When subscribers attempt to cancel their subscription, you can offer them alternatives to keep them engaged. Cancel flow retention strategies allow you to present subscribers with options like skipping their next order, swapping products, or receiving a special retention discount before they complete cancellation. This article covers what’s new in the enhanced version, what you’ll need, and how to get started.
Requirements
- Your Subscription Manager must be on v25.11.3 or newer versions.
- Your Subscription Manager has no code customizations, and must not use any Webhooks
- If you have customized your Subscription Manager, please reach out to support to set up Cancel Flows enhancements.
- If you have received specific instructions from your legal team that might be relevant to your store’s subscription cancel flow, please notify your success manager with details.
How to tell what version you're on
All Subscription Manager installations are on either version 0, displayed in the Theme Designer as version 0.X.X, or v25 displayed as 25.X.X. You can check which version you’re on by going to Ordergroove > Subscription > Subscription Manager.
What’s New?
Give customers more ways to manage their orders
Let shoppers skip, swap, or cancel an item directly from the first cancellation screen.
Offer a discount to win back would-be cancellations
Apply a customizable one-time retention discount right when a customer tries to cancel their subscription. This will apply to the next order of the specific subscription item that was being cancelled, not the entire order.
Customize the cancellation flow to match your goals and compliance needs
Choose how many steps to include and what options to show customers along the way.
The flow is flexible enough to help you stay compliant with cancellation regulations in the regions where you sell.
What Subscribers See
When a subscriber logs in to their Subscription Manager and clicks the cancel button, they'll encounter a multi-step flow:
- Alternative Options Screen: Subscribers first see options to skip their next order or swap to a different product (swap only appears if you have SKU swap groups configured)
-
Retention Discount OR Subscription Benefits Reminder: If they proceed past the first screen, subscribers will see one of two things:
- Retention Discount: An extra percentage off that can be applied to their next order if they are eligible
- Subscription Benefits Reminder: If they’re not eligible, or no retention discount is set, the subscriber is shown a reminder of the value they're already receiving as a subscriber
- Exit Survey: If they continue past all retention attempts, they'll reach the exit survey
Here's an example, click to open the full sized flowchart:
Setting Up Enhanced Cancel Flows
Step 1: Enable Subscription Benefits in Subscription Manager
By default, cancel flows go directly from the alternative options screen to the exit survey. To enable retention strategies:
- Open up Ordergroove and go to Subscriptions > Subscription Manager
- Click on the Theme you want to modify
- Select Cancel Strategy on the left-hand menu
- Toggle on Subscription Benefits
- Optional - Pause Subscription gives your subscribers the option to pause for a payment period instead of outright cancelling. It’s off by default, but can be toggled on here
Once enabled, subscribers will now see the middle retention phase (either the discount or the benefits reminder) before reaching the exit survey.
Note: At this stage, subscribers will only see the Subscription Benefits Reminder because you haven't configured a retention discount yet.
Step 2: Create a Retention Discount (Optional)
To offer subscribers an actual discount instead of just a reminder:
- Navigate to Subscriptions > Flex Incentives
- Click + Create Incentive > On-Demand Incentive > Retention Incentive
- Give your new Retention Incentive a Name
- Set the discount Amount and Type (% or $)
- Configure Gaming Prevention (eligibility rules.) See Retention Discount Eligibility for additional details and nuance, but there are two options:
- Time-Based: The minimum number of days that must pass before a subscriber is offered the discount
- Order-Based: The minimum number of orders that must be successfully placed before the subscriber is offered the discount
- Click Publish
Once published, the system will begin running eligibility checks to determine whether each subscriber sees the retention discount or the subscription benefits reminder.
Step 3: Customize Your Subscription Benefits Reminder (Optional)
You can customize the content shown in the Subscription Benefits Reminder with your own copy. You can modify the bullet points highlighting subscriber benefits or add in video content.
Note: Customizing this content requires code changes and should be done by a developer or other technical resource.
- Go to Ordergroove > Subscriptions > Subscription Manager > Click on the Theme you want to modify
- Click Advanced to open up the Advanced Editor, Locales, and open the Language(s) your customer base uses (such as en-US.json)
- Locate the modal_cancel_benefit field and customize the associated field.
Here an example of how you can modify modal_cancel_benefit to style the benefits as a bulleted list:
"modal_cancel_benefit": "<br>• Free shipping on all subscription orders <br> • 2x Rewards points on your first subscription order <br> • Skip, Pause or Cancel Anytime"Understanding Retention Discount Eligibility
Eligibility determines who can see and claim retention discounts. The system uses several rules to prevent subscribers from repeatedly claiming discounts or gaming the system.
Configurable Eligibility Rules
You can configure two types of eligibility rules when creating your retention discount.
Rule 1: Number of Days Since Last Claim
Set a cooldown period (in days) that must pass after claiming a retention discount before the subscriber can see it again.
Example: You set a 60-day cooldown
- Subscriber claims a retention discount on January 1st
- For the next 60 days, they are no longer eligible to receive a Retention Discount. If they try to cancel any of their subscriptions, they'll only see the Subscription Benefits Reminder
- After 60 days, on March 1st, they become eligible again and can claim another retention discount
Important: This rule applies per customer, not per subscription. If a subscriber has multiple subscriptions and claims a discount on one, all their other subscriptions are also locked out during the cooldown period.
