Subscriptions cater to the rising demand for subscription-based models in online stores. This tool helps you to seamlessly set up and manage subscriptions for physical products or services. It ensures flexibility for sellers and convenience for buyers while maintaining a steady revenue flow through recurring customer purchases. Optimize your online store now with the subscriptions feature.
Note
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This feature is available on Advanced Stores.
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Subscriptions cannot be applied to digital products.
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Currently, native store only supports Stripe as a payment gateway to activate and sell product subscriptions. For more information, see Stripe. If you disconnect Stripe, all subscriptions will be canceled.
Tip
Subscriptions vs Memberships
While a similar concept, subscriptions generally provide ongoing access to a product or service, often without the community aspect. Memberships, on the other hand, typically offer a sense of belonging to a community with exclusive access to certain content. Subscriptions are primarily transactional, focusing on continuous access, whereas memberships emphasize engagement and building a relationship with the audience.
For more information on memberships, see Membership.
The following provides use cases for subscriptions you may want to consider offering.
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Subscribe and save. Incentivize customers to commit to a subscription with a discount for committing to regular product deliveries. By subscribing, customers receive the product at regular intervals and save money.
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Subscription for physical products. Similar to subscribe and save, but you offer subscriptions for physical products sold only as a subscription.
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Recurring donations. Enable supporters to contribute regularly to causes, ensuring a consistent flow of funds for organizations.
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Recurring services. Offer services at regular intervals, often at discounted rates.
You can up to 5 subscriptions per product.
To add subscriptions to new or existing products with recurring payments:
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Click Product Catalog.
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For a new product, click + Add Product and select product’s type; for an existing product, hover over and click the product you want to enable recurring subscriptions.
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In ‘Pricing’, check the product’s purchase type One-time and/or Subscription to determine if customers can make a one-time purchase, subscribe regularly, or both.
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Click + Add Subscription.
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Enter details for the subscription name and tagline (optional) in the 'Add a product subscription' dialog.
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Adjust the charging frequency using the ‘Repeats every’ input boxes. Click the small arrows to increase or decrease the numerical value of the frequency. Click the dropdown menu to select the frequency (Month, Week, or Year).
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Set the expiry. Click the ‘Expires after’ drop-down menu and select recurrence duration (Never Expires or Custom Period Of). ‘Custom period of’ specifies the number of cycles for recurrence. Following are scenarios for setting subscription expiry:
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Monthly Renewal. If you set ‘Repeats every’ to "1 Month," and ‘Expires after’ to "Never Expires," the subscription will automatically renew every month without a set expiration date.
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Bi-Weekly Renewal. If you set ‘Repeats every’ to "2 Weeks," and ‘Expires after’ to ‘Never Expires’, the subscription will renew every two weeks without a set expiration date.
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Custom Period Renewal. If you select ‘Repeats every’ to "1 month," and ‘Expires after’ to "Custom Period of” and “3 Cycles," the subscription will recur for a custom period of three months before expiration.
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Choose your subscription price. Customers will be charged on the day of purchase and subsequently on a recurring basis, depending on the chosen frequency and expiration settings.
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(Optional) To make this subscription or any variation the product may have more appealing to customers, choose Offer % off the regular price to provide a discount on the regular product price.
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Click Save. You will receive a success message confirming you have added a subscription to this product.
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Add a Login widget on the site so customer's can manage their subscription (the widget can be found in the Widgets library in the side panel).
Note
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If the current plan is not Advanced or higher, a prompt will come up to upgrade. If the option Save & Close is selected, the product will be set to Inactive.
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If Stripe is not connected, once the product is saved, it will be set to Inactive.
Current subscribers are available to view in the Site Overview.
To view current subscribers:
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From the dashboard, locate the site in the list. Hover on and click the Overview icon (
) next to the site.
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In the side panel of the site overview, click Contacts, and then click Site Contacts.
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Hover over and click the contact to view details.
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Click the Subscriptions tab to view subscription details, cycle dates, status, and recurring invoices.
For more information on current customers, see Site Contacts.
