Subscriptions have gone digital, extending the term well beyond traditional newspapers and magazines. Many businesses are finding the ‘subscription’ model lends itself well to generating recurring sales and revenue.
Businesses like Birchbox (beauty products), Blue Apron (make-at-home meals), and Dollar Shave Club (men’s razors) serve hundreds of thousands of customers per month through subscriptions, according to an Inc. Magazine article. But success is not a shoo-in.
“You can’t just convert to a subscription business and expect your revenue to grow,” Michael Dubin, CEO of Dollar Shave Club, tells the magazine’s reporter. “Is the subscription an enhancement for your customer? If not, then don’t do it.”
A related article gives three keys for keeping subscription customers happy.
Have you jumped on the eCommerce subscriptions bandwagon, or are you considering it? The creator of WooCommerce recently updated the Subscriptions extension, incorporating three years of feedback from eCommerce store owners. This reinvention of one of its most popular extensions includes new capabilities such as:
- selling different subscription products in the same transaction
- changing the expiration date for an existing subscription
- allowing customers to view the full details of their subscription, including taxes, shipping method and shipping address
- “reference transactions,” a new way to work with PayPal, and more!
Check out all the new features in their introductory post.
Subscriptions 2.0 is “one of the best ways to manage recurring billing for eCommerce sites,” according to the product review on Sell with WP.com. “If you’re looking to build a business based on the subscription/recurring charge model, there aren’t very many plugins or apps I’d put in the same class or above WooCommerce Subscriptions.”
Have you tried WooCommerce Subscriptions 2.0? We’d like to hear your feedback. Click on Comments below and share your experience.