There are many different options you can set for a subscription product that affects how the subscription behaves, how the shopper is charged for the subscription, and what email notifications are sent to subscription customers. To have the subscription options appear when creating or editing a product you must select the Subscriptions option for your product. Click the link for an option to learn more about how that option works or how it affects a subscription.
The following table defines the basic settings for subscriptions. Click a link to learn more about each option, including what you might want to select or enter for each option.
|
Attribute |
Definition |
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Indicates how long the subscription lasts. |
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Indicates how long after the subscription expires access is restricted or denied.
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Indicates how long (in addition to the normal subscription period) you want to provide shoppers additional access to the subscription. |
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| Bill Auto Renew Prior to Expiration |
Indicates the number of days prior to expiration in which Digital River will make the first attempt to auto renew a shopper’s subscription. If the first attempt does not work, Digital River will attempt to renew when the subscription expires. If that attempt does not work, Digital River will try once more when the Grace Period ends. |
| Activation |
Indicates which date you want to use to mark the start of the subscription period. |
|
Options |
Trial Period and Trial Days – Indicates whether the product can be downloaded as a no-cost trial for a limited time and defines the number of days the free trial period lasts. After the trail period ends, the shopper will automatically be converted to a paid version of the product. |
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Auto Renew – Indicates whether the subscription is automatically renewed (and the shopper billed) when the subscription period runs out. |
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| Combine Billing and Notifications with Other Renewals – Used when you want to allow a shopper with multiple subscriptions to combine their subscriptions (for the purposes of billing, email notifications, and fulfillment) if the subscriptions meet certain criteria and expire within a particular number of days of each other. |
Use the Notifications area to define when you want certain notifications sent to shoppers.
Use the System Emails area to you define how often you want the renewal reminder and expired credit card notifications to be sent to the shopper.
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Reminder for Automatic Renewal |
Notifies the shopper that their subscription will be renewed without the need for further action. Select one or more of the following notification options:
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| Reminder for Manual Renewals |
Notifies the shopper that they need to take action before their subscription expires. If you do not select a Manual renewal option, the system sends reminders using the Automatic renewal schedule. Select one or more of the following notification options:
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| Update Expired Credit Card |
Notifies the shopper that the credit card they have on file to pay for their subscription will expire in a specified number of days and prompts them to update their credit card information. Select one or more of the following notification options:
If the Update Expired Credit Card notification and Renewal Reminder notification are scheduled for the same date, the system only sends the Expired Credit Card notification. |
Use the Marketing Emails area to define how often you want marketing-related emails sent to shoppers.
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Renewal Reminder After Expiration | Reminds the shopper to renew their subscription after it has expired. |
| Upgrade Campaign From Creation Date | Prompts the shopper to upgrade their subscription. |
| Upgrade Campaign Before Expiration | Prompts the shopper to upgrade their subscription before it expires. |
| Upgrade Campaign After Expiration | Prompts the shopper to upgrade their subscription after it has expired. |
Use the Digital Rights area to indicate whether or not you want new digital rights (when they are used with the subscription) to be issued new when certain events happen.
| Event | Definition |
|---|---|
| Quantity Increase | Occurs when a shopper increases the quantity of the subscription product. |
| Renewal | Occurs when the subscription renews, whether through auto renew or manual renew. |
| Trial Conversion | Occurs when the trial period ends and the shopper converts their trial product into a paid version. |
| Upgrade and Downgrade | Occurs when the shopper upgrades or downgrades |
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.
