you know it — you’ve spent $32 in the game