Subscriptions on Shopify

Your Shopify subscriptions agency to maximise life time value &
recurring revenue.

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Learn more about our custom solutions to add subscriptions to Shopify today.

Last updated: 26 May, 2023

We integrate custom Shopify subscriptions powered by ReCharge to maximise customer loyalty and LTV with subscriptions on Shopify & Shopify Plus.

Given that it is expected to grow from $15 billion in 2019 to $473 billion by 2025, the ecommerce subscription sector is a sizable opportunity for both established and aspiring businesses. With resources such as data analytics surrounding business cycles and revenue streams provided by subscriptions, your company can access information and details to plan ahead and grow / scale effectively over the long-term. It can cost five to ten times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one, highlighting the importance to add subscriptions to Shopify to focus on maintaining relationships with existing ecommerce customers. Offering the very best subscription user experience to your customers is vital for retention and this article will give you everything you need to know on using Shopify and subscriptions apps to allow customers to subscribe to your products.

Choose Charle to integrate a bespoke subscription solution to match your brand design, have a dedicated subscription management portal for you customers and receive the most you can from your subscription provider to take your store to the next level.

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Shopify Subscriptions Specialist Agency

Why add subscriptions to your Shopify store?

Adding subscriptions to Shopify or Shopiy Plus stores helps create a seamless ecommerce experience for you and your customers. It establishes predictable and consistent recurring revenue to aid in future planning, management and business expansion, so that you can achieve your long-term strategic goals and brand strategy more effectively. In addition to this, when you add subscriptions to Shopify, your website can turn one-time buyers into devoted subscribers and followers of your brand. Shoppers are able to purchase from your website more easily and flexibly which can encourage loyalty and promote repeat purchase options in the future. Shopping experiences become more fluent for the user when a subscription is invovled, promoting retention and lifetime value.

By offering a subscription to your customers, not only do you often give an incentive for customers to commit to receiving your product long-term, but also you're likely to get a financial commitment much larger than if they were just to buy a one-off. Subscriptions are incredibly convenient for customers and mean they can keep receiving your product without having to remember to re-order or go through ecommerce purchase flows every time!

It's incredibly valuable from a commercial standpoint, as it allows you to make data-based revenue projections. Whilst it is very true, that you will lose subscribers over time, it does allow you to create data-driven predictions on the average lifetime value of a customer. Compare the average time a subscriber will stay with you, with the rate of new customers and you can make some seriously interesting predictions for the future growth of your business. One metric we focus on is the churn rate. In relationship to Shopify subscriptions, the churn rate is the rate that customers cancel their subscriptions over a set period of time. An average churn rate is around 6-10%, of course this does depend on your industry.

Statistics tell us time and time again, subscribing customers typically have a higher lifetime value than non-subscribers - great for getting the bang for your buck with ever increasing aquiisiton costs. Put it this way, every time we use paid means to aquire new customers then the costs become lower in relation to revenue.

We've all done it, where we've done that last minute purchase from a random brand we've found online. However incentivising a customer to subscribe maximises brand loyalty, your products will arrive timely every X period not only re-engaging customers with reminder emails but also offering ultimate convenience without having to re-order products every time they run out!

The final benefit we see from subscriptions on Shopify is the opportunity to keep touching base with your customer at very specific moments of their buying journey. For example use tools from ReCharge Cross-selling to upsell a subscription and allow customers to add one-off add ons - imagine you sell dog food and you offer the customer some one off dog treats to maximise average order value! Relo offers some great tools to predict moments for subscriptions and upsell their cart and checkouts too.

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Subscriptions on Shopify

What is a Shopify subscription service offering?

In basic terms, subscription ecommerce businesses give online customers an easy, tailored, and less expensive option to make repeated purchases of the things they want and need. When a merchant decides to add subscriptions to Shopify, they can be used as tools to support increased flexbility for customers looking to repeat purchase high frequency products such as food & drink or skincare / beauty subscription boxes for example, as and when they need them. This eliminates the need for the customer experience to be hindered by having to manually go through each page the checkout process with every purchase to get their shipping / delivery without all the unnecessary steps. Nowadays, the shopping experience is expected to be as quick and seamless as possible, the longer it takes for a user to get to the cart and checkout, the less likely shoppers will want to buy with frequency.

When a merchant chooses to add subscriptions to Shopify, it not only increases price affordability for the customer through subscription discounts, but it also helps convert one-time shoppers into recurring (and frequently lifelong) customers of your website. With consistent monthly recurring income flowing in, merchants can access data analytics and information to predict their future sale and growth figures with accuracy.

Shopify Subscription Specialists

How does Shopify work with subscriptions?

How does Shopify work with subscriptions? Shopify now supports subscriptions natively within it's platform. (Historically, customers would be diverted to a non-Shopify checkout page to process the order). This means that customers can add subscription items to the cart and still remain within the Shopify checkout when they wish to purchase. But how does it work, I hear you cry! Well, Shopify released extra modules of data called "selling plans" which is a special piece of code that commutes to the Shopify checkout that an item is a subscription item and that the payment should be recurring by a specific interval and amount.

