Is Amazon Subscribe & Save Right For Your Brand?

Clark Kleinman

December 9, 2021

Is Amazon Subscribe & Save right for your brand

Since 2007, the Amazon Subscribe & Save programme has allowed customers to receive recurring and scheduled deliveries of the products they love and use most often – such as toiletries, foodstuff, and nappies – at a discounted price. It’s a great opportunity for buyers to save money on things they already plan on purchasing.

In this blog, we outline how membership works, the key considerations to keep in mind for brands looking into joining the programme and the benefits you can obtain by opting-in your brand to Amazon Subscribe & Save.

How does Amazon Subscribe & Save work?

Customers who have joined the Amazon Subscribe & Save programme can choose from thousands of products and select their favourites for automatic shipping every one to six months, and are rewarded with a small discount for each order that ships. They can skip any order that isn’t needed or cancel at any time for free, so the risk is low for customers.

Consumers love finding deals and Amazon has them built in to the customer retention experience, so that when customers receive five or more subscriptions in a single month, they get a steeper discount – making the programme even more appealing. When leveraged correctly, it’s also an opportunity for brands to increase customer retention and boost conversion.

How does Amazon Subscribe & Save benefit brands?

At first glance, providing 5-10% discounts on your products may seem like a poor financial decision. However, because you are trading discounts for more sales, your brand ends up making more money in the long run.

Because customers have signed up under your brand and committed to receiving a product for several months, they will automatically receive the supplies they need without thinking twice, they no longer need to return to Amazon and peruse for other products similar to yours, limiting competition from other similar brands.

You no longer have to worry about sharing the Amazon search result page with competitor brands, because once buyers are set up with Subscribe & Save all you need to do is keep up their subscription and delivery dates. This keeps sales up and customers loyal – all while shortening the reorder window. Also, an Amazon Prime membership isn’t required for free shipping with Subscribe & Save, so you can reach a broader audience with the same benefits.

How to know if Amazon Subscribe & Save is right for your brand?

After learning about Amazon Subscribe & Save, you’ll need to look at your business and determine if it’s right for you. Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

  • Is your product an essential item that requires repeat purchasing? (i.e. vitamins and supplements, foodstuff, toiletries)
  • Are your listings competitive? You should optimise your listings to receive the best from Subscribe and Save on Amazon.
  • Are you open to using discounts that are compelling to your customers?
  • How is your inventory? If you are consistently stocking out of inventory, Amazon will not let you use Subscribe & Save.

How Pattern can help

Pattern can examine your brand and products, then help you understand if you should launch on Amazon Subscribe & Save. If the answer is yes, we’re ready to jump in and optimise your listings for best effectiveness; streamline your logistics for efficient inventory; and provide reporting and insights on how your products are performing and where opportunities lie.

Not sure what discount parameters to start with? Curious what percentage of brand orders come from Amazon Subscribe & Save? We’ve got expertise in that too. On a brand level we can help you identify your best sellers and how much of your success comes from Amazon Subscribe & Save. On a product level, we can check data to determine changes in subscribers, number of subscribers per product, and how those change over time.

Ready to upgrade your Subscribe & Save offering? Contact us today to learn how Pattern can help to grow your marketplace sales.

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