Shopify Subscriptions

Your Shopify subscriptions agency to maximise lifetime value & recurring revenue

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Learn more about our custom solutions for adding subscriptions to Shopify today.

With our custom Shopify subscriptions powered by ReCharge, we maximise customer loyalty and LTV with subscriptions on Shopify & Shopify Plus. The e-commerce subscription sector is expected to grow from $15 billion in 2019 to $473 billion by 2025, presenting a substantial opportunity for established and aspiring businesses. By leveraging data analytics surrounding business cycles and revenue streams provided by subscriptions, your company can access information and details to effectively plan ahead and scale over the long term. It's essential to add subscriptions to Shopify to focus on maintaining relationships with existing e-commerce customers, as it can cost five to ten times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. Offering the best subscription user experience to your customers is vital for retention, and this article will provide you with everything you need to know about using Shopify and subscription apps to allow customers to subscribe to your products.

Choose Why Matters to integrate a bespoke subscription solution that matches your brand design, create a dedicated subscription management portal for your customers, and receive the most from your subscription provider, taking your store to the next level.

Shopify Subscriptions Specialist Agency

Why add subscriptions to your Shopify store?

Benefits of selling Shopify subscriptions

It’s an easier way for customers to pay for products they regularly use
It’s a great retention mechanism
It increases loyalty and customer lifetime value
It helps you predict future revenue

Adding subscriptions to Shopify or Shopify Plus stores creates a seamless e-commerce experience for both you and your customers. This leads to predictable and consistent recurring revenue, aiding in future planning, management, and business expansion. Ultimately, it helps achieve long-term strategic goals and brand strategy more effectively. Incorporating subscriptions turns one-time buyers into loyal subscribers and followers of your brand, encouraging loyalty and promoting repeat purchase options in the future. With subscriptions, shopping experiences become more fluent, promoting retention and lifetime value.

By offering subscriptions, you not only provide an incentive for customers to commit to receiving your product long-term but also secure a more significant financial commitment compared to one-time purchases. Subscriptions are convenient for customers, ensuring they receive your product without remembering to re-order.

From a commercial standpoint, subscriptions al low for data-based revenue projections. While it's true that subscribers may cancel over time, analysing the churn rate and the lifetime value of a customer enables interesting predictions for future business growth. Subscribers typically exhibit a higher lifetime value than non-subscribers, effectively maximising returns on acquisition costs. Furthermore, incentivising customers to subscribe maximises brand loyalty and provides ultimate convenience without needing to re-order products every time they run out. Subscriptions on Shopify offer significant benefits, allowing you to consistently engage with your customers at crucial stages of their buying journey. Utilising tools such as ReCharge Cross-selling enables you to upsell subscriptions and provide customers with one-off add-ons. For instance, if you sell baby nappies, you can offer customers wet wipes to maximise the average order value. Additionally, Relo provides excellent tools to predict subscription moments and effectively upsell during cart and checkouts. Subscriptions on Shopify offer the opportunity to engage with customers at specific moments in their buying journey, allowing for cross-selling and upselling to increase average order value.

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Subscriptions on Shopify Plus: how they’ve always worked

Merchants on Shopify Plus have long been able to offer subscriptions. However, until recently, doing so required using an external alternative to the Shopify Checkout. This is because Shopify didn’t provide the option to tokenise payments, so it couldn’t handle the recurring orders/payments needed for this to work. Instead, merchants would turn to third-party specialists who’d developed external checkouts where payment data could be stored.
Now, however, Shopify has introduced tooling to allow these specialist providers, amongst other partners and app developers, to build subscription experiences directly within the Shopify Checkout. This is good news, as merchants sometimes hesitate to deviate from Shopify’s native checkout.

Subscriptions on Shopify

What is a Shopify subscription service offering?

ShoSubscription e-commerce businesses offer a convenient and cost-effective option for customers to make repeated purchases of the products they need. By integrating subscriptions into Shopify, merchants can provide customers with a flexible and seamless shopping experience, particularly for high-frequency products like food & drink or skincare/beauty subscription boxes. This eliminates the need for customers to go through multiple steps during each purchase, streamlining the checkout process. A quick and seamless shopping experience is crucial in today's fast-paced world. The faster customers can reach the cart and checkout, the more likely they will make frequent purchases.
When a merchant adds subscriptions to Shopify, it doesn't just increase price affordability for the customer through subscription discounts. It also helps convert one-time shoppers into your website's recurring (and potentially lifelong) customers. The consistent monthly recurring income allows merchants to access data analytics and information to accurately predict their future sales and growth figures.