Manage subscriptions by editing, deleting, and canceling subscriptions. Whether you adjust your subscription details to match your evolving needs, remove subscriptions from products, or cancel subscriptions for a specific customer, unlock the full potential of subscription management.
To edit a subscription:
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Click Product Catalog.
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Hover over and click the product you want to edit recurring subscriptions for.
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In ‘Product subscriptions’ under ‘Pricing’, click the three horizontal dots icon (
) next to the subscription you want to edit. Select Edit Subscription.
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An ‘Edit your subscription’ dialog appears. Check box to confirm your changes will only apply to new subscribers and this change will take effect even if you do not save the product. Click Edit Subscription Anyway.
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Edit subscription.
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Click Save. You will receive a success message confirming you have changed your product subscription.
Warning
Changes to the subscription price does not affect existing subscriptions.
To delete subscriptions:
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Click Product Catalog.
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Hover over and click the product you want to edit recurring subscriptions for.
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In ‘Product subscriptions’ under ‘Pricing’, click the Three Horizontal Dots icon (
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A ‘Delete this subscription?’ dialog appears. Check box to confirm that despite deleting this subscription, customers who already purchased this description will remain subscribed with the same terms.
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Click Delete Subscription. You will receive a success message confirming you have deleted your product subscription.
Warning
Deleting the subscription does not cancel existing subscriptions.
Customers can cancel their own subscriptions through the Customer Dashboard or merchants can cancel the subscription for the customer.
To cancel a subscription for a specific customer:
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Click Products or Categories. In the side panel of the overlay, click Contacts, then click Site Contacts.
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Hover over and click the contact you want to cancel subscriptions for.
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Click on Subscriptions tab.
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In ‘Pricing’, click the Three Horizontal Dots icon (
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A ‘Cancel Subscription?’ dialog appears. Click Cancel for Customer to confirm you are canceling the product and it will take effect when this subscription’s cycle ends. You will receive a success message confirming you have canceled the subscription for the customer.
Deleting a product with subscriptions will cancel existing subscriptions.
To delete a product with subscriptions:
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Click Product Catalog.
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Click the Three Horizontal Dots icon (
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A ‘Delete selected product(s)?’ dialog appears. Check box to confirm you are permanently deleting this product, including any options or subscriptions it includes.
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Click Delete. You will receive a success message confirming your selected products were deleted.
Explore store widgets in the Native Store, spotlighting key widgets: Product Price, Price Options, and Buy Button. Crafted for clarity and flexibility, these widgets elevate the user experience. Discover more below.
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Product Price widget. Presents regular, sale, and subscriptions prices.
Note
Please check if your store includes this widget in its template, as not all stores may have it.
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Price Options widget. Provides users with a selection, allowing them to choose between a one-time purchase or a subscription when acquiring a product.
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Appears selectively when multiple buying options exist, showcasing subscription details.
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Buy Button widget. Features a button that facilitates purchases. Notably, when users decide to purchase a subscription, the button dynamically transforms its text to “Subscribe.”
To effectively communicate this valuable information, make sure these widgets are included in your product page. For detailed instructions on adding and editing widgets, refer to Add Widgets and Edit Widgets.
The native store's product gallery showcases product pricing in a standardized format, such as [amount]/month, e.g., 100$/month, for items with a sole subscription cost and no one-time price. In instances of multiple subscription prices, only the initial option is displayed, ensuring simplicity and user clarity.
Following are actions that take place when a customer purchases a subscription:
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Buyer Authentication. Subscriptions require buyer authentication; unauthenticated buyers are redirected to sign up before completing the checkout process.
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Checkout Process. Purchasing a subscription clears the cart if other items are present.
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Post-Purchase. Subscribers can easily manage their subscriptions through the "My Account" area after the purchase.
Following are the current limitations for subscriptions:
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Checkout for a subscription is limited to having only the subscription in the cart.
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Simultaneous checkout of non-subscription items and subscription items is not supported.
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Simultaneous checkout of multiple subscriptions is not supported, even if they are single-item subscriptions.
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Checkout of a single subscription with multiple items is not supported, although a single item with a quantity greater than one is acceptable.
Warning
Testing the subscription purchase flow can only be done on a published site.