Promotions Inside Your App: Show the Terms, Not Just the Headline
Welcome offers and referral rewards are effective. They also generate the most complaints when the conditions are hidden. Design the terms into the screen.
Why offers backfire
A customer who feels misled by a promotion is more likely to complain, leave a poor review or ask for a refund. Most of that comes from conditions the customer never saw.
Put the conditions next to the number
- The amount and the requirement to unlock it, on the same line.
- Any cap on what the customer can receive.
- The expiry date, in plain words.
- Which products or actions qualify.
Split combined offers
If a headline adds together several rewards, list each part with its own condition. "Up to" figures that only one customer in a hundred reaches create disappointment.
An example of separating the parts
Pages that break a welcome offer into its components are easier to trust. For instance, this Traditional Chinese page explains a "3,000 for new members" offer by separating the sign-up part from the first-deposit part and noting how each is handled (KG娛樂城送3000). The industry is gaming; the information design applies to a coffee-shop app just as well.
Check the law
Consumer protection rules on promotions, prize draws and age-restricted products differ by country. Take advice before launching anything involving chance or money.
Revised 2026-10-20