Shopify subscriptions now support bundles and functions

Shopify has upgraded the way subscriptions work behind the scenes. The big news for subscription brands is that bundles can now be sold on repeat properly, and the rules you've set up for checkout will carry through to recurring orders too.

What's new for Shopify subscriptions

Until now, subscriptions on Shopify have worked slightly separately from the main checkout. That meant some of the features you rely on when a customer buys once didn't always apply when they subscribed.

Shopify has now brought the two together. When a subscription is created or changed, it's worked out in the same way as a normal checkout, which brings a few useful improvements:

Bundles can be added to subscriptions - Customers can subscribe to a bundle and keep receiving it as a bundle every month, rather than it being split up or needing messy workarounds.
Your checkout customisations apply to subscriptions - The bundle setup and delivery rules you would normally use at checkout now carry over in the app when a subscription is created or edited.
Prices match what customers pay - Tax and discounts on a changed subscription line up with what the customer is charged, so there are fewer surprises on their next order.

Changes to subscriptions can be checked before they're saved. The Shopify Subscriptions app can preview the new total, delivery options and any issues before a change is saved, so mistakes are caught early.

Promotional image for the Shopify Bundles app from the Shopify App Store

Image source: Shopify Bundles from the Shopify App Store

Selling bundles subscriptions with Shopify

If you offer subscriptions on your Shopify site (or will migrate to Shopify and subscriptions is a core part of the scope), bundles are often the heart of the offer. Coffee boxes, skincare routines, refill kits, and even digital products all rely on customers buying a set of products together, again and again.

Getting bundles to work smoothly on repeat orders has often been fiddly. Now that Shopify supports them properly, the bundle a customer signs up for can stay exactly as intended on every order.

A few ideas this makes easier:

Subscribe and save on a product bundle
Build your own box offers that renew monthly
Starter kits that switch to refill bundles later on
Letting subscribers swap between bundles

Delivery options that stay consistent

If you've set up rules (though custom Shopify development services or a Shopify app) to hide, rename or reorder delivery options at checkout, these will now apply when a subscriber updates their delivery details too. That keeps the experience consistent and avoids customers seeing options you don't offer.

Once a subscriber has picked their delivery option, it stays fixed for future orders. Shopify has also said more of its checkout features, such as discounts, will be supported in future updates.

Manual subscription orders aren't supported yet

What this update doesn't change is creating subscriptions manually. You still can't set up a subscription through a manual order in the Shopify admin, so every subscription has to start with the customer creating one. That's a gap for a lot of brands, as there are plenty of times your team might want to set one up on a customer's behalf:

Phone and email orders - Customers who prefer to order by phone can't be signed up to a subscription by your customer service team. The customer will need to go online and start the subscription themselves.
Trade and wholesale customers - Business buyers who order the same stock from you regularly, may expect you to set up repeat orders for them. They may not call it a subscription, but it is the same idea.
Events and in-person sales - Subscription orders taken at shows, fairs, pop-up shops, markets or in-store can't be be simply turned into subscriptions without the customer going online to start the subscription.
Fixing problems for subscribers - If a customer's subscription fails or gets cancelled by mistake, your team can't simply recreate it for them, you'll need to address and resolve the issue so they can retry.

Build better subscriptions with Absolute

We help ecommerce brands plan, build and improve subscription offers on Shopify that customers want to stick with. We offer this as part of our ongoing Shopify support packages for brand growth.

Send us a message to discuss the best path forward, or call our Nottingham office on 0115 953 4800.