A subscription is a product that a shopper gets on a recurring basis, such as every week, month, or year. Subscription products are charged on a per-recurrence basis, so if the subscription is set to renew every year the shopper gets charged for (and may receive) that product every year.
The Subscription option is used to set up how you want your subscription products to operate, both on the storefront and once shoppers purchase the subscription on your store.
Recurrence and Grace Period
When you create a subscription product you must define how long the subscription lasts, and whether you want to give the shopper a grace period once their subscription expires and they have not renewed.
The "recurrence" of a subscription is essentially how long the subscription lasts before a shopper is billed again. The "grace period" allows you to give shoppers a small window of time after a subscription expires in which they can renew the subscription so their access or use of the product isn't terminated or restricted.
Free Trials
You can allow your shoppers to try your subscription product on a trial basis before they are billed. Once the free trial period runs out however, the shopper will be billed for the subscription unless they cancel the subscription by calling Customer Service, using the self-service support site FindMyOrder.com, or contacting your support center if you provide your own customer support.
Free Extensions
You can use a "Free Extension" to entice shoppers to buy your subscription products. A free extension is really just an extra amount of time added to the subscription time period for which shoppers are not charged. Free extensions are added to the subscription after it has expired and before it is renewed.
For more about how the Free Extension is used to help save the automatic renewal option from being canceled by existing customers, see the information in Customer Service Saves below.
The graphic below shows how the free extension for a subscription product affects the billing dates.
Manual vs. Automatic Renewal
There are two ways a subscription can be renewed and the shopper billed for another period:
- Manual Renewal – Shopper has to take some action to renew the subscription themselves. There are two main ways a shopper can renew their product. The easiest and quickest way is to log on to FindMyOrder.com and renew using the features available in the self-service options. Another way is to call Customer Service and request that the subscription be renewed.
- Automatic Renewal (also called auto renew) – Renewal takes place automatically when the subscription expires and shoppers are billed according to the settings you have defined for the subscription (and using the billing information provided by the shopper at the initial purchase or last renewal). If the renewal fails because the billing information isn't correct (for example, an expired credit card) shoppers are notified and given a chance to update their billing information. The system will attempt to bill a shopper for automatic renewals several times before we cancel the subscription and list the billing attempt as failed.
Suppressing Digital Rights on Renewal
When a subscription is renewed, you can choose to have the product use the same digital rights as the initial purchase or issue new set of digital rights. When you suppress digital rights on renewal, the same digital rights codes can be used for the renewal and the renewal product will not trigger the system process that is initiated for all products with digital rights enabled.
Renewal Pricing
When a subscription renews, the shopper will be charged the amount they were charged for the initial subscription unless you create a special renewal price list with pricing for the product.
When a subscription is about to renew, shoppers are sent an email reminding them that their subscription is about to expire. In that email the renewal price is listed and all renewals will respect the pricing quoted to the shopper in the renewal reminder email.
Tip: If the renewal price will be different than the original subscription price you must create a special price list just for the renewal pricing. This should be done before you set pricing for the product. You are not required to set pricing for the product now, so you can continue creating the product and return to the pricing screens after you create the renewal subscription price list. See Subscription Renewal Price Lists for more information about how to create a price list for your subscription pricing.
Changing Products at Renewal
You can control which product a shopper receives when their subscription is renewed. Using the "Subscription Transfer Product" feature, you can have a different product be used for renewals. This allows you to create subscriptions that provide one product for the initial purchase, and different products for renewals. This feature also allows you to more easily retire old subscription products without interrupting or affecting the subscription service to your customers.
Renewal Order IDs and Subscription IDs
When a subscription renews, a new "Order ID" and "Subscription ID" are created to track activity on that renewal. Using a Site Setting, you can have renewal orders use the same Subscription ID as the original subscription order, or allow them to create a new Subscription ID just for that renewal order (which is the default behavior).
Whether you choose to have renewals use the same Subscription ID or a new Subscription ID will depend on whether you want sales figures for initial subscription purchases and subsequent renewals to be listed together or separated out in reporting.
Customer Service "Saves"
If a shopper calls Customer Service to cancel the automatic billing for their subscription, you can use a Site Setting to have a special window appear that prompts the Customer Service Representative to offer the shopper a free extension if they keep the automatic billing for their subscription. If the customer accepts the offer, the auto renew is not canceled and the extension is added to the current subscription period. Using this option will help you retain more automatic renewal subscription customers, thus insuring that renewal revenue for months to come.
Upgrades and Downgrades
You can set up your subscription products so that shoppers can upgrade or downgrade their subscription to other products you have selected to be the upgrade or downgrade options. For example, you could have a set of subscription products with three levels of service or functionality and allow shoppers to upgrade to a higher level of their subscription, or downgrade to a lower level of their subscription. The upgrade or downgrade products are usually priced different, and shoppers are charged the new price when they upgrade or downgrade. Providing your shoppers with flexibility and choice in their subscription products can increase conversion and retention rates.
Shopper Self-Service Options
Shoppers who purchase subscription products can view and manage the details for their subscription using FindMyOrder.com. The following is a list of what shoppers can do with their subscription suing features on FindMyOrder.com:
- Renew (manually) a subscription.
- Increase or decrease the number of their subscription product(s).
- Upgrade or downgrade their subscription product(s).
- Change the shipping address for the subscription.
- Update credit card billing information.
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