Ah, the subscription model. Once the darling of lockdown life, delivering everything from sustainable loo roll to surprisingly decent DIY meal kits, it became a lifeline for consumers and a goldmine for eCommerce brands. But now we’re back outside, facing the Great Unsubscribe.
So, how do you keep customers loyal in a world full of distractions, cancellations, and email inboxes full of “Sorry to see you go!” messages?
Let’s get into it: retention tips, fulfilment hacks, and a few hard truths (with jokes to soften the blow, don’t worry).
Cast your mind back to early 2020. Banana bread was having a moment. Tiger King was somehow a cultural milestone. And subscriptions? They were booming. We all thought, “I’ll just try this for a month...” and suddenly we had four meal kits, three coffee deliveries, and enough razors to shave a grizzly bear.
Stats time: In April 2020, subscriptions in consumer goods eCommerce were up by as much as 148%. People were trapped inside and craving convenience.
But now? Now we’re cancelling faster than you can say “cost of living crisis.” That doesn’t mean the model’s broken; it just means brands need to evolve. And guess what? That’s where we come in.
There’s a bit of a pattern when it comes to subscription dropouts - and it's not always down to product quality. Sometimes, it’s the experience around the product that makes people ghost you. Here’s the top culprits:
Don’t worry, these are fixable. Let’s get to the good stuff.
Your product might be brilliant, but the experience around it has to match. Remind customers why they signed up. Surprise them. Delight them. A little note, a loyalty perk, a bonus sample - these small gestures do big things.
Example: “Surprise! We’ve popped in a new flavour to try.” Boom. That’s how you get five stars and a loyal fan.
Modern subscribers aren’t just demanding, they’re indecisive. One week they want vegan protein bars, the next it’s collagen-packed peanut butter (yes, it’s a thing). Give them control.
Let them:
The more they feel in charge, the less likely they are to bail.
You know what doesn’t make people feel loved? Transactional emails that read like a bank statement. Talk to your customers like humans - and better yet, like friends. Altogether now: awwwwwww.
Remind them when a payment is coming up. Check in after a delivery. Ask for feedback and actually act on it.
If your brand voice is “funny, helpful mate,” stick with it across every channel. And if it’s “premium and polished,” stay on brand, but don’t forget the human touch.
Here’s where fulfilment comes in (hi, yes, that’s us). There’s nothing more off-putting than:
Your product can be award-winning, organic, artisanal, hand-foraged by monks in the Alps... but if it turns up late and squashed, you’ve lost that customer.
That’s why you need a fulfilment partner who gets it. Who understands the fast-paced, ever-changing, often chaotic world of subscriptions. Who can handle monthly, bi-monthly, “pause for three weeks and then send me five boxes at once” requests.
We don’t like to brag (well, maybe a little), but we’re one of the only fulfilment providers out there who can really do this well. How? Our tech, our systems and our people.
Our platform is built to handle the moving pieces that subscriptions demand: tailored kitting, smart batch management, real-time stock tracking, and dynamic delivery windows that flex with your customers’ needs.
It’s not just about putting things in boxes; it’s about precision, personalisation, and performance at scale. And frankly, we’ve nailed it.
Use the data you’ve got. If someone always orders the oat milk variant, why not recommend a new coffee to go with it? If someone’s skipped their last three boxes, offer them a little incentive to stay.
Use behaviours, preferences, and purchase history to build smarter, stronger customer relationships.
Think: “We noticed you’ve skipped a few months. Fancy trying our new XYZ box - on us?” That’s retention gold. And also just really nice of you.
Here’s where we shine. Subscription fulfilment isn’t just about putting things in boxes. It’s about being:
We’re built for scale. We know what’s coming (seasonal spikes, viral TikToks, influencer shoutouts), and we’re ready. Our platform syncs with your eCommerce store and gives you real-time insight, so you can keep an eye on stock, trends, and order flow like a boss.
Want to personalise your subscription boxes? Easy. Got different SKUs for different regions? Done. Need to manage 3,000 orders on launch day? Piece of cake.
Let’s spare you the pain. Here are the things to avoid like a suspicious pop-up on a dodgy streaming site (no judgement):
Need a little inspo? These brands are doing it right:
They’ve nailed consistency, control, and character. So can you.
Trends to watch:
And we’ll be right there alongside you, developing what’s needed to support the brands that really want to grow their recurring revenue models.
If you want to win at subscription eCommerce in 2025, it’s not about launching; it’s about lasting. Customers will come for the novelty, but they’ll stay for the experience. And that experience? It starts the moment they hit ‘Subscribe’ and doesn’t end until the product’s in their hand.