However, it does not stop there, Shopify does not manage the UI and dashboard for managing your subscribers - instead, it simply offers the facility to charge your customers on a recurring basis via Shopify's native checkout. To physically set up subscription products, manage subscribers and gain access to subscription reporting you'll need to opt for a subscription app provider. Head to our whats the best Shopify subscription app section for our recommendations.

It is important to note that Shopify has extended it's platform to accommodate subscriptions more appropriately with specific features. Examples include filtering customer lists directly within Shopify by the status of a subscription. You can also set up specific shipping rules for subscription customers such as offering free or unique shipping rates.

What's included with Shopify subscriptions?

We've already covered the part that Shopify plays with Shopify subscriptions however it is important to consider what you need and what comes in combination with Shopify and Shopify subscription apps.

Subscription UI on Shopify
So most of the apps come with a default frontend UI to allow customers to select one-time purchase or subscription options - these are typically placed on the product page. The design can feel a little un-imaginative, so why not employ a Shopify developer like us to re-design and build a custom look and feel to ensure your subscription UI still embodies your brand. We also help merchants place the UI for subscription choosing on other pages such as collections, product recommendations and in cart!

Subscription Portal
It's important to leave your customers in control of their subscriptions via a subscriptions portal. These are vital to not overwhelm your customer services team when you offer subscriptions and also the good news is they are included with all the major subscription Shopify apps! The subscription customer portal should allow customers to view their active subscriptions, skip, pause and update their subscriptions. We also see this portal as a great opportunity to upsell other products too!

Subscription Notifications Your Shopify subscription app will also usually include customer email and or SMS notifications to let the customer know when their next subscription is coming up plus give them a chance to update or cancel.

What are the best apps for Shopify subscriptions?

As discussed, Shopify acts as the key platform that manages orders, customers and payment transactions / payment methods for subscriptions however it does not give you a dashboard to set up products for subscriptions, manage subscription options such as intervals and discounts or manage customers' ongoing subscriptions. Therefore it's important to choose a subscription app available on the Shopify App Store. There are a growing number of Shopify apps that help Shopify merchants manage subscriptions which vary in features and price - however here are a few options to consider:

ReCharge Subscriptions
ReCharge is ultimately the leading provider of subscription management on Shopify. Not only does the platform power some world-leading brands but they power over 15,000 merchants. The platform comes equipped with subscription management, build-a-box, subscription automation tools and more.

Yotpo Subscriptions
Yotpo subscriptions are great for merchants who are looking to launch subscriptions quickly or also those who are already using products from the amazing Yotpo app range. Yotpo boasts of being able to launch subscriptions in just 8 minutes!

Skio Subscriptions
Skio is another subscription app for Shopify and offers some more unique features such as quick password-less login, advanced analytics, gift your next subscription order and more!

Bold Subscriptions
Bold is one of the original subscription apps for Shopify and achieves a 4.1/5 on the Shopify app store

Paywhirl
Paywhirl similarly allows you to activate subscriptions from your product pages and get selling quickly.

Smartrr Subscriptions
With subscription features such as swap, delay, skip and more Smartrr offers a rich subscriptions app to give your customers ultimate control over their subscription.

We do recommend our merchants spend time understanding the unique features of each Shopify subscription app provider to ensure you can offer the very best Shopify subscription experience to your 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 works great for subscription-driven businesses. Specifically, the build-a-box feature is great for Shopify brands that offer low-cost items that need to be sold in larger numbers to be commercially viable when selling online - great examples of this are food items that come in small sizes. This feature allows customers to build a box of products to their taste. Simply it's a win win, the merchant can still sell their products in the size they require and the customer still can keep the power of choice. Usually, there is a minimum threshold for a box, an incentive on the cost to do so, and of course the option to subscribe. Leverage the power of ReCharge Bundles, we provide a bespoke integration to offer a branded build-a-box feature on your store whilst still leaving customers in control. We've integrated Build a box functionality for several amazing merchants. Get in touch today to learn more.

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What are the benefits of Adding Subscriptions on Shopify?

When you know much income is coming into your Shopify or Shopify Plus store each month, everything runs a bit more smoothly. from admin and management support by organising your inventory to anticipating sales. It also means you are aware of the amount you can put back into expanding your company. Questions about finances and number of sales become clearer with subscription data so that you have that peace of mind and capacity to focus on other areas of your business such as customer support or order fulfilment to keep your customer base happy.

What's more is the improved affordability for customers as subscription options can facilitate discounts on billing. Businesses using a pay-per-product pricing model are continually need to make content, marketing and sales investments in order to grow their client base and turnover. By integrating subscription orders into websites, there is a lesser need for ads promotion, affiliate programs, YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest campaigns to make get customers to your product page. The cost of acquiring customers is on the rise, which is a major reason why startups and small businesses fail.

With a subscription-based business model, customers pay you with structure on a monthly basis, which reduces the amount of money you need to spend on acquiring new customers. Many subscription businesses demand reduced upfront full payment when purchasing a product, making pricing more flexible and payments easier. This buffer not only helps with cash flow but also offers companies much-needed peace of mind when it comes to orders in the future.

