Sara Heegaard

Today, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new guide: Surprise, delight, and the modern tech stack.

Experts estimate that around half of ecommerce customers will abandon their digital shopping carts before they complete a purchase. And some studies show that, depending on the industry this number could be even higher, reaching an average of 71.24% for retail stores.

To boost your bottom line in today’s world of rising customer acquisition costs, it’s key to focus on retaining your hard-earned customers. Reducing customer churn can set ecommerce businesses up to get even more value out of each shopper they acquire, ultimately increasing revenue and impacting scalability.

Cyber Week is always a milestone period for ecommerce merchants—but 2022 was a record-breaking year. Last year, according to Adobe Analytics data, ecommerce customers spent an unprecedented $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday alone.That's a year-over-year increase of 5.8%. To put it in even more mind-boggling terms, shoppers were spending $12.8 million per minute during the peak hour of Cyber Monday.

The holiday shopping season is a key busy period for online shopping. And not only are consumers purchasing one-off holiday gifts for friends and family—they’re also investing in repeat purchase options. 

One of the major players on the market today, Shopify Checkout is becoming the checkout of choice for more and more merchants. After all, Shopify powers roughly 10% of U.S. ecommerce today, and in 2022 alone, the platform supported 500 million unique online shoppers.

While “customer loyalty” is frequently used as a buzzword in today’s marketing conversations, the concept itself is a profound one. By securing a customer’s trust in key ways, you earn their repeat business—a place in their daily life.

Customer lifetime value (LTV) is all about playing the long game. Ensuring that your shoppers don’t just purchase from you once, but return to you again and again, pays dividends for the health of your business. But this requires having a thoughtful LTV strategy in place to keep customers satisfied and coming back to your store.

The last stop before conversion, your checkout experience has the potential to make or break a sale. Get it right, and customers should seamlessly glide through the purchase process. But if checkout is too slow, cumbersome, or confusing, you risk shoppers abandoning their carts before they’ve officially become a customer. 

Customer lifetime value (LTV) is one of the most important metrics for any ecommerce business to consider. However, to gain deeper and more actionable insights on profitability and viability, it’s crucial to consider LTV in the context of other metrics, such as customer acquisition cost (CAC).

One of the most crucial parts of maintaining any relationship is listening, and customer relationships are no different. To stick with you for the long haul, customers need to know that you’re attentive to their problems and desires. What’s more, they need to understand that you’re willing to take action to make their priorities a reality.

The most effective checkout is the one your customers barely have to think about. 

Retention is everything in today’s ecommerce market. Reports have found that the costs to acquire new customers for both B2B and B2C companies have increased roughly 60% in the last 5 years, making it all the more important to keep those hard-earned customers with your business.

When faced with problems, many of us often give or receive the same advice: “Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.” This mindset is the bread and butter of DTC companies, as the problems and perspectives of their customers shape every aspect of their brand, from product development to shipping options to marketing.

There’s never been a better time to capitalize on the non-alcoholic beverage market. According to Statista, revenue in the non-alcoholic beverage market in 2023 amounts to nearly $500 billion USD. 

For many people around the world, enjoying a cup of tea or coffee is a favorite daily ritual. And as subscriptions gain momentum and consumers become increasingly interested in recurring purchase options across verticals, the coffee industry has followed suit. 

Our latest industry research showed that in 2022, despite the challenges of the year, subscription merchants outdid their previous performance in five key metrics. Year-over-year, on average, AOV increased by 11%, LTV by 12%, and MRR by 7%—along with improvements in annual retention in monthly churn.

Awareness, consideration, purchase, retention, and advocacy: The five stages of the customer journey are familiar territory for ecommerce brands. What are less familiar—yet also highly valuable—are the differences between a typical customer’s journey and a loyal customer’s journey. 

Meal kit business is booming. Among a variety of other benefits, consumers love meal kits for their convenience and time-savings. After all, with these offerings, there’s no need to brainstorm dinner options or go to grocery stores to get fresh ingredients. Some kits even provide pre-prepped ingredients or ready-to-eat meals.

In recent years, the global ecommerce subscription market has been skyrocketing in value. Recharge’s latest State of Subscription Commerce report found that in 2022, subscription businesses saw an average of 12% year-over-year growth in lifetime value, 11% growth in average order value, and 7% growth in monthly recurring revenue.

