Ecommerce Spotlight: Subscriptions with ReCharge

Welcome back to another instalment in Swanky’s Ecommerce Spotlight series! Together with our trusty network of partners, we’re exploring all of the fabulous plug-and-play possibilities within the Shopify ecosystem, helping merchants across the land to unlock their ecommerce potential.

Today, we talk ecommerce subscriptions with Rob Barr, friend of Swanky and Agency/Platform Partnerships Manager at ReCharge. How can ReCharge’s unique features help merchants supercharge their subscription business? 

Before we hand over to Rob, here’s a quick snapshot of ReCharge’s functionality:

ReCharge: a snapshot

ReCharge is the leading platform for merchants looking to launch and scale their subscription business. They work with thousands of Shopify merchants, powering some of the largest subscription stores in the world, including Dr. Axe, Death Wish Coffee and our very own Swanky client, Friction Free Shaving.

Here are just a few highlights of the ReCharge app:

Subscribe and save

Easily transform existing one-time products into monthly subscriptions with a ‘Subscribe & Save’ product page option.

Subscription boxes

Manage your monthly subscription box business with configurable delivery and cut-off dates, inventory forecasting and order management.

All-in-one platform

Merchants can sell and manage repeat orders in an all-in-one platform that integrates seamlessly with Shopify.

Retention features

Create cancellation reasons to help you understand why customers are leaving, and then offer relevant incentives to decrease churn.

Customer portal

The ReCharge customer portal lets your customers fully manage all aspects of their subscriptions directly from the store.

Over to Rob, as he answers some frequently asked questions about ReCharge and ecommerce subscriptions:

Who are ReCharge and why are they a good fit for Shopify merchants?

Summary:

• ReCharge is a Shopify Plus technology partner for ecommerce subscriptions and recurring billing.
• We’re a good fit for Shopify merchants because we power the recurring aspects of a subscription business.
• We also provide the end subscriber with a portal that they can log into and handle their subscription.

What are the benefits of implementing a subscription model?

Summary:

• Compared to transactional commerce, you can really build out a conversational relationship with subscribers.
• Subscriptions allow you to build a better customer lifetime value (recurring customers are typically up to 7x more valuable than a one-time purchaser).
• You can also expose new product lines to your most engaged customers.

How does ReCharge make use of automation to increase sales?

Summary:

• Throughout the lifecycle of a customer, there are around nine different events that trigger automatic communication with a subscriber.
• Merchants can automate incentives.
• We automatically push orders to Shopify for fulfilment.

How do ReCharge’s retention strategies help reduce customer churn?

Summary:

• When a subscriber logs into their customer portal to cancel a subscription, we ask merchant-dictated questions to understand why. We then present dynamic responses with custom incentives to continue their subscription.
• We work closely with Stripe/Braintree to ensure that expiring cards are automatically updated, meaning payments are always consistent.

Can merchants change the look of the ReCharge customer portal to match the rest of their store?

Summary:

• Merchants can use CSS to customise the default customer portal and bring it on brand.
• Alternatively, our developer tools (i.e. Theme Engine) can be used to build out a far more intuitive, on-brand experience for customers. Merchants can work with development agencies like Swanky on projects like this.

How does pricing work?

Summary:

• There are two pricing models for ReCharge, both of which are negotiable.
• ReCharge Core is $40/month plus a 1% processing fee.
• ReCharge Pro, designed for larger, more advanced merchants who need a custom approach, costs $300/month plus a 1% processing fee and 19 cents per transaction.

Which industries do you see using ecommerce subscriptions the most?

Summary:

• There’s been a huge uptake in the consumables space, as well as amongst merchants who provide a curated selection of products on a regular basis.
• Currently, there are interesting things happening in the fashion industry, where brands are offering benefits to subscription customers.

What’s your favourite ReCharge x Shopify case study?

Summary:

• My favourite case study for ReCharge and Shopify would be Freshly Picked, a high-end children’s Moccasins brand. 
• They are monetising their very engaged customer base with a club membership model that gives subscribers benefits such as free shipping, discounts and early product access.

Can ReCharge support the migration of subscription businesses?

Summary:

• Absolutely – we have a full team in place who are dedicated to the migration process.
• We work closely with agency partners like Swanky to make sure the migration process goes as smoothly as possible.

Next under the spotlight

Thank you to Rob for enlightening us on ReCharge and all its revenue-boosting functionality!

In the next instalment of our Ecommerce Spotlight series, we catch up with Justin Broomes from dotdigital to find out how Shopify merchants can supercharge their customer engagement strategy.

Get in touch

Want to know how Swanky could transform your ecommerce store with an advanced tech stack and expert strategic guidance? Get in touch with our friendly team of Shopify Plus Experts today to find out!