Rule 2: Number of Orders Before Re-Eligibility
Set how many successful orders must occur after claiming before the subscriber becomes eligible again.
Example: You set this to 2 orders
- Subscriber claims a retention discount (Order 0 has the discount)
- Orders 1 and 2 must successfully ship at regular price
- On Order 3, they become eligible to claim another retention discount
Important: Like the days rule, this is also per customer, not per subscription. If a subscriber has multiple subscriptions (e.g., 5 different product subscriptions), orders from ANY of their subscriptions count toward the requirement. They don't need 2 orders specifically on the subscription where they claimed the discount.
Example Scenario:
- Subscriber has 5 subscriptions: Lemon, Vanilla, Chocolate, Berry, and Coffee
- They claim a retention discount on Lemon
- Their next Vanilla order ships (1 order counted)
- Their next Chocolate order ships (2 orders counted)
- They are now eligible to claim another retention discount on any subscription, including Lemon again
Combining Both Rules
You can use both rules together for stricter control. When both rules are set, subscribers must meet BOTH requirements to become re-eligible:
Example: 2 orders AND 60 days
- Subscriber claims discount on Lemon (January 1st)
- They quickly order Chocolate and Strawberry, fulfilling the 2-order requirement
- However, only 10 days have passed
- They must wait until March 1st (60 days) before they can claim another retention discount, even though they've met the order requirement
Default Retention Discount Behavior
There's an automatic rule that always applies: Subscribers can only have one active retention discount applied to an upcoming order at a time.
If a subscriber has already claimed a retention discount and that discounted order is still waiting to ship, they won't see the retention discount option when trying to cancel other subscriptions. They'll only see the Subscription Benefits Reminder until that discounted order ships.
First-Time Eligibility vs. Re-Eligibility
The two eligibility rules behave differently when it comes to first-time eligibility vs re-eligibility after applying a discount:
Order-Based Cooldown: Affects BOTH First-Time and Re-Eligibility
The "Number of Orders" rule applies to both scenarios - when subscribers first sign up AND after they claim a discount.
If you set "2 orders" as your rule:
- New subscribers must complete 2 successful recurring orders before they first see the retention discount
- After claiming, they must complete 2 more successful orders before seeing it again
Example Timeline for First-Time Eligibility:
- January 1st: Initial checkout (not counted)
- February 1st: 1st recurring order ships
- March 1st: 2nd recurring order ships
- April 1st: Subscriber tries to cancel and NOW sees the retention discount for the first time
Day-Based Cooldown: Only Affects Re-Eligibility
The "Number of Days" rule only applies after claiming a discount. With only day-based cooldown configured, new subscribers will be offered the retention discount immediately if they arrive at the subscription manager after initial checkout and initiate a cancel.
If you only use a 60-day cooldown rule:
- New subscribers see the retention discount right away, even before their first recurring order ships
- After they claim it, the 60-day cooldown begins
Best Practices
- Start conservative: Begin with stricter eligibility rules and loosen them based on subscriber behavior
- Most merchants use both rules: Combining order count and day requirements provides balanced control
- Communicate clearly: Make sure your Subscription Benefits Reminder effectively conveys the value of staying subscribed
- Monitor discount claims: Track how often discounts are claimed to refine your strategy
Common Scenarios
Q: I want subscribers to see the discount immediately when they sign up, but then have a cooldown after claiming.
A: Use only the "Number of Days" rule. New subscribers will be immediately eligible, and after claiming, they'll need to wait the specified number of days.
Q: I don't want brand new subscribers to have access to the discount. How do I lock them out initially?
A: Use the "Number of Orders" rule. Set it to however many orders you want them to complete before first seeing the discount. Be aware this will also apply to re-eligibility after claiming.
Q: Can I make it so subscribers can only claim the discount once per lifetime?
A: Not exactly, but you can approximate this behavior by setting an extremely long cooldown period (e.g., 1000 days).
FAQ
Q: How can I track what actions my customers perform during the enhanced cancel flow?
A: You can now track how your cancel flows are performing with a new analytics view, available as part of Enhanced Cancel Flows. To access the view, go to Ordergroove > Analytics > Retention & Churn > Cancel Flow.
Q: Why don't I see the swap option?
A: The swap option only appears if the product being canceled is part of a configured SKU swap group.
Q: Can I disable the Subscription Benefits Reminder and only show the retention discount?
A: No, the Subscription Benefits Reminder acts as a fallback when subscribers aren't eligible for the retention discount. Both features are controlled by the same toggle.
Q: What if I want different cooldown periods for first-time eligibility vs. re-eligibility?
A: Currently, the same eligibility rules apply to both scenarios. This is a known limitation we're exploring for future updates.
Q: Is the eligibility check per subscription or per customer?
A: All eligibility rules operate at the customer level, not the subscription level. If a customer has multiple subscriptions, claiming a discount on one affects eligibility across all their subscriptions.
Q: What does it mean to Claim the retention discount?
A: A subscriber claims a retention discount when they click the Get Discount button. This is different from the order actually shipping or processing—the claim happens the moment they click the button, and the discount is immediately applied to their next scheduled order.
Additional Support
If you have any questions about functionality or getting setup, please reach out to support. We’ll be happy to help and make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.