eCommerce subscription services are taking over the online shopping experience.
Today’s customers expect an end-to-end shopping “experience,” and eCommerce subscription services shine by helping to develop long-term relationships with consumers.
According to McKinsey, large subscription retailers saw over $2.6 billion in online revenue in 2016[*], compared to just $57 million in 2011.
Not to be left behind, classic retail brands jumped on the bandwagon. P&G launched Gillette on Demand (thanks, Dollar Shave Club), Walmart launched Beauty Box, and several other large brands are adding their own subscription offerings.
The market shows no indications of slowing down. By 2025, the subscription eCommerce market is expected to be worth $478 billion[*].
The good news is, you’re not too late to the party. The subscription business is likely to continue expanding in the coming years.
Kicking off a subscription business requires shifting your approach. For starters, there’s pricing, onboarding procedures, defining your performance metrics, setting a sales promotion strategy, conversion rate optimization, and more. You cannot get started without laying a solid foundation for your subscription machine. For this, you need to pick the right eCommerce subscription platform.
Did you know?
How you price your subscription service can impact sales. Learn how to price your eCommerce subscription service.
TOP 9 ECOMMERCE SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORMS
There are dozens of subscription eCommerce platforms on the market, but not every one is right for your business. Let’s look at the top tools you can use to build and grow your eCommerce subscription service.
This chart outlines each tool’s best features, but we’ll go into a bit more detail in the sections below.
1. WooCommerce
Subscription success means creating continuous value over time. One great way to do that is with quality content, and WordPress is one of the best Content Management Platforms out there.
Woocommerce for WordPress is an excellent plugin that’s helping eCommerce vendors achieve their subscription goals.
This plugin has all the essential features you need to set up an eCommerce site. The base plugin is 100% free, and there are plenty of modestly-priced extensions that can enhance your site’s capabilities. This plugin’s popularity also means it has the technical foundation and passionate support of a large community.
With WooCommerce Subscriptions, you can create and manage products with recurring payments — payments that will give you residual revenue you can track and count on. (Note: this is an extra feature that starts at $199.)
Integration Capabilities: WordPress (yes), Amazon (yes), Shopify (yes, via 3rd party), Magento (yes, via 3rd party)
Main Advantages: Good pricing options, robust customer support
Main Disadvantages: Lacks features, overwhelming user interface
Cost: Free to install; you pay to accept payments.
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