Increase Customer Lifetime Value With These 10 Subscription Apps

Offering subscriptions is a reliable and effective way to create a predictable, recurring revenue stream, and helps you turn one-time shoppers into repeat customers. To sell subscriptions with your Shopify store, the first step is installing a subscription app. Choosing the app best-suited for you—and your business—is an important decision, and we’re here to help.

More and more businesses are adopting subscription models, and it’s catching on with consumers. According to McKinsey & Company, 15% of Americans have signed up for at least one subscription to receive products on a recurring basis. 

Offering subscriptions is a reliable and effective way to create a predictable, recurring revenue stream, and helps you turn one-time shoppers into repeat customers. With more insight and better forecasting, you can also make bigger investments in your business. To sell subscriptions with your Shopify store, the first step is installing a subscription app. Choosing the app best-suited for you—and your business—is an important decision, and we’re here to help. 

Top 10 subscription apps to consider 

Whether you’re looking to set up subscriptions for the first time or are looking to uplevel your existing subscription needs, there are a variety of apps that will help your business increase revenue through subscription sales. And when you use an app that’s integrated with Shopify Checkout, your customers can enjoy the same seamless experience whether they’re making a one-time purchase or starting a subscription.

Explore these subscription apps, based on the stage of your business, to determine which app is right.  

Basic Subscription Apps 

• Shopify Subscriptions
• Subscriptions by Yotpo 
• Seal Subscriptions and Loyalty
• Bold Subscriptions

Intermediate Subscription Apps 

• PayWhirl
• Awtomic Subscriptions
• Appstle Subscriptions

Advanced Subscription Apps 

• Smartrr 
• Ordergroove 
• Recharge 

Basic Subscription Apps  

If your business is just starting out with subscriptions or you want to test the business model, these apps have the fundamental features you need to begin. 

Shopify Subscriptions

Easily set up and manage subscription products using the free Shopify Subscriptions app. 

Feature Highlights: 

• Subscription discounts. Offer subscriptions with a discount that renew on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis 
• Customer flexibility. Give your customers the flexibility to cancel, skip, or pause subscriptions through new customer accounts 
• Customizable templates. Use customizable email templates for order confirmations or payment reminders

Cost: Free

Subscriptions by Yotpo 

Subscriptions by Yotpo helps you effortlessly set up subscriptions in just a few clicks so you can start selling in a couple of minutes.

Source: Yotpo Subscriptions

Feature Highlights:  

• Customize subscription widget. Change the appearance of the subscription widget by customizing the font, color scheme, or widget CSS
• Passwordless login customer portal. Allow buyers to manage their subscriptions via a passwordless login customer portal 

Cost: No fees for up to $500/month in subscription sales. After the initial $500/month there is a 1% transaction fee.  

Seal Subscriptions & Loyalty

Seal Subscriptions & Loyalty offers a flexible and cost-effective subscription solution that allows prepaid and pay-as-you-go subscriptions. 

Source: Seal Subscriptions & Loyalty 

Feature Highlights: 

• Discounting features. Set up loyalty discounts to retain customers or offer dynamic discounts that change over the duration of a subscription (E.g. 20% discount for first 3 orders)
• Prepaid subscriptions. Offer prepaid subscriptions so customers can pay upfront
• Delivery profiles. Change the delivery setting using delivery profiles   

Cost: There are four pricing tiers: free and monthly fees of $4.95, $7.95, and $20 a month, all with a 0% transaction fee.  

Bold Subscriptions

Bold Subscriptions offers a free trial period so that you can set up and test your subscription items without paying. Its reporting dashboard means you can stay close to the subscription journey and understand key metrics. 

Source: Bold Subscriptions 

Feature highlights: 

• Cancellation management. Customize your cancellation flow and understand why your customers are no longer interested in subscribing 
• Customer portal. Tailor the customer portal management actions you want to offer, such as canceling and pausing subscriptions, placing additional orders, and modify order dates and frequencies  

Cost: Bold offers a free 60 day trial with one pricing plan of $49.99/month + 1% transaction fee. 
 

Intermediate Subscription Apps 

PayWhirl, Awtomic Subscriptions, and Appstle Subscriptions offer versatility for both first-time subscription sellers as well as seasoned owners, whose subscription models might wade into complexity with features like loyalty programs. Every app has a different set of pricing tiers that are based on a multitude of factors, including volume of sales, features, and more. 

PayWhirl 

PayWhirl is a great solution for selling subscriptions with an easy-to-use customer portal that allows your customers to manage their subscription orders. Choose the pricing structure and features that best fit your businesses’ needs from four different plans.

Source: PayWhirl Subscription Payments

Feature highlights: 

• Robust reporting and analytics. Keep track of your subscription data with a suite of reports and analytics 
• Easy to manage customer portal. Allow customers to cancel and pause subscriptions, swap products, reschedule deliveries, and more

Cost: A free basic version (3% transaction fee), $9 monthly (2% transaction fee), $49 monthly (1% transaction fee), $249 monthly (0.5% transaction fee). 

Awtomic Subscriptions

Awtomic Subscriptions offers flexibility and control over subscription offerings. Offer dynamic discounts, prepaid subscriptions, and trial periods to your customers.

