Creating this experience will require work from the client's development team or their technology partners and is expected to be self-serve.
If the client requires technical support from the Ordergroove team then any hours used will be applied towards the available service hours within the client's agreement. If not enough service hours are available then you may purchase additional hours by contacting Ordergroove.
Additionally, if you'd like to discuss possible customizations to this experience as outlined below, please contact Ordergroove for a consultation.
Overview
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No-Account Customer Experience and Subscription Management
If a customer checks out with a subscription item but does not create an account with your e-commerce store, they will be unable to access several important customer experience features offered by Ordergroove.
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Guest Checkout Customers Ineligible to Utilize the Subscription Manager
First and foremost, they will be unable to access the Subscription Manager. The Subscription Manager is a page on a customer’s “My Account” page that enables them to manage their ongoing subscriptions. Features such as modifying shipment dates, sending orders immediately, or skipping shipments, give customers control and prevent cancellations due to overstock. For the merchant, these features reduce churn and extend the lifetime value of a subscription.
Without the Subscription Manager, customers will also lose the ability to update their shipping address and billing information for their subscription(s). If their credit card were to expire or not have sufficient funds, customers would be unable to change it themselves.
With guest checkout enabled, the only way for guests to manage their ongoing subscriptions will be to directly contact your customer service team.
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Guest Checkout Customers Ineligible to Utilize SKU Swap
Guest checkout customers can not use SKU Swap. The SKU Swap feature allows customers to change their subscription product to another product within the Subscription Manager. SKU Swap suggestions are based on a merchant-set list of options (e.g. swap from one size to another for the same brand/style, change product flavors, etc.).
SKU Swap is another feature that can help prevent subscription churn by enabling customers to change products in an upcoming subscription order without canceling the subscription itself.
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Guest Checkout Customers Ineligible to Utilize Instant Upsell
Ordergroove’s Instant Upsell feature enables logged-in subscribers to seamlessly add one-time or subscription products to an upcoming order. It’s a great way to improve your Average Order Value on upcoming shipments, and it helps save on shipping and fulfillments costs as customers include multiple items in a single order.
Configuring Your Program to Enable Guest Checkout
If you opt to enable guest checkout as part of your online store experience, there are a few parts of your Ordergroove program that you should configure to ensure a smooth customer experience for customers who use guest checkout.
Update Transactional Emails
The first thing you should do is update the text in your subscription-related transactional emails.
If you are using Ordergroove’s standard SendGrid powered emails, you’ll want to add text to the following emails to reflect that guest-checkout subscribers will need to contact customer service to manage their subscriptions and resolve any outstanding issues:
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Subscription Created Email
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Customers receive this email immediately after creating a subscription during checkout. The email welcomes the customer to the subscription program and instructs them on how to manage their ongoing subscriptions via the Subscription Manager. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update or cancel their subscription.
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Customers receive this email immediately after creating a subscription during checkout. The email welcomes the customer to the subscription program and instructs them on how to manage their ongoing subscriptions via the Subscription Manager. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update or cancel their subscription.
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Credit Card Expiration Warning
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This email is sent to customers with expired default credit cards on the 1st and 15th of every month if their next order takes place in the following month. The email instructs customers on how to update their credit card within the My Account section of your site. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update their payment information.
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This email is sent to customers with expired default credit cards on the 1st and 15th of every month if their next order takes place in the following month. The email instructs customers on how to update their credit card within the My Account section of your site. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update their payment information.
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Order Not Placed - Credit Card Issue
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This email is sent to customers when an order fails due to credit card authorization failure. The email instructs them on how to update their credit card within the My Account section of your site. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update their payment information.
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This email is sent to customers when an order fails due to credit card authorization failure. The email instructs them on how to update their credit card within the My Account section of your site. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update their payment information.
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Order Not Placed - Generic Issue
- This email is sent to customers when an order cannot be placed because of an unspecified issue. The email advises the customer to review their shipping address, billing address, and payment information to ensure that it is all valid. The email also says that if the customer finds no issue, then they should contact customer service. We suggest adding a note that tells guest customers that they need to contact Customer Service to update their information.
If you opt to integrate Ordergroove transactional emails with your ESP, you will be able to manage all of your transactional emails there.
Incorporating “Guest Checkout” Subscription FAQs On Your Site
Ordergroove encourages its merchants to create a subscription landing page and/or FAQ page when implementing a program. If you do so, you should include FAQs targeting guest-checkout subscribers.
In addition to anything else you would like to share with them, you should include content that lets them know how to contact your customer service team in the event that they need assistance managing their subscription.
Possible Legal Ramifications to Consider
While Ordergroove does not offer legal advice, you may wish to explore the legal and regulatory environment related to guest checkout before implementing it.
Some US states (e.g. California) and the European Union’s GDPR have rules which may impact how customers without store accounts need to be able to manage their subscriptions online, which may impact your decision.