Shopify Subscription Specialists

How does Shopify work with subscriptions?

Knowing the exact amount of income flowing into your Shopify or Shopify Plus store each month ensures smooth operations. This information allows for efficient inventory management and sales projections and empowers you to plan for business expansion. Subscription data brings clarity to financial matters and sales figures, providing peace of mind and freeing up the capacity to focus on areas like customer support and order fulfilment to ensure a satisfied customer base.

Subscription options improve customer affordability and facilitate billing discounts. Businesses utilising a pay-per-product pricing model must continually invest in content, marketing, and sales to grow their client base and turnover. Integrating subscription orders into websites reduces the need for ad promotion, affiliate programs, YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest campaigns to attract customers to your product page. The cost of acquiring customers is rising, a significant reason for the failure of startups and small businesses.

Shopify now offers native support for subscriptions directly within its platform. Customers will no longer be redirected to a non-Shopify checkout page to process their orders. This means that customers can seamlessly add subscription items to their cart and complete their purchase within the Shopify checkout. How does it work, you ask? Well, Shopify has introduced "selling plans," which are special pieces of code that inform the Shopify checkout that an item is a subscription and specifies the recurring payment interval and amount. But that's not all. Shopify does not handle the UI and dashboard for managing subscribers. Instead, it solely provides the capability to charge customers regularly using its native checkout. You'll need to choose a subscription app provider to set up subscription products, manage subscribers, and access subscription reporting. Check out our recommendations in the best Shopify subscription app section.

It's crucial to acknowledge that Shopify has significantly expanded its platform to better support subscriptions with tailored features. For instance, you can filter customer lists directly within Shopify based on subscription status. Additionally, you can establish distinct shipping rules for subscription customers, like offering free or customised shipping rates.

Regarding what's included with Shopify subscriptions, we've already discussed the role that Shopify plays, but it's essential to carefully assess your needs and the comprehensive offerings that come with Shopify and Shopify subscription apps

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Subscription UI on Shopify

Most apps have a default frontend UI allowing customers to choose between one-time purchases or subscription options, typically placed on the product page. However, the generic design may seem uninspired. Consider hiring a Shopify developer like us to revamp and create a custom look and feel that truly reflects your brand for your subscription UI. Additionally, we can assist merchants in placing the subscription choosing UI on other pages such as collections, product recommendations, and the shopping cart.

Subscription Portal

It is imperative to empower your customers by providing them with a subscription portal to manage their subscriptions. This is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and reducing the burden on your customer service team. The good news is that most major subscription Shopify apps include these portals! The subscription customer portal should enable customers to effortlessly view, modify, pause, and update their subscriptions. Furthermore, it presents an excellent opportunity to cross-sell and upsell other products.

Subscription Notifications

Your Shopify subscription app should include customer email and/or SMS notifications to inform customers about upcoming subscriptions and allow them to make changes or cancel. The best apps for Shopify subscriptions are crucial, as Shopify itself doesn't provide a dashboard to set up subscription products, manage options, or handle ongoing subscriptions. To address these needs, it's essential to select a subscription app available on the Shopify App Store. There are various apps to choose from, each with different features and pricing. However, here are some options to consider:

ReCharge Subscriptions

ReCharge stands as the foremost provider of subscription management on Shopify. It fuels not only leading brands but also over 15,000 merchants worldwide. Equipped with subscription management, build-a-box, subscription automation tools, and more, this platform is the ultimate solution.

Yotpo Subscriptions

Yotpo subscriptions are a fantastic option for merchants seeking to quickly launch subscriptions or those already utilising products from the impressive Yotpo app range. Notably, Yotpo can boast of the ability to launch subscriptions in just 8 minutes!

Skio Subscriptions

Skio is another subscription app for Shopify, offering unique features like quick password-less login, advanced analytics, and the ability to gift your next subscription order.

Bold Subscriptions

Bold is one of Shopify's original subscription apps. It's a decent app that receives a 4.1/5 rating on the Shopify app store.

Paywhirl

Paywhirl also enables quick activation of subscriptions from your product pages.

