Subscribe and Save
Subscribe and Save is the most common subscription model in ecommerce: customers opt into recurring deliveries of a product they buy repeatedly — coffee, supplements, pet food, skincare — and get a standing discount in return. Here’s how it works and how to offer it on Shopify.
Subscribe and Save is a subscription model where customers receive automatic, recurring deliveries of a product in exchange for a discount off the one-time price — popularized by Amazon and widely used by Shopify brands for consumable goods.
How subscribe and save works
On a product page, the customer chooses between a one-time purchase and a subscription. The subscription option shows a lower price (for example, “Save 15%”) and a delivery frequency such as every 30 days. Once they subscribe, the store automatically charges the saved payment method and fulfills a new order on each interval until the customer pauses or cancels.
Why brands offer it
Subscribe and save benefits both sides of the transaction:
- Predictable, recurring revenue (MRR) instead of one-off sales.
- Higher customer lifetime value (LTV) because subscribers buy for months or years.
- Lower acquisition cost per order — you acquire the customer once.
- For shoppers: a lower price, plus the convenience of never running out of a staple product.
Subscribe and save vs. a subscription box
Subscribe and save reorders the same product the customer already chose. A subscription box (curated or build-a-box) sends a rotating or customizable assortment. Many brands offer both — subscribe-and-save for staples and a box for variety.
How to add subscribe and save to Shopify
Shopify supports native subscriptions through the Subscriptions API, but you need a subscription app to create the plans, render the on-page widget, and run the customer portal. With RecurX you create a subscribe-and-save plan, set the discount and frequency, pick one of 20 widget designs that auto-matches your theme, and the “Subscribe & Save” option appears on your product pages — typically in a few minutes, with no code.
Frequently asked questions
What is a subscribe and save subscription?
It is a subscription where a customer receives automatic, recurring deliveries of a product at a discounted price versus buying it once. They choose a delivery frequency (e.g. every 30 days) and can pause, skip, or cancel at any time. It is ideal for consumables people reorder regularly.
Is there a catch to subscribe and save?
The main things to watch are that deliveries renew automatically until you pause or cancel, and the discount only applies while you stay subscribed. Reputable programs (and Shopify App Store rules) require easy self-service cancellation, so the “catch” is simply remembering to manage the schedule to match how fast you use the product.
What are the disadvantages of subscribe and save?
For shoppers: deliveries can outpace consumption if the frequency is set too short, and prices can change over time. For merchants: a poorly tuned program can compress margin or increase churn. Both are solved with flexible frequency options, a clear customer portal, and sensible discount levels.
How much should a subscribe-and-save discount be?
Most brands offer 5–20% off the one-time price; 10–15% is the most common range — enough to motivate the subscription without eroding margin. Ramping the discount (bigger savings after the third order) can improve retention.
Is subscribe and save the same as auto-ship?
Yes — “auto-ship” and “subscribe and save” describe the same recurring-delivery-with-a-discount model. The terminology varies by brand and industry.
Related terms
- Recurring Revenue ModelA recurring revenue model is a business model in which customers pay on a repeating schedule — weekly, monthly, or yearly — for ongoing access to a product or service, producing predictable income instead of one-time sales.
- Subscription ChurnSubscription churn is the rate at which subscribers cancel or lapse over a given period.
- Monthly Recurring RevenueMonthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the total predictable revenue a subscription business earns from all active subscriptions in a given month, normalized to a monthly amount.
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