Use the Electronic Fulfillment Notice area to indicate whether or not you want a new electronic fulfillment notice issued when certain events happen. An electronic fulfillment notice is when Digital River sends a call to a client's system asking for permission to fulfill the product. When the call is made, the client system sends a simple confirmation that yes, the product can be fulfilled or no, the product cannot be fulfilled.
| Event | Definition |
|---|---|
| Quantity Increase | Occurs when a shopper increases the quantity of the subscription product. |
| Renewal | Occurs when the subscription renews, whether through auto renew or manual renew. |
| Trial Conversion | Occurs when the trial period ends and the system automatically converts the trial product into a paid version. |
| Upgrade and Downgrade | Occurs when the shopper upgrades or downgrades. |
Use the Subscription Transfer Product area to define the product that you want a shopper to receive when their subscription renews.
Using transfer products, you can create a subscription that uses one product for the initial purchase and another product at renewal. You can even set up a subscription so that a different product is given to the shopper each time the subscription renews (sometimes called a "daisy chain"). Transfer products also make it easier to retire old subscriptions without interrupting or affecting the subscription service to your customers.
Note: The Transfer Product area will not appear when you are creating a new subscription product, but it will appear when you are editing a subscription product.
Click Add Product to search for and then select the product you want to get when their subscription for the current product renews. Keep in mind that the shopper will be billed the same amount for the renewal (the transfer product) as they were for the initial purchase (unless you set up a subscription renewal price list) so the transfer product you select should be of equal or lesser value to the product for which you are setting up a transfer product.
The Upgrade and Downgrade Products area is where you define the products you want to be offered to a shopper when they choose to upgrade or downgrade their subscription. 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. To learn how upgrades and downgrades work, including how pricing is calculated, see About Subscription Upgrades and Downgrades.
Note: The Upgrade and Downgrade Products area will not appear when you are creating a new subscription product, but it will appear when you are editing a subscription product.
| Attribute | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pricing Method |
Prorate on or before expiration date – Used when you want a shopper who upgrades their subscription during the current subscription period to be charged a prorated price for the upgrade for the remaining time in their current subscription period. For example, let's say a shopper purchases a yearly subscription. Six months into their subscription the shopper decides to upgrade their subscription product. When the shopper upgrades they will be charged the difference between their original subscription product price and the upgrade product price for the remaining 6 months on their subscription term. Note: Be careful when using this option as the shopper's experience may be adversely affected. For example, if you choose to prorate pricing and a shopper upgrades their subscription a few days prior to expiration they will be charged a very small amount for the upgrade (because there is only a few days remaining in the subscription) and then charged again for the renewal when the subscription expires. Some shoppers may find multiple charges confusing or annoying. |
| Process as a renewal XX days before expiration date – Used when you want an upgrade to trigger a renewal before the subscription expiration date. The number of days prior to expiration that the renewal is processed is added to the current subscription period so that the shopper does not lose any time in their subscription. | |
| Renewal Options | Display Current or Transfer Product – Indicates whether you want the current and/or transfer product to appear when a shopper is renewing their subscription. If you do not select this check box, when the shopper is viewing information about their subscription prior to a renewal, they will only see the upgrade or downgrade products, not the current product or the transfer product. |
Use the Subscription Upgrade Products area to define the products you want to be offered to a shopper when they upgrade their subscription. A shopper can upgrade their subscription themselves using FindMyOrder.com, or by calling Customer Service.
Click Add Products to search for and then select the product(s) you want to be offered to a shopper when they choose to upgrade. If you add multiple upgrade products shoppers will see a list from which they choose the product they want to upgrade to. Use the Sort Order column to define the order in which you want the products to appear (products with a sort order of 1 appear first, and so on).
Use the Subscription Downgrade Products area to define the products you want to be offered to a shopper when they downgrade their subscription. A shopper can downgrade a subscription themselves using FindMyOrder.com, or by calling Customer Service. If you add multiple downgrade products shoppers will see a list from which they choose the product they want to downgrade to.
Click Add Products to search for and then select the product(s) you want to be offered to a shopper when they choose to downgrade. If you add multiple downgrade products shoppers will see a list from which they choose the product they want to downgrade to. Use the Sort Order column to define the order in which you want the products to appear (products with a sort order of 1 appear first, and so on).
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