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Improved Lifetime Value and AOV

Regular transactions provide deeper insights into your customers' behaviour, which enables you to constantly improve the personalised experience you provide and, in turn, keeps users and shoppers coming back. This virtuous loop is made possible by the recurring nature of subscriptions. When done right, subscription businesses produce incredibly devoted recurring customers who spend 67% more than new ones. This is the foundation of customer lifetime value (LTV), which is one of the key elements and feature in determining a company's success.

In addition to this, with a subscription model, you’re uniquely positioned to generate more turnover from existing customers (Shopify Average Order Value). Because you have continuous contact with your customers when you add subscriptions to Shopify, you’re building a trusting relationship with them. This makes it easier to market additional products to them, because they already know you provide a trusted and valuable service. Looking to add subscriptions to Shopify? Contact us today for professional subscription management through APIs and integrations. The number of ways to increase subscription revenue, when done right, are endless.

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

Before you can go ahead and set up your subscriptions you need to choose what products you are going to sell online and also the type of subscription that you wish to sell. This does depend on your product type, business strategy and how you can entice customers to see value in opting for a subscription through your store. Examples include smaller testing packs, that is exclusively available to subscriptions, refill subscriptions for when customers run out, content subscription to news or blogs and memberships for rewards and perks such as free delivery. Once you understand your offering you can go ahead and use the advice within this article to kick start your subscription business with Shopify!

We've crafted a few subscription-type ideas that you can use for your business and apply to your product range when using Shopify subscriptions! These ideas will of course be dependent on your business, product types and more!

Product Bundles or Boxes
Product bundles or boxes are a great way to get customers excited with a unique collection of products all in one. These will typically change each month too to keep customers excited about their range. An example of this could be a surprise box that has a different selection of your products so customers can try more - great for food or beauty brands! The benefit of product bundles is that it creates a sense of excitement for customers as they don't know what they are going to get. Product bundles are also great for customers to try a larger range than if they just purchased one-offs. However, it does present some logistics challenges to keep track of stock and also it requires constant work to create new bundles every month. Great examples of product bundles are The Cheese Geek's rolling subscription that allows customers to try a new cheese each month.

Product refills
If your product is replenishable, then a Shopify subscription is an absolute no-brainer! The moment a customer gets low on your replenishable product you want a new replacement on the way - subscriptions on Shopify guarantee that this happens. Product refill subscriptions are great for edible products such as protein shakes, great for pet food, beauty products or health and well-being products like vitamins. The pros of product refills on subscriptions are that customer lifetime value increases as there's no human error of forgetting to replace their product. Other pros include you can offer other products as the customer relationship tends to be much longer so upsells are great for these types of customers. Finally, convenience is great for customers as they no longer need to remember to keep re-ordering your products. The negatives of product refills on subscriptions are that your margin can be affected if you need to offer a discount to persuade customers to subscribe.

Try before you buy
Try before you buy is a great incentive for a subscription, you can offer your customers usually a smaller quantity of your product that they can try for a discounted smaller amount which renews after a specific interval and keeps the customer on a subscription plan. This is great because it means customers do not need to invest a large amount into buying a bigger pack, but if your products great means you are likely to have acquired a new subscriber.

Content Subscription
If you create incredible content such as magazines then you can use a subscription model to charge customers on a recurring basis. There are some great benefits such as you build a revenue stream for your content and loyal customers become ambassadors to your brand

Memberships
Why not offer a membership for perks and rewards amongst your ecommerce brand? A great example of an ecommerce membership is Amazon Prime that not only gives customers free next day delivery but also access Prime Video and more. Could you offer some amazing perks for a recurring membership fee to your customers? Why not build a community of subscribers and reward them for being part of it! Think The Gin Club!

Subscriptions on Shopify
Shopify subscriptions provide businesses with the tools they need to manage their subscription-based products and services. With a variety of subscription plans available, businesses can set up their subscription offerings to meet their specific needs. Shopify subscriptions can be integrated with various themes and templates, allowing for easy customisation and branding. Reviews and ratings can be added to subscription products, and Shopify payments can be used to manage charges and returns as normal (with less transacgion fees than third-party gateways such as PayPal).

The Shopify app store has apps such as ReCharge to integrate subscriptions into a Shopify store, as well as a variety of third-party apps, such as Klaviyo and Gorgias, to help businesses manage their subscriptions in a more streamlined manner. The subscription widget can be used to link customers to subscription plans, while subscription rules can be set up to manage inventory forecasting and variant options.

Charle is a Shopify subscription specialist, with a support team that is available to assist merchants with any changes or performance issues, and CSS and navigation can be customised to suit the business's language and manner. With a trial period available, businesses can test their subscription offerings before going live with customers. A seal subscription widget can also be added to the website to boost customer trust and confidence in the subscription offerings. Looking for Shopify subscriptions for your online store? Get in touch with our Shopify subscription team today.

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