Smartrr Subscriptions

For a rich subscription app that offers users ultimate control over their subscriptions, Smartrr provides features such as swap, delay, skip, and more. Merchants should invest time in understanding the unique features of each Shopify subscription app provider to ensure the best Shopify subscription experience for their customers.

How to set up subscriptions on Shopify?

How to offer Build-A-Box with Shopify subscriptions

Build-a-box functionality is an increasingly popular feature that is perfect for subscription-driven businesses. This feature is especially great for Shopify brands offering low-cost items that need to be sold in more significant numbers to be commercially viable when selling online, such as food items in small sizes. It allows customers to build a box of products to their liking, giving them the power of choice. Our integration of ReCharge Bundles offers a branded build-a-box feature on your store while still leaving customers in control. With several successful integrations already in place, get in touch today to learn more and transform your business.
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What are the benefits of Adding Subscriptions to a Shopify store?

With a subscription-based business model, customers pay you with structure every month, reducing the money needed to acquire new customers. Many subscription businesses require reduced upfront full payment when purchasing a product, making pricing more flexible and payments more manageable. This buffer supports cash flow and offers companies much-needed peace of mind for future orders.

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Improved Lifetime Value and AOV

Regular transactions are essential for gaining deep insights into your customers' behaviour, allowing you to continually enhance the personalised experience you offer. This creates a virtuous loop that keeps users and shoppers returning. Subscriptions, when implemented effectively, cultivate highly devoted recurring customers who spend 67% more than new ones, forming the cornerstone of customer lifetime value (LTV) and contributing significantly to a company's success.

Moreover, a subscription model uniquely positions you to drive more turnover from existing customers (Shopify Average Order Value). By maintaining continuous contact with your customers through subscriptions on Shopify, you are establishing a trusted relationship with them, making it easier to market additional products. Are you intrigued by the idea of adding subscriptions to Shopify? Reach out to us today for expert subscription management utilising APIs and integrations. When executed correctly, the opportunities for increasing subscription revenue are limitless.

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Examples of Shopify Subscription models & how to choose your subscription model.

To set up your subscriptions, you must first select the products you plan to sell online and determine the type of subscription you want to offer. Your choice should be influenced by your product line, business strategy, and how you can attract customers to opt for a subscription through your store. Potential subscription types include smaller testing packs exclusively available to subscribers, refill subscriptions for when customers run out, content subscriptions for news or blogs, and memberships offering rewards and perks such as free delivery. Once you have a clear understanding of your offerings, you can make use of the advice in this article to launch your subscription business effectively on Shopify!

Product Bundles or Boxes

Product bundles or boxes offer a fantastic way to captivate customers with an exclusive collection of products all in one package. These offerings are regularly updated to maintain customer excitement over the assortment. For instance, a surprise box featuring various product selections allows customers to indulge in a broader range of your offerings - particularly advantageous for food or beauty brands! The appeal of product bundles lies in the element of surprise for customers, as they never know what they'll receive. Moreover, these bundles enable customers to sample a broader selection than if they were to make individual purchases. However, managing stock and continuously creating new bundles poses logistical challenges. Notable examples of successful product bundles include most typical wine/coffee/cheese rotating subscriptions, which enable customers to experience a new product each month.

Product refills

When it comes to replenishable products, a Shopify subscription is a no-brainer! With product refill subscriptions, you can ensure your customers always have a fresh supply of their favourite products. This is especially beneficial for consumable items like protein shakes, pet food, beauty products, and vitamins. Offering subscriptions can increase customer lifetime value, capitalise on upsell opportunities, and provide unparalleled convenience. While there may be concerns about margins, the benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks.

Try before you buy

Offering a "try before you buy" option is an excellent way to encourage subscriptions. By providing customers with a discounted sample of your product that renews at regular intervals, you can keep them on a subscription plan. It's a win-win scenario: customers don't have to make a significant investment, and if your product is excellent, you'll gain a new subscriber.

Content Subscription

Creating incredible content, such as magazines, allows you to leverage a subscription model to generate recurring revenue. This not only builds a steady income stream for your content but also fosters brand loyalty as satisfied customers become strong advocates for your brand.

