Platform: Stripe Billing

Cramly increased ARR by 8% switching from Stripe retries to Redux

Learn how Cramly used Redux to recover 134% more revenue than Stripe Billing's smart retries

8%

ARR lift

+134%

increase in recovered revenue

0 hours

Dev time

Cramly increased ARR by 8% switching from Stripe retries to Redux

8%

ARR lift

+134%

increase in recovered revenue

0 hours

Dev time
"We were using Stripe’s smart retries, but honestly had no idea how much we were leaving on the table. Once we turned on Redux, it was night and day. No manual work, it just ran quietly in the background and started recovering way more revenue. Our users had a smoother experience, and we didn’t have to lift a finger. We absolutely love it."

Mason Kennedy

Founder, Cramly

ABOUT

Cramly is an AI-powered writing assistant built for students. It helps users generate long-form essays with citations, solve multiple-choice questions, and create personalized study materials.

With over 1 million users worldwide, Cramly has become a go-to tool for students seeking to enhance their academic performance.

CHALLENGE

Despite its rapid growth, Cramly faced significant revenue leakage due to failed payments.

Relying on Stripe's Smart Retries, the platform achieved a recovery rate of only 18.4%, meaning less than 2/10 subscribers were being saved. This was a substantial amount of revenue uncollected.

This issue was particularly pronounced given Cramly's predominantly student user base, which often exhibits unique payment behaviors and sensitivities.

STRATEGY

Cramly partnered with Redux to go beyond generic retry logic and build a smarter, more targeted recovery engine tailored to their audience.


1) Behavior-Based Retry Targeting

Redux mapped payment timing against student behavior patterns, including payday cycles and weekend activity. This allowed the system to optimize retry windows and catch recoverable payments when funds were most likely to be available.


2) Localized Retry Strategy

Rather than retrying blindly, Redux adjusted its logic based on geography, card network, and bank issuer. These micro-optimizations helped Cramly improve recovery in regions where Stripe’s default approach often failed.

3) Self-Optimizing AI

Redux’s AI engine continuously learned from every failed attempt. By tracking what worked, for which users, and under what conditions, the system evolved over time. This created a compounding cycle of improvement that boosted results automatically.

RESULTS

Cramly sees 134% more recovered revenue with Redux
  • Recovery Rate Increase: From an initial 18.4% to 43.11% within the first 30 days, a 134% improvement.
  • 8% Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) Boost: An 8% increase in ARR, directly attributable to the enhanced recovery of failed payments.
  • Enhanced User Experience: Reduced payment friction for students worldwide, ensuring uninterrupted access to Cramly's educational tools.

With payment recovery transformed from a persistent challenge into a strategic advantage, Cramly is now better positioned to reinvest in product development and expand its market reach.

The partnership with Redux not only stabilized revenue streams but also enhanced the overall user experience, reinforcing Cramly's commitment to supporting students in their academic pursuits.

Turn Failed Payments Into Profit