Best eCommerce subscription platform software – Why you need it
The subscription model is taking over online businesses. It’s no secret that subscription services are on the rise, with people paying for everything from music and movies, to clothes and food. But what about ecommerce? Can the subscription model work for businesses selling products online? The answer is yes. Does your online store offers subscription businesses and has subscription management software in it? If you don’t, you might want to consider getting one, and here’s why…
Quick fact: Subscription commerce is exploding. According to research by McKinsey & Company, 15% of internet customers have enrolled in one or more subscription services. That is a very large portion of online sales. Does your business take advantage of this trend?
Based on the statistics from emarketer, global online sales will hit 5.5 Trillion dollars in 2022.
If your business sells online or wants to expand sales online, you should use every opportunity and trend to grow your business.
What is the subscription model?
The subscription model is a type of eCommerce where customers can sign up to receive products or services on a recurring basis. This could be anything from a monthly box of clothes, to a weekly delivery of fresh flowers.
How does the subscription model work?
A customer signs up for a subscription business. The customer chooses a payment method and enters payment and billing information(some services offer a free trial for one time or a few weeks). The business charge recurring bills to the customer every week, month, or whatever the friquency the program offers(typically the customer receive subscription billing notice when the payment gateway charges or before charge). The customer gets charged automatically and the business ships items or grant access to the program. This is a very simplified explanation. Every subscription business model offers something unique and different.
What is subscription ecommerce platform software?
subscription ecommerce platform provides the technology that businesses need to start and manage a subscription service. This can include anything from subscription payments and shipping to customer management and analytics.
There are many benefits of using subscription ecommerce platform software for businesses. We will discuss this in this article further.
There are two main types of subscription models:
– Physical goods:
These are items that need to be shipped to the customer on a regular basis, such as food, clothes, or cosmetics. Some business is called their goods as a subscription box.
This works great for physical products your customer consumes and orders repeatedly such as groceries, health, and wellness care items, and beauty products. Does you bueinss sell any products which customer use and buy again and again? Maybe it is the time to add a subscription service option on your ecommerce website
– Digital goods:
These are items that can be delivered electronically, such as software, online courses, or ebooks. Businesses offer these digital subscriptions for monthly charges to use the services on the website.
Do you offer online classes on a regular basis? Instead of selling individual classes, make it a subscription service, so your students don’t have to worry about signing up and pay it everytime. This makes things easy on you and your students.
Why is the subscription model good for you?
There are many reasons why the subscription model is a good choice for businesses, both big and small.
But what if you’re already using subscriptions in your business? What if you have an existing customer base that has been paying monthly or annually for years? How do you make sure they continue to pay?
The answer: You don’t.
You need to find ways to keep them coming back. And one of the best ways to do this is by offering
In addition, you can also use it to offer your customers an ongoing service they will be happy to pay for.
For example, if you sell software, physical products or other products online, then a monthly subscription offering option could be a great way of encouraging people to buy more from you.
If you’re selling services, such as web design or SEO, then offering a monthly fee could help you
The subscription model offers flexibility and convenience for customers.
With a subscription, customers can choose to receive their products on a weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly basis. Customers love subscription services because they are convenient. They don’t have to remember to reorder items on their own, they can just set it and forget it. This convenience factor is one of the main reasons subscription services are so popular. In addition, subscription services are often less expensive than buying products individually.
The subscription model makes your business stable and more predictable revenue.
When customers sign up for a subscription, they agree to pay for the service on a regular basis. For businesses, this means that you can predict your subscription revenue and cash flow more accurately, which can help with planning and budgeting. This is great for businesses because it provides them with a steady stream of recurring revenue that they can count on. In addition, subscription services tend to have high customer retention rates, which means that businesses can rely on them for long-term growth. If you know that your regular customers come back every month, that is the ideal customer for you.
The subscription model is a great way to build customer loyalty.
When customers sign up for a subscription, they make a commitment to the business. This commitment can lead to loyalty, which is great for businesses. Loyal customers are more likely to recommend the business to their friends and family, and they are also more likely to make repeat purchases. Humans are a product of habit. They are less inclined to switch their preference for something else once they have fallen in love with your items. the subscription model can grow your loyal customers.
Demography: who uses the subscription model the most.
A study from Mcknesy and Company shows that young urbanites with good financial positions tend to use the subscription often. They are more likely to be 25 to 44 years old, have incomes of $50,000 to $100,000, and live in urban areas in the Northeast United States than the general US population. Women make up 60% of subscribers.
What kind of payment gateway should I use?