While there are several metrics that are critical to ecommerce merchants’ success, few are more important in today’s market than customer churn and retention. With the rise of inflation over the past year, competition for customers’ dollars has become more and more fierce. And, now more than ever, merchants are focusing on what they can do to earn long-term customer loyalty.

More and more, customers are prioritizing fantastic shopping experiences when choosing to make a purchase. According to a customer experience report by PWC, 59% of customers in the U.S. will walk away after multiple bad experiences, and 17% will walk away after just one bad experience.

Despite the economic challenges 2022 presented for both merchants and consumers, subscription businesses showed a unique ability to weather the storm. Our recent analysis of over 15,000 subscription merchants and their subscribers found substantial year-over-year increases in several key metrics, including AOV (average order value), LTV (customer lifetime value), and MRR (monthly recurring revenue).

Subscription management is a vast and highly technical topic that includes all the various ways that you handle your customers’ orders—from recurring payment processing to order adjustments. Get subscription management right, and you create positive customer experiences that keep subscribers with your business in the long term. But fall short, and your customers may churn before you benefit from their true value.

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of Recharge’s 2023 State of Subscription Commerce report! 

Paid membership programs are a powerful way to add value for both your business and customers. In fact, according to a 2020 survey by McKinsey, consumers who pay for loyalty programs are 60% more likely to spend more on the brand after they subscribe to the program. But how, exactly, can you build the best paid loyalty program for your unique business and customer base? 

People have been transporting wine around the world for thousands of years—so if you thought wine deliveries are a relatively new creation, think again. While today’s wine shipments look a whole lot different from those of ancient Mesopotamia, it should come as no surprise that there continues to be proven consumer interest in these offerings. 

To stand apart from the competition in today’s market, it’s become increasingly important for subscription-based companies to prioritize their customer experience. An intuitive and flexible subscriber experience can not only encourage prospective customers to choose your brand, but also incentivize current customers to stay subscribed. 

In order to get the most value out of recurring revenue, it’s crucial to focus on your subscriber churn rate. This metric refers to the percentage of your subscribers who leave your business over a set period of time, and it poses a direct threat to the long-term customer relationships that subscription businesses rely on.

When it comes to the tools in your toolbox of ecommerce metrics, customer lifetime value is among the most important. But how exactly can you calculate customer lifetime value—and what are the benefits and potential drawbacks of doing so? 

When it comes to your digital marketing strategy, your email campaigns should be a primary focus. Through subscribers’ inboxes, email marketers can increase sales, strategically promote certain products, re-engage inactive customers, and more. 

Making the decision to launch subscriptions is easy. The real challenge? Selecting your subscription management software. With so many options on the market, each with different specialties, it’s crucial to cut through the noise and pinpoint the best provider for your unique business.

Have you ever upgraded your internet because the purchase came with a free subscription to a streaming service? Or clicked “add to cart” because hitting a certain order minimum would earn you a gift card toward a future shopping trip?

So, you’ve attracted a core group of subscribers to your business. To build on that momentum, where should you turn your focus to next? Our answer: Get more value out of each of those existing customers by growing your subscription sales. 

More and more, the subscription business model is gaining traction over traditional business models. The subscription economy is predicted to reach $2.64 trillion by 2028, and the subscription business model offers merchants enormous opportunities for recurring revenue growth. For customers, subscriptions also offer value in the form of cost savings and convenience. 

Customer acquisition should be one of your very first focuses after launching subscription offerings on your ecommerce store. After all, to make your recurring offerings truly thrive—and grow and scale your business effectively—you need to attract a core group of returning customers who are committed to your brand. 

Did you know that offering subscriptions in addition to one-time purchase options can increase your customer lifetime value (LTV) by 230%? 

There’s no secret weapon to increase sales for your ecommerce business—but there are several best practices you can follow, and upselling is a crucial one. This sales and marketing tactic is a powerful strategy for adding value for both your store and your customers. 

These days, both consumers and businesses are increasingly relying on subscriptions. In fact, according to UnivDatos Market Insights, by 2028, the global subscription ecommerce market is estimated to reach $2.64 trillion. With this in mind, how can subscription businesses set themselves apart from the competition, maximizing revenue while getting the most out of the recurring business model?

Whether you’re new to subscriptions or experienced with recurring offerings, the right subscription management solution can take your business to the next level. However, the steps to set your store up for success prior to choosing a provider will vary depending on your experience level and existing tech stack.