Memberships

Consider offering a membership for exclusive perks and rewards within your e-commerce brand. Take inspiration from successful examples like Amazon Prime, which provides members with benefits such as free next-day delivery, access to Prime Video, and more. Can you introduce compelling perks for a recurring membership fee to attract and retain customers? Create a loyal community of subscribers and show appreciation for their support. Imagine establishing a vibrant community like The Gin Club!

Subscriptions on Shopify

Shopify subscriptions equip businesses with the essential tools for effectively managing their subscription-based products and services. Offering a range of subscription plans, businesses can seamlessly customise their subscription offerings to precisely meet their unique requirements. Integration with various themes and templates ensures smooth customisation and branding. Moreover, subscription products can feature customer reviews and ratings, while Shopify Payments offers a streamlined method for managing charges and returns with reduced transaction fees compared to third-party gateways such as PayPal.

The Shopify app store offers apps like ReCharge for integrating subscriptions into a Shopify store. It also includes a range of third-party apps, such as Klaviyo and Gorgias, which help businesses efficiently manage their subscriptions. Utilise the subscription widget to easily link customers to subscription plans. Additionally, subscription rules should be set up to manage inventory forecasting and variant options effectively.
Why Matters is the ultimate Shopify subscription specialist. Our dedicated support team is always available to promptly address any changes or performance issues. We offer customised CSS and navigation options to perfectly match your business's language and style. Businesses can take advantage of a trial period to test subscription offerings before launching them to customers. Boost customer trust and confidence in your subscription services by adding a seal subscription widget to your website. Don't hesitate to contact our Shopify subscription team today to elevate your online store!

How to build successful product subscriptions: 7 tips

Now that you know your options for creating subscriptions and implementing them on Shopify, let’s review the proven industry practices.

1) Show subscriptions as a default payment option
Make the one-time purchase option a secondary choice. Until people click on it, they will already see the benefits of subscribing.

2) Add a subscription page and feature it in your site’s menu
You can create a dedicated page to show the benefits of subscribing. Occasional shoppers might get intrigued by the subscription option on the menu—and this page is your chance to show them why it’s cool to become a subscriber.

3) Show subscription options on collection pages
In addition to product pages, you can include subscription options right on your collection pages. This is another opportunity to inform about potential savings or other benefits.

4) Clearly describe the benefits of subscribing
While a price discount is the most obvious benefit to a customer, it might not be the most important one. Highlight what makes your product subscription unique and why it’s better than an individual purchase.

5) Offer possibilities to edit, pause, or cancel a subscription
Clarity of subscription options might increase your conversions. Customers who see that you don’t hide the cancellation option and provide flexibility when managing a subscription are more likely to trust you.

6) Offer a discount for new subscribers
Once you get a subscriber, the hardest part is done. Customer acquisition is one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce. To get more people subscribed, consider offering a discount for the first month (or another period).

7) Analyse churn
After each subscription period, calculate your churn rate (the percentage of subscribers lost over this time). Analyse any involuntary churn, such as failed payments, and try to resolve the issue. With voluntary churn (customers cancelling their subscriptions), monitor this rate to compare different periods and cross-reference your insights with marketing campaigns, seasonality, and other factors.

Shopify Subscriptions APIs and tooling

The Shopify Subscription APIs provide the architecture to support new selling methods and functionality:

The Selling Plan API
This feature allows you to expand Shopify's merchandising model to accommodate alternative methods of selling a product variation beyond the traditional "buy now" option. This capability eliminates the need to customise the checkout process and guarantees an optimal experience for merchants, customers, and developers.

The Subscription Contract API
After a customer acquires a subscription product at checkout, Shopify automatically produces a subscription contract and communicates it to your application via a webhook, allowing you to create and oversee subscription contracts efficiently.

The Customer Payment Method API
represents stored payment methods that can be used to pay for future orders without requiring the customer to go through checkout manually. When a subscription is purchased, permission to "vault" the payment method is requested from the customer during checkout.

When should you switch from ‘out of the box’ Shopify subscriptions to a bespoke subscription application?

A Shopify merchant on the Shopify Plus plan using the ReCharge app to manage 100 SKUs with a single subscription type (£X/month) will eventually need to reevaluate whether it’s worth staying on Shopify + ReCharge or switching platforms. The Shopify platform imposes transaction fees on every subscription order in addition to the ReCharge subscription fee. While app costs add up, a practical workaround is to invest in an application that leverages the APIs already available. Systems like Recharge use them for their security features but still allow front-end customisation.