This article takes a look at the discontinuing process and commonly asked questions we receive. For instructions on how to use the Discontinue Wizard, take a look at Discontinuing a Subscription Product.
Discontinuing a Product Without a Replacement
What happens when a Subscription Eligible product is discontinued with no replacement?
We cancel all active subscriptions tied to the product and cancel all orders where the discontinued product is the only item being sent. If the discontinued product is set to ship alongside other products, the rest of the order will process as expected, but without the discontinued product. This includes orders where a one-time product may be the only item in the shipment.
What happens when an Instant Upsell Eligible product is discontinued with no replacement?
We mark the product as discontinued, but do not immediately cancel the upcoming order.
One of two things will happen depending on the product’s stock status:
- Product is Discontinued, and In Stock: On order placement day, we will process any orders that contain this product until you run out of stock. Once the product is out of stock, we revert to the discontinued, out of stock flow described below.
- Product is Discontinued, and Out of Stock: On order placement day, we remove the product from the order. If the discontinued product is set to ship on its own, we cancel the order and notify the customer that the product will not be shipped. If the discontinued product is set to ship alongside other products, the rest of the order will process as expected, but the discontinued product will be removed from the order.
Note that customers will still see this product in their upcoming order when looking at their Subscription Manager. Changes will only be applied on order placement date.
If you do not want any orders containing one time products to process after you've discontinued the product, be sure to mark it out of stock.
The process is a little different depending on what eCommerce platform you use:
- Shopify - Selling products when out of stock
- BigCommerce - How do I mark a product as out of stock?
What if I selected “Yes, notify my customers”, and the discontinued product was both Subscription and Instant Upsell Eligible?
We will only notify customers whose subscriptions were canceled. Note: One time products are removed, they don't go into the OOS flow, and no notification is sent.
What if my customer prepaid for their subscription?
We cancel the subscription, regardless of whether there are upcoming shipments they’ve prepaid for. All refunds must be processed through your eCommerce platform or payment provider.
Discontinuing a Product with a Replacement
What happens when a Subscription Eligible product is discontinued with a replacement?
We switch all active subscriptions tied to the product to the replacement product. All upcoming orders are placed with the replacement product and charged at the replacement product’s price. All existing incentives or discounts will remain intact.
What about my Inactive Subscribers?
All inactive subscriptions will remain tied to the discontinued product. They do not get switched to the replacement product. How the inactive subscription appears on their Subscription Manager depends on the version you are using. If you are unsure which version you are using, please touch base with your CSM.
- Latest Version: The product will show up on the Subscription Manager, but subscribers will hit an error when they try to reactivate the subscription.
- Legacy Versions: The product will show up on the Subscription Manager, but the reactivate button will be disabled.
What happens when a IU Eligible product is discontinued with a replacement?
We switch all one-time purchases tied to the product to the replacement product. All existing incentives or discounts will remain intact.
What happens when a Prepaid Eligible product is discontinued with a replacement?
We switch all active subscriptions tied to the product to the replacement product, however, we only update the subscription price on renewal orders. This means we do not charge or refund the difference between the price of original product and the replacement product before the renewal order.
Notifications
What happens when I select “Yes, notify my customers.”
If you are using Ordergroove’s email service provider (ESP) to manage your customer communication, we will send an email notifying your customers of the change. You can update the relevant email template under Subscriptions > Emails.
- If you discontinued a product with no replacement, the Subscription Canceled - Item Discontinued template will be used to notify your customers. If you discontinued a product with a replacement, the Discontinued Product Swapped With Replacement template will be used.
If you are using a separate (ESP) which is connected to the Ordergroove platform, we suppress any notification sent from Ordergroove in favor of the email template setup with your ESP. Please work with your ESP platform to manage your templates there. To learn more about Ordergroove’s ability to integrate with your ESP, take a look at Email Service Provider (ESP) Integration.
What happens when I select “No, don’t notify my customers.”
Ordergroove suppresses any notification from being sent. However, if you can always send an email through your own ESP to your customers. Be sure to export a list of your active subscribers before beginning the discontinue process so you have a current email list to work from.