Source: Awtomic Subscriptions 

Feature Highlights: 

• Notifications. Keep your customers updated with SMS notifications in addition to emails
• Shuffle features. Automatically send different products to customers so they find their new favorite item
• Optimized for mobile. A mobile-first design that allows customers to manage their subscriptions via SMS support and a passwordless customer portal 

Cost: Professional at $99 per month and Enterprise at $299 per month, both with a 1% transaction fee. 

Appstle Subscriptions

Appstle Subscriptions offers flexible features like build-a-box subscriptions or customer loyalty programs to boost engagement.  

Source: Appstle Subscriptions

Features highlights: 

• Flexible order management for customers. Customers can manage their orders within the subscription management portal making it easy to change the date they receive their next subscription 
• Build-a-box. Let customers build a subscription box with different types of products on a recurring basis, in addition to auto-charging for subscriptions 
• Customization options. Customize the subscription widget that appears on the product page 

Cost: A free basic version, and three monthly plans at $10 (Starter), $20 (Business), and $80 (Enterprise) monthly, all with no transaction fees. You can also select annual billing at $96, $288, or $960 a year, respectively.

 

Advanced Subscription Apps 

Smartrr, Ordergroove, and Recharge Subscriptions have a robust set of features that allow for modifications so you can tailor your subscriptions service to your business model. The pricing of these apps vary depending on the level of customization required.  

Smartrr 

Smartrr gives you advanced control over the style and customization of your buyer-facing customer portal and offers advanced subscription options. With different pricing tiers, you can choose the best one suited for your business.  

Source: Smartrr Subscriptions

Feature Highlights: 

• Robust reporting and analytics. Know how your business is performing, track customer insights, and analyze retention data using a suite of reports
• Flexible subscription options. Offer advanced subscription options, such as maximum and minimum number of orders, variable discounts over time, pre-paid subscriptions, and create-a-box subscriptions 
• SMS notifications. Keep customers updated with SMS notifications in addition to emails  

Cost: Launch at $99/month, Grow at $299/month, or Excel, starting at $499 a month. Free trials or demos are available of each tier before a commitment is required. All plans have an additional 1% of subscription GMV fee.

Ordergroove 

Ordergroove offers a variety of options for customization and accommodates businesses that have more complex shipping and fulfillment needs, making it a good option for more established businesses. For example, if your customers purchase multiple subscriptions and you want to combine the orders to save on shipping, this may be the app for you. 

Source: Ordergroove 

Feature highlights: 

• Customer portal. Customize the subscription buyer experience by changing the styling of the buyer customer portal
• Combined shipping options. Save money on shipping by combining subscription orders that can be shipped at the same time 
• Advanced customer analysis. This app uses AI to help identify customers that are likely to cancel their subscriptions so you can preemptively offer alternative options 

Cost: Free version available for subscription sales up to $1500 and a plan starting at $60 a month for subscription sales that exceed $1500. 

Recharge Subscriptions

Recharge is a well-rounded subscription app that will scale with your business. It is well suited for both new and experienced entrepreneurs with features that let your customers skip or reschedule deliveries, or swap products. 

Source: Recharge

Feature highlights: 

• Robust reporting and analytics. Keep track of your subscriptions data with a suite of reports and analytics to help understand your subscriptions business
• Customizable portal. Manage your subscription business within a powerful merchant portal so your customers can fully manage their subscriptions, including the ability to cancel, reschedule, and swap products within their subscription. Recharge offers several options to change the customer portal and lets you customize cancellation flows to understand and reduce customer churn
• Tailor the subscription widget. Change the styling of the subscription widget by selecting button styles and setting the color scheme

Cost: Standard: no monthly fees. Recharge charges 1% + $.10 per transaction; Pro: $300 monthly fee plus 1% + $.19 per transaction. 

 

So what are you waiting for?

If none of the above suggestions fit your business, you can check out the full list of available subscription apps in the Shopify App Store. The security and scalability provided by predictable, recurring revenue is yours for the taking. Set up your subscription model and start growing your business!

If you have questions, reach out to one of our helpful support professionals and we’ll talk you through how to get started. 

 

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The material above is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advertising, solicitation or advice. Further, Shopify does not necessarily endorse and is not responsible for any third-party content that may be accessed through this information

Increase Customer Lifetime Value FAQ

What is a good customer lifetime value?

A "good" customer lifetime value is subjective and depends on the specific business. Generally, a customer lifetime value of at least three times the customer acquisition cost is considered a good benchmark.

Why increasing CLV is important?

Increasing customer lifetime value (CLV) is important for businesses because it helps them better understand their customer base and optimize the customer experience. By increasing CLV, businesses can increase customer loyalty, generate more revenue, and build a long-term relationship with their customers. Increasing CLV also helps businesses identify their most valuable customers, which can lead to targeted marketing strategies, improved customer service, and better customer engagement.

What is a way you would work to increase customer lifetime value for your business?

• Develop strong relationships with customers: Take the time to really get to know your customers. Listen to their needs and provide personalized service. Show them that you value them and they will be more likely to keep coming back.
• Offer loyalty programs: Offer loyalty programs or rewards for customers who frequently purchase from your business or refer others to your business. This will encourage customers to return.
• Focus on quality: Make sure that your products and services are of the highest quality and provide value to customers.
• Follow up with customers: Stay in touch with customers after they make a purchase. Send them thank you emails, follow up surveys, and invite them to exclusive events or sales.
• Improve customer service: Make sure that your customer service team is well-trained and responsive to customer needs. This will help ensure that customers are happy with their experience and more likely to come back.