There are many kinds of payment gateways on the market. But not all of them are subscription-based. You need to make sure that the payment gateway you choose can support subscription payments. Some popular subscription payment gateways include Stripe, Braintree, and Recurly. If you are building a subscription-based business like Netflix, blueapron, and others, it is critical to choose a payment gateway that offers multiple payment methods and other advanced features such as changing payment options and timing.
When you’re choosing a subscription payment gateway, it’s important to consider your needs and your budget. Some subscription payment gateways are more expensive than others, but they may offer features that are worth the extra cost. For example, some subscription payment gateways offer fraud protection and subscription management tools that can save you time and money.
Payment Providers:
Stripe
Stipe is very developer-friendly and flexible. You can develop many automated features such as subscriptions. Both WooCommer Subscriptions and SureCart utilized Stripe to make your customer’s transactions as easy and secure as possible.
Paypal
Paypal is one of the most widely used online payment processors in the world. They offer a subscription service that businesses can use to accept recurring payments. Paypal is a good choice for businesses that are just starting out with subscription payments because it’s easy to set up and use.
What types of subscription models are successful?
First and for the most, you can make any service or goods in a subscription model. It doesn’t have to be an e-commerce business model. A monthly membership carwash is a great example. But what are the most popular e-commerce based subscription models? The article from McKinsey&Comapany describes there are three major types of subscription online business models.
Tips: Have a great customer support
Customers feel they are in your club. So they expect some level of special treatment. You don’t have to them like V.I.P but try to make them feel special. Having a great customer support is key to achieve this. Sometime a good experience motivates the custoemr to stay in your program.
3 major types of subscription models
Replenishment
One of t the easiest examples of Subscription will be Amazon Subscribe. product subscription automates your purchase. the company ships items monthly or at certain intervals. This type makes up 32% of all subscription models.
Curation
This model often offers personalized or pre-selected items based on your preference or profile. You will be something you most likely love. It usually has an element of surprise on delivery, so customers would receive subscription boxes at a certain frequency. The subscription service preselect items that fits you, and they will ship items with or without knowing too much about what’s in it.
This type makes up 55% of total subscriptions
Exclusive Access
This model offers members-only items or something exclusive to its members. For example, popular subscription businesses in this model are Thrive Market or Public Goods. You have to subscribe to the membership to purchase items they sell. Customers can feel exclusivity. this model takes 13% of total subscriptions. Digital Products are a great fit for this access-based monthly subscription business mode
How to make a successful subscription model?
The keyword is personalized great experience. Let’s face it. It is much harder to ask someone to commit to a subscription service than a one-time purchase. Unless they love your products so much that they buy them regardless, the signup thresholds are pretty high in general.
if your products are new, unique, or require first-hand experience, you might want to offer a trial period, especially for physical products
Customer relationships are critical in every business. Subscription is no different. Customers often don’t know how to change the plan, contents, and payment methods. As a company, it is important to support these customers. When people sign up your subscription service,
What are the best subscription ecommerce platforms?
if you are ready to start, there are plenty of subscription ecommerce platforms available on the market.
Subscription platforms have different features, so it’s important to choose one that meets the specific needs of your business. Which one is the best subscription ecommerce platform for you?
WooCommerce Subscription
is a great subscription platform for businesses that use WordPress and sell subscriptions. It integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce and offers a variety of features, including automatic payments, recurring orders, subscription management, and subscription pause/resume. There are tons of subscription extensions for WooCommerce subscription plugin.
Customers can choose the frequency of the charge, change billing info, pause and resume subscriptions on their own. Or you can set them up. The plugin doesn’t have any limitations. You can configure it any way you like.
Since it is based on WordPress, you can add many features, including a website builder(Elementor), CRM marketing software(Fluent CRM), and more.
What does it look like when you use WooCommerce Subscription? Learn the basics of WooCommerce Subscription.
SureCart
SureCart is another popular subscription platform that offers a wide range of features, including subscription management, automatic payments, recurring billing, and customer management. You can sell subscriptions and sell digital products easily. You can create a subscription easily. This is one great subscription solution with many features. it is essentially free.
Conclusion:
What is it that you offer? Do you have repeat customers? Consider establishing a subscription business model for your company and selling subscriptions. The data reveals that 15% of ecommerce consumers are willing to try out a subscription service, so it’s a good guess that some of your existing clientele would be excited about your subscription plan. If you can build a good subscription business, you can increase revenue and make your business stable.
Sources:
*Thinking inside the subscription box: New research on e-commerce consumers
