Introduction
In the dynamic landscape of e-commerce, customer expectations are ever-evolving, and merchants constantly seek innovative ways to enhance user experience. As we step into January 2024, we're thrilled to unveil an exciting addition to the sticky.io Subscriptions app—the "Add Products to Next Shipment" feature.
Your customers now have the power to tailor their subscription orders with ease. With a few simple clicks within the consumer portal, a world of customization unfolds. The new feature introduces a process where users can log in, navigate to active subscriptions awaiting the next billing cycle and add products to their upcoming shipments.
The benefits extend beyond consumers; merchants now wield enhanced control through the merchant portal. "Add Products to Next Shipment" can help you seize the opportunity to upsell at a pivotal moment in the customer journey and open avenues for serendipity, letting customers explore and discover new favorites within your catalog.
This article will guide you through the process of adding products to an upcoming subscription shipment from both perspectives - merchant and consumer.
Without further ado, let's begin!
Consumer Portal Pathway
Customers can choose to make additional purchases as a one-time transaction or seamlessly integrate them into their subscription billing models. The chosen products are neatly integrated into the upcoming bill, ensuring a hassle-free billing process aligned with the consumer's preferences.
To start, a consumer will log in to the consumer portal of interest. Once logged in, they will navigate to the Subscriptions tab of the portal.
Next, they should locate the subscription of interest and click Add Product on the right-hand side of the view.
From there, locate the product of interest and click Add Product at right. The search bar can also be used to locate a product by name or SKU.
Once a product has been selected, the consumer will land on the view depicted below. Here, they will be able to adjust purchase quantity and adjust their product purchase type (one time or subscription).
Please note
Products can be added on a one-time basis or added as a subscription purchase if they are configured to be purchasable in this manner at the product level.
To adjust the purchase quantity for the item, consumers will use the up and down arrows.
Once satisfied with their selections, the consumer will click Submit to preserve their selections.
Merchant Portal Pathway
Merchants can easily navigate to active subscriptions and initiate the process of adding new products, ushering in a new level of efficiency in subscription management.
To add a product to an upcoming shipment on behalf of a consumer, navigate to the Subscription Management tab.
Next, locate the customer record of interest.
Then, click to Manage the subscription record of interest.
Within the subscription record, click Add Product.
With this, you'll land on the Add Product view and be able to select the product on behalf of the consumer. Use the search function to search for the product by name or SKU.
Once the SKU has been selected, configure the product preferences on behalf of the consumer, including quantity, subscription/purchase type and billing date. By default, the billing date will conform with the next subscription rebill date for the consumer.
Click Save changes to preserve your selections once satisfied.
Lastly, click Add Product to process the addition of the product.
Adjusting Consumer Portal Permissions
Merchants can also turn on or off the store-level permissions for consumers to add products to upcoming shipments. To do so, simply visit the Portal Settings tab of the sticky.io Subscriptions application. Then, enable or disable the Add product to shipment toggle to turn on or off the permission for all consumers.
Known Limitations
Digital products cannot be added to active subscriptions to physical products.
Line item price adjustments cannot be applied to subscription orders as a part of the above-described workflows.
Congratulations! You're now familiar with the "add products to next shipment" feature as a part of the sticky.io Subscriptions app for BigCommerce.