Set minimum cycles
Choose the number of cycles a subscription should run before it can end. Confirm the customer experience in a test subscription.
Use case
Reduce early cancellations and failed renewals
Subscriptions end early for two reasons: customers leave after a cycle or two, and renewal payments fail. TA Subscriptions gives you tools for both: minimum cycles, free gifts on chosen cycles and automatic retries for failed payments.
Apps used
SubscriptionsMain app
Goal
Retention & repeatLost sales recovery
Works for
Health & SupplementsFood & BeveragePet
The problem
Some subscriptions end before they pay off
A subscriber who leaves after the first delivery costs you more than they bring in, and a card that fails once can end a subscription that was still wanted. These tools are meant to help with both. Each problem below has a matching fix in this setup.
Who it is for: stores whose subscription discounts are paid back over several deliveries, such as supplements, food and pet products.
Problem 01
Customers sign up for the discount and cancel after one or two deliveries.
How it gets fixed
Set a minimum number of cycles
The app lists Set minimum cycles as a feature. It lets you set how many cycles a subscription should run. Check how it behaves in a test subscription before you describe it to customers.
Problem 02
Nothing gives a subscriber a reason to stay for the next delivery.
How it gets fixed
Give a free gift on the cycles you choose
Add a free gift that starts from a chosen cycle and can repeat. Customers choose their gift from the options you offer.
Problem 03
A declined card ends a subscription the customer still wanted.
How it gets fixed
Retry failed payments automatically
Renewal and dunning settings retry a failed payment in stages. You set the gap between attempts and how many attempts each stage makes.
Set it up
Three moves to keep subscriptions running
Each card shows what the result looks like. You can set them up in any order, and each one works on its own.
Add a free gift on chosen cycles
Use Start From Cycle and Repeat After, set a quantity or order value threshold, and offer up to 5 gifts for customers to pick from.
Set up retries for failed payments
In the renewal and dunning settings, set the gap between attempts and the number of attempts for each stage.
Tips
Before you go live
Test minimum cycles end to end
The Subscriptions listing names minimum cycles as a feature, but the current docs pages do not describe it. Run a test subscription and check what the customer sees in the portal before you promote it.
Free gifts do not work with prepaid
Free gifts cannot be used together with prepaid plans. If you plan to sell prepaid plans as well, keep the gift on your regular subscription plans.
Tools help, results are yours to check
These settings give you more levers. They do not promise a result, so compare cancellations and failed renewals before and after you switch each one on.
What to measure
Check these after launch
Cancellations in the first two cyclesSubscriptions app
Renewals that failed, and how many were recovered by a retrySubscriptions app
Subscribers who stay past the cycle a gift is offered onSubscriptions app
Active subscriptions over timeShopify admin
FAQ
Common questions
How many free gifts can I offer?
Up to 5. Customers choose their gift. You set the cycle the gift starts from, how often it repeats, and a threshold based on quantity or order value.
Do free gifts work with prepaid plans?
No. The docs say free gifts are not used with prepaid.
How do failed payment retries work?
The renewal and dunning settings retry a failed payment in several stages. For each stage you set the gap between attempts and the number of attempts.
Will this stop customers from cancelling?
The app gives you tools, not a guaranteed result. Compare your cancellation and failed renewal numbers before and after each change.
Is there a minimum number of cycles setting?
The app listing names Set minimum cycles as a feature. The docs pages do not describe it today, so test it in your store and check what the customer sees before you advertise it.
Related use cases
Launch a subscription box customers build themselves
Subscriptions Dynamic boxes with min and max items and tiered discounts, or fixed box sizes. See how
Turn one-time buyers into subscribe-and-save customers
Subscriptions Subscribe-and-save options with a discount per delivery. See how
Set up conversion essentials for a new store on a zero budget
All 5 apps Labels, an announcement bar and restock alerts on free plans, plus optional subscriptions and a locator. See howSet this up on your store.
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