Why Membership Management Matters For Ecommerce Profits

Since 2020 there’s been an accelerated shift to online shopping in consumer habits with $4.9 trillion sales in 2022. People now expect hassle-free shopping experiences, free delivery, and instant gratification - and one massive opportunity we see underutilized is ‘Subscribe and save’ offers. These are becoming more popular for consumer basics in every category from socks to supplements - so if you’re not implementing subscriptions in your store, you’re leaving money on the table, and neglecting an important growth source.

What Is Subscription Membership Management?

A subscription for an e-commerce store refers to a business model where customers sign up to receive products or services regularly, usually on a monthly or annual basis, in exchange for recurring payments. This model has gained popularity in various industries, including retail, digital products, and services. Subscriptions can vary widely, from physical goods such as food, clothing, or beauty products, to digital services like streaming media, software, or access to premium content.

Key characteristics of e-commerce subscription models include:

1. Convenience: Customers appreciate the ease of receiving products or services automatically without needing to make repeat purchases.

2. Curated Experience: Many subscriptions offer personalized or curated experiences, selecting items based on customer preferences or providing exclusive access to new products.

3. Cost-Effectiveness: Some subscriptions offer savings over one-time purchases, appealing to budget-conscious consumers.

4. Customer Loyalty: By encouraging repeat interactions, subscriptions help build customer loyalty and provide businesses with predictable, recurring revenue.

5. Flexibility: Subscriptions often allow for customization, such as the frequency of deliveries or the ability to skip, pause, or cancel subscriptions easily.

Examples of subscription services include meal kit deliveries, monthly boxes of assorted goods (e.g., cosmetics, snacks, books), streaming platforms for movies and music, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. This model benefits both businesses, by providing steady income and the opportunity to deepen customer relationships, and consumers, by offering convenience and personalized experiences.

Benefits of Subscription Member Management for Your Ecommerce Store

Creating loyalty in returning customers

It's much less expensive to re-engage existing customers than to acquire new ones. Subscriptions for daily essentials are very ‘sticky’, giving your business a golden opportunity to keep existing customers long-term.

Consistent cash flow

Because the online ecom market can be so volatile, subscriptions really help to smooth out the cash flow, making your business finances easier to manage.

Increased company value

Monthly Recurring Revenue is the #1 thing investors look for when acquiring companies. Having a solid subscriber base with low churn substantially increases the value of your business.

Know your customers

By having a stream of loyal customers who consistently buy, you can get priceless data on their shopping habits. This helps you personalize newsletters and email campaigns to suit their needs with future products.

The recurring revenue of a subscription model can be a lifeline for your business through the ups and downs of today's market, but subscriptions are not implemented as standard in Shopify or other platforms.

What Types of Ecommerce Stores Can Benefit From Subscription Membership Management?

High-revenue eCommerce stores can significantly benefit from implementing subscription models for their customers. First, beauty and personal care stores are prime candidates; these products are used regularly, and customers appreciate the convenience of having them replenished automatically. Subscription services ensure that customers never run out of essential items like skincare or makeup products, fostering loyalty and consistent revenue.

Fitness and health stores, offering supplements, vitamins, and workout gear, can leverage subscriptions to support their customers' ongoing health and fitness journeys. The recurring nature of these needs makes subscriptions particularly attractive, ensuring that customers have a constant supply of their essentials, contributing to the store's steady income stream, and enhancing customer satisfaction through convenience and personalized service.

Why Is Subscription Membership Management on Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce a Hassle?

Setting up and managing subscriptions on eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce can be challenging due to a variety of reasons. The complexity of subscription management—encompassing recurring payments, customer account management, cancellation policies, and proration—requires intricate system configurations that these platforms don't always natively support. This often necessitates the integration of third-party apps or plugins, which introduces compatibility issues, added costs, and potential security vulnerabilities.

Different regions and payment processors have varied regulations and requirements for recurring billing, complicating the setup for businesses targeting a global market. These platforms also cater to a wide range of businesses, making their default subscription solutions somewhat generic; thus, customization to fit specific business needs can be both technically challenging and resource-intensive. Lastly, maintaining these subscriptions requires constant monitoring and updating to ensure compliance with changing laws, payment gateway policies, and customer expectations, adding to the operational overhead.

Checkout Champ Can Help

Checkout Champ is designed to enhance your existing store, NOT replace it. So you can stay on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or Magento, and simply ‘bolt-on’ the features you want from Checkout Champ:

• Add a subscription model to your store with one click and manage everything from one rock-solid CRM platform

• Increase profit and sales by adding custom subscription sections and pop-ups to your checkout

• Collect tons of data on your customer’s shopping habits. CheckoutChamp collects data on every single keystroke your customers make, even before submitting the order. This, in turn, will help you create better funnels for your future products.

We’ve also made sure the setup process is as easy and pain-free as possible Every Checkout Champ user is assigned a personal Client Success Representative who is your single point of contact for all your questions and will do everything it takes to get you up and running fast.