Shopify subscription discounts are an incredible way to increase your revenue by enticing shoppers to subscribe and save.

In this article we’re going to go over the many different types of Shopify subscription discounts available to you as a merchant.

Topics Covered:

• What is a subscription discount?
• Can I create a subscription discount on Shopify?5 Benefits of Subscription Discounts
• Types of Subscription Discounts
• Subscription Discounts Real Life Examples
• Best Shopify app for Subscription Discounts

What is a subscription discount?

A subscription discount is a reduced price on a subscription product.

For example, you might be selling a Cookie Box one time for $50 but if customers buy a monthly subscription, they can get the Cookie Box for only $40 a month (20% off)

That’s a savings of $10 on every order.

Subscription discounts help the product sell more because they offer shoppers a deal.

To get the deal, they have to sign up or subscribe.

Subscription discounts incentive the shopper to choose a subscription plan in order to save money.

Can I create a subscription discount on Shopify?

Yes, you can create a subscription discount on Shopify but you will need to install a subscription app.
We recommend trying Ongoing Subscriptions. The app is made specifically for Shopify stores and works right out of the box with all Shopify themes. You can get up and running in just a couple minutes with a few clicks.

Once you have Ongoing installed, you can create subscription plans with discounts baked right into them!

If you apply a discount to the subscription product, it will offer the product at a reduced price.

You can choose whatever subscription discount you want.

5 Benefits of Subscription Discounts

There are lots of benefits of using subscription discounts on your products. We’ll cover some of the most powerful aspects of using subscription discounts.

1. Subscription discounts help you Sell More

Everyone loves the feeling of getting a good deal. That’s how you can think of subscription discounts. Your customers will get a deal if they can commit to recurring order.

With subscriptions, customers agree to get charged on a recurring basis which means this earns you repeat orders

2. Offers customers convenience

Shoppers are attracted to the subscription discounts because it not only saves them money but also offers them convenience. With subscriptions, the repeat orders is activated and the customer benefits from ongoing deliveries with autopay. Recurring orders saves the customer a trip to the store. It also saves them from reentering their credit card info again and again to repurchase an item.

3. Rewards Customer Loyalty

Having a reward system for customers who buy your products all the time is a great way to encourage their loyalty. Subscription discounts do just that! If your customers choose a subscription plan you can offer them a reduced price for placing a repeat order.

4. Better Conversions!

If you’ve been struggling with having shoppers visit your website and then just leaving with out buying anything, you are not alone. This happens to millions of store owners out there every single day. With subscription discounts, shoppers will be encouraged to buy the product as a subscription. Not only does this help you get shoppers to click “add to cart” much easier, but you’re more likely to have the customer complete their checkout so they can snag the deal.

5. Outpace your competitors

If you can offer a better price than your competitors, you should totally go for it! Undercutting your competition is a great way to get your foot in the door. With subscription discounts, you can easily reduce the price of a subscription product and make it look very appealing to shoppers browsing your site.

Types of Subscription Discounts

There are three types of subscription discounts that you can do on Shopify. We’ll cover the differences between each of them and how to use them.

Percentage Subscription Discount

The percentage discount is the percentage which will be removed from the item price.

For example, 10% off subscription box monthly plan

If I had a $100 subscription product with 10% off discount, the final price would be $90. The customer saves $10.

Set Price Subscription Discount

A set price discount lets you determine the final reduced price for your subscription box per delivery.

For example, a set price of $29.99 subscription box monthly plan

Let’s say my product is normally $45 for a one time purchase, but if the customer subscribes they can get the product for only $29.99

Fixed Price Subscription Discount

The fixed amount discount is the total amount which will be removed from the item price per delivery.

For example, if my subscription box is normally $30, I can offer $5 off monthly plan

After applying the subscription discount, the product would cost only $25

Subscription Discounts Real Life Examples

The best way to learn about subscription discounts is to see a real life example. We’re going to go ahead and create three different types of subscription discounts using Ongoing.

In this example we have a product titled “One Dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies”.

The regular price is $22 for a one time purchase.

Here is what the product looks like before it’s a subscription. Just a normal product.

Percentage Based Subscription Discount Example

The first subscription discount example is going to be percentage based.

Here’s how it would look to set it up.

On the Ongoing app we’ll go head and add a subscription plan.

We’ll create a monthly delivery/monthly billing and add a discount of 10% off.

You can customize the percentage based discount by choosing any percentage value you want.

Now when I click the Publish button on the Ongoing app, my product is instantly available as a subscription.

It will also have that percentage based subscription discount factored into the pricing.

Here is what the same product looks like as a subscription with subscription discounts.

Notice how when a shopper selects the subscription plan “Monthly Delivery/Monthly Billing 10% off” the price is instantly recalculated from $22 to $19.80.

The customer is being rewarded for placing a recurring order.

Set Price Subscription Discount Example

Okay now we’re going to try a different type of discount type, set price.

A set price as we learned earlier is when you set the price of a subscription product.

So instead of $22, I want the set price to be $20 if they subscribe monthly.

On the Ongoing app we’ll go head and add a subscription plan.

We’ll create a monthly delivery/monthly billing and add a discount with a set price of $20.

If the shopper wants to buy the cookies one time, they pay the full price of $22.

But if the shopper wants to subscribe to a monthly subscription plan, they can pay only $20.

Fixed Amount Off Subscription Discount Example

What if we wanted to give the shopper $5 off?

This type of subscription discount can be achieved with a fixed amount off.

This amount will be removed from the item price per delivery.

On the Ongoing app we’ll go head and add a subscription plan for monthly delivery and add a discount with “Amount Off” of $5.

This will make a plan available on the product page that lets the customer select a monthly subscription, and will activate the $5 off discount for ongoing orders.

Here is what the product will look like with a “Fixed Amount” off subscription discount.

If the shopper wants to buy the cookies as a one-time purchase, they pay the full price of $22.

But if the shopper wants to subscribe to a monthly subscription plan, they can pay only $17

Best Shopify App for Subscription Discounts

Ongoing is the best app on Shopify for creating subscription discounts.

Ongoing is a Shopify app that lets you turn any product on your store into a subscription product.

Although subscription discounts are optional to include in your subscription plans, they are highly recommended because they can help your products sell better.

Ongoing Subscriptions helps you get more sales on your Shopify store by letting you sell your products on a recurring basis.

Customers can easily subscribe to a product, and get charged automatically for a set price on a schedule they choose.

Ongoing gives your customers the flexibility of choosing their delivery frequency so they can get the products when they want or need.

If you sell a product that your customers use frequently and need more of, selling subscriptions would be a good match for your store.

Ongoing subscription discounts are super easy to use and set up with one click!

The app also displays a handsome badge on the subscription product that says “Subscribe and Save”. This helps motivate customers to opt for the subscription.

With Ongoing, you can create some subscription plans and offer them to your shoppers (like weekly delivery, monthly delivery, or quarterly delivery).

Ongoing creates a beautiful widget on your product page where shoppers can select one of these subscription plans and save some money if there is a subscription discount applied.