Win back subscribers at the moment they try to cancel by offering a one-time retention discount, with rules that stop the same people claiming it over and over. You create it in Flex Incentives, and Ordergroove runs an eligibility check on every subscriber before showing it.
In this guide, we'll go through how to create a retention discount, how eligibility works, and how to choose the rules that suit your program.
Creating a Retention Discount
- Open up Ordergroove and go to Subscriptions > Flex Incentives.
- Click + Create Incentive > On-Demand Incentive > Retention Incentive.
- Give your incentive a Name.
- Set the discount Amount and Type (% or $).
- Configure your eligibility rules. There are two, and you can use either or both:
- Time-Based – the minimum number of days that must pass before a subscriber is offered the discount again.
- Order-Based – the minimum number of orders that must be successfully placed before a subscriber is offered the discount.
- Click Publish.
Once published, Ordergroove starts running eligibility checks to decide whether each subscriber sees your discount or your fallback.
Note: A subscriber who isn't eligible doesn't reach a dead end, they see your fallback instead. In Cancel Flows (v25) that's the Subscription Benefits Reminder. In Personalized Cancel Flows it's whichever Backup Save Tactic you've configured.
Understanding Eligibility
Eligibility determines who can see and claim your retention discount. The rules exist to stop subscribers repeatedly claiming discounts by threatening to cancel.
Note: All eligibility rules work at the customer level, not the subscription level. If someone has five subscriptions and claims a discount on one, it affects their eligibility across all five.
Rule 1: Days Since Last Claim
Sets a cooldown period, in days, that must pass after a subscriber claims a retention discount before they can be offered another one.
Say you set a 60-day cooldown:
- A subscriber claims a retention discount on January 1st.
- For the next 60 days they aren't eligible. If they try to cancel any of their subscriptions, they'll see your fallback instead.
- Once 60 days have passed, they're eligible again and can claim another discount.
Rule 2: Orders Before Re-Eligibility
Sets how many orders must successfully ship after a claim before the subscriber becomes eligible again.
Say you set this to 2 orders:
- A subscriber claims a retention discount.
- Two more orders ship at regular price.
- On the order after that, they're eligible to claim again.
Orders from any of their subscriptions count toward the total. They don't need two orders on the specific subscription where they claimed the discount. For example, a subscriber with Lemon, Vanilla, Chocolate, Berry and Coffee subscriptions claims a discount on Lemon. Their next Vanilla order ships, then their next Chocolate order ships. That's two orders, and they're now eligible again on any of the five, Lemon included.
How the Two Rules Differ
The rules don't behave the same way for brand-new subscribers.
| Rule | Applies to new subscribers | Applies after a claim |
|---|---|---|
| Days since last claim | No | Yes |
| Orders before re-eligibility | Yes | Yes |
This is the part most worth understanding before you launch, because it decides whether a brand-new subscriber can claim a discount straight away.
With only a day-based rule, new subscribers are eligible immediately. Someone who checks out and then visits their Subscription Manager to cancel will be offered the discount right away. The cooldown only starts once they've claimed it.
With an order-based rule, new subscribers have to wait. If you set 2 orders, the timeline looks like this:
- January 1st: initial checkout, which doesn't count toward the total
- February 1st: first recurring order ships
- March 1st: second recurring order ships
- April 1st: the subscriber tries to cancel and sees the retention discount for the first time
Combining Both Rules
You can use both rules together for tighter control. When both are set, a subscriber has to satisfy both before becoming eligible again.
Say you set 2 orders and 60 days:
- A subscriber claims a discount on January 1st.
- They quickly place two more orders, satisfying the order rule.
- Only 10 days have passed, so the day rule isn't satisfied.
- They stay ineligible until the full 60 days are up.
One Active Discount at a Time
One rule always applies, whatever else you configure: a subscriber can only have one active retention discount on an upcoming order at a time.
If they've claimed a discount and that discounted order hasn't shipped yet, they won't be offered another one when they try to cancel a different subscription. They'll see your fallback until the discounted order ships.
Choosing Your Rules
Which rules to use comes down to what you're protecting against.
To keep brand-new subscribers from claiming a discount straight away, use the order-based rule. Set it to the number of orders you want them to complete first. Bear in mind this same number applies to re-eligibility later.
To let new subscribers claim immediately but slow down repeat claims, use only the day-based rule.
To limit subscribers to roughly one discount ever, set a very long cooldown, such as 1000 days. There's no true once-per-lifetime setting, but a long enough cooldown gets you close.
A few things worth keeping in mind:
- Start conservative. Begin with stricter rules and loosen them once you can see how your subscribers behave.
- Most merchants use both rules. Combining an order count with a day requirement gives you balanced control.
- Make your fallback count. Plenty of subscribers will see it rather than the discount, so it needs to make a real case for staying.
- Watch your claim rate. How often the discount gets claimed is the clearest signal for whether your rules need tightening or loosening.
FAQ
Q: What does it mean to claim a retention discount?
A: A subscriber claims the discount the moment they click the button to accept it. That's different from the order shipping. The discount is applied to their next scheduled order straight away, and their cooldown starts from that click rather than from the order processing.
Q: Is the eligibility check per subscription or per customer?
A: Per customer. If someone has several subscriptions, claiming a discount on one affects their eligibility on all of them.
Q: Can I set different cooldowns for first-time eligibility and re-eligibility?
A: Not currently. The same rules apply to both. This is a known limitation we're looking at for a future update.
Q: Can I limit subscribers to one discount per lifetime?
A: Not exactly, but setting a very long cooldown period, such as 1000 days, gets you close.
Q: Why is a subscriber seeing my fallback instead of the discount?
A: They weren't eligible. The usual causes are an active retention discount already sitting on an upcoming order, a cooldown that hasn't finished, or an order-based rule they haven't met yet.
Q: Do I need a retention discount to use cancel flows?
A: No. Without one, subscribers see your fallback instead. Setting one up gives you a stronger offer to make at the point of cancellation.
Related Resources
- Cancel Flows (v25) - how retention discounts fit into the v25 cancellation experience
- Cancel Flow Analytics - tracking how your save tactics are performing
If you have any questions about functionality or getting set up, please reach out to support. We'll be happy to help and make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.