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Subscribe and Save (and Succeed): Navigating Common eCommerce Pitfalls

In the ever-adapting realm of eCommerce, Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program stands out as a golden ticket for brands. It’s an invitation to build customer trust and assure consistent revenue. However, like any golden ticket, it comes with its unique set of puzzles for sellers and media buyers.

Here are the two biggest problems eCommerce brands and agencies encounter with Subscribe and Save campaigns:

  • The data is confusing Amazon’s Subscribe and Save sales and unit numbers mingle with total sales data. This makes calculating organic sales and conversion rates a bit of a minefield. With Subscribe and Save volumes bouncing between 0-60% of total sales, depending on the product category, this creates a massive obstacle for brands seeking a clear picture of their performance and planning marketing strategies.
  • They lack an efficient solution: Most do not leverage an intuitive, automated system to monitor and manage Subscribe and Save sales, subscriptions, and their associated metrics.  

What do they do instead? Campaign managers must manually extract data from Vendor Central and monthly COOP invoices — a laborious process that offers only end-of-month data, leaving vast periods under a cloak of mystery and obstructing smart decision-making.

These challenges in both clarity and tracking give rise to multiple issues:

First, it can lead to sub-optimal allocation of advertising resources, with brands stumbling to strike a balance between paid and organic sales tactics without a clear view of their Subscribe and Save sales.
Second, the absence of real-time data can hamstring critical decision-making, potentially overlooking excellent opportunities or pointing brands toward ineffective strategies. It’s clear that CMOs will expect much more from their brand teams in 2023, including the ability to bridge the gap between systems of insights and sytems of activation.  

Huge Subscribe and Save Opportunity in 2023

Here’s a snapshot of the potential in the Subscribe and Save space.  

Retail product subscriptions have seen a substantial upswing among millennials and high-income consumers from 2022 to the present. The millennial segment has witnessed a 6.6 percentage point surge, while high-income consumers showed a 5.6 percentage point growth.

But why do consumers choose to subscribe in the first place?

  • 39% say it’s enjoyable
  • 23% say for convenience

But Amazon’s Subscribe & Save service shines as a platform where cost savings are a key driving force.

Amazon Subscribe and Save Strategy: Retaining and Winning Customers

STRATEGY: Get Flexible

In a recent report from PYMNTS, research shows that nearly all of the 30 top-performing subscription merchants offer flexible subscription models, giving consumers the ability to pause recurring orders or alter their product plans.

STRATEGY: Bundle It!

The median number of subscriptions an active subscriber holds is two but nearly 35% have three or more. Consider advertising subscriptions that chain complimentary products. Also, interestingly, men are more likely than women to have three or more active subscriptions (42% vs 28%)  

STRATEGY: Get Personal

To retain subscribers, personalized subscriptions should become more tailored over time. For example, 28% of subscribers said that a personalized experience was the most important reason for continuing to subscribe .
Consider segmenting your email offers and retargeting campaigns around products that are tailored to individual segments.

Why Some Subscribe and Save Solutions Fall Flat

Most third-party tools have hiccups integrating with Amazon’s systems, resulting in inaccurate data or compatibility issues. Manual methods, on the other hand, are labor-intensive and vulnerable to human error.

How Pacvue Helps Solve Subscribe and Save Headaches

Enter Pacvue’s Subscribe and Save feature, a revolutionary tool specifically designed to overcome the challenges eCommerce brands face with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program. As a trailblazing solution, it provides unique capabilities that empower businesses to track, report, and manage subscription volumes in an unprecedented way.  

Pacvue helps brands understand the number of active subscribers, the percentage of subscription revenue compared to total sales, and the discounts offered to customers, all with a few clicks.

This feature elevates the accuracy of metrics by precisely calculating the impact of your Subscribe and Save on your media, delivering a more precise analysis of conversion rates.  

The result? A clear view of Subscribe and Save campaign performance that helps pinpoint potential areas for optimization.

Further, Pacvue also facilitates the calculation of customer lifetime value (CLV), allowing managers to monitor the number of subscribers and their spending habits compared to non-subscribers, helping brand managers identify their most valuable customers and maximize profitability.

Supercharge Your Subscribe and Save Campaigns

Getting started with Pacvue’s Subscribe and Save features is as easy as logging in.

Users can instantly tap into a wealth of Subscribe and Save metrics, such as volume reporting, accuracy tracking across sales, traffic, and media, as well as alerts for product changes in the Subscribe and Save program.  

Navigate the complexities of Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program with better tools to inform data-drive strategies to enhance sales and media performance.  

If you’re ready to revolutionize your eCommerce Subscribe and Save strategies business, why wait? Contact Pacvue today.


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