In order to maximize the benefits of the subscription business model, it’s essential to gain a baseline for your business. Not only should you understand how your store’s performance shifts and changes over time, but also how you stack up to others of your same size and vertical. 

These days, customer experience (CX) is a make-or-break factor for ecommerce brands. Customer expectations are higher than ever, and a poor customer experience can have a monumental impact on a brand’s performance. 

If your ecommerce brand is new to subscriptions, the benefits of a subscription management solution are monumental. This type of software solution allows you to launch recurring offerings more quickly and easily than you would be able to with a home-grown fix. In turn, this allows you to focus on building a base of loyal subscribers while tapping into the power of a recurring revenue stream.

For many merchants interested in the subscription model, there’s no better investment than a subscription management solution. These software solutions involve a curated assortment of different tools and features that work together to automate and optimize key subscription processes. 

When it comes to subscriptions, customization is everything. But that doesn’t just mean customization for your subscribers—it also means customization for your ecommerce business, particularly your tech stack. 

As more and more businesses realize the incredible power of recurring revenue, subscription management has become more important than ever. This refers to all the things that you, as a merchant, control to create a great subscription experience, from the moment a customer signs up until they stop their service with you. 

Simply put, a brand community is a group of customers who form a relationship with your brand beyond just purchasing your products or services. These customers have an emotional connection with your company, and often with each other. 

When thinking about inbound marketing and forming a digital marketing strategy, two words often come to mind: company blog. Simply put, launching an official blog opens up a new line of communication between your customers (and potential customers) and your brand. 

These days, it’s become more important than ever for subscription merchants to deliver a top-notch customer experience. How does one achieve this? By focusing on subscription management—that’s all the ways that you handle customer subscriptions, including the ways you allow them to manage their own subscriptions, working together to offer your customers a flexible, intuitive, and convenient experience.

If your ecommerce brand sells subscriptions, you’re already familiar with the incredible power of these offerings, from a reliable recurring revenue stream to stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships. But to get the most out of your subscriptions, it’s worth creating a thoughtful and intentional subscription landing page for your brand.

Average order value (AOV) is one of the most important performance metrics for any ecommerce site or retail store. It measures the average dollar amount a customer spends in a single transaction with you—and, along with churn rate, lifetime value (LTV), and customer acquisition cost (CAC), it can give you key insights into the health of your business. 

These days, you can get almost any food delivered straight to your door on subscription. Whether it’s a monthly food subscription box of your favorite snacks or a weekly delivery of delicious meals, food subscriptions take all forms and cater to a variety of different lifestyles. Some, like monthly food subscription boxes of gourmet products, are popular for gift-giving. Others, like meal kits, fit into consumers’ personal daily routines. 

More and more, consumers are leaning on subscription businesses to fulfill key aspects of their daily lives. As we saw in our latest State of Subscription Commerce Report, the subscription industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. Between 2019 and 2020, subscribers grew 90% year-over-year. What’s more, those new customers were also spending more: Across all verticals, we found that average order value (AOV) for subscription box businesses rose an average of 6%.

In its best form, cross-selling isn’t purely transactional. Sure, your brand is marketing complementary items or services to your existing customers. And of course, cross-selling is a powerful strategy for increasing revenue, average order value, and lifetime value—particularly for subscription businesses.

When talking about the ecommerce experience, we hear it again and again: The fewer the clicks, the better. Why? Fewer clicks means less friction and time spent browsing on the user end—meaning it’s less likely that the customer will bounce, or drop off. Makes sense, right?

Jimmy Wu, co-founder and CEO of Cat Person, says it all started with an observation in the pet store. As cat owners themselves, Jimmy and his co-founder, Lambert Wang, realized that cat products were extremely underrepresented on the shelves.

Headless commerce: It’s a term that gets thrown around all the time when discussing ecommerce, especially when discussing the monumental changes 2020 brought to the landscape. But what exactly does it mean to be headless, and what types of companies can benefit from this commerce architecture?

As the founder and CEO of eHouse Studio, Aaron Quinn has seen the transformation of customer expectations over time from a unique vantage point. The agency, which focuses on creating meaningful ecommerce experiences on Shopify Plus through UX design, strategy, technology, and analytics, recently celebrated 18 years in business.