How do you set up a coffee subscription on Shopify?

Why do coffee subscriptions get cancelled?

A customer picks a coffee, a bag size and a delivery interval, and the next bag should arrive before the last one is empty. That is the hard part. People drink at different speeds, a household’s consumption changes, and some customers want to try a new roast every few months. A subscription that can’t follow along gets cancelled the first time the beans pile up.

A coffee program needs timing customers can adjust, easy swaps and a way to ship early. Because coffee is a popular gift, it also needs a way to pay for several deliveries at once.

Can customers change how often their coffee arrives?

Yes. A subscription plan can offer several delivery intervals, each with its own discount: every two weeks, every three weeks, every month. In the customer portal, customers then adjust the timing themselves. They switch to another interval, move the next order to a later date, skip a delivery while the cupboard is still full, or use Ship now when they run out early.

Customers make these changes without writing to your team, and you decide which of them they get.

Can customers switch beans or grind?

Yes. Make each roast a product and each grind or bag size a variant. Customers then swap coffees, add a second one or change quantities, choosing only from the coffees you offer on subscription. They can also add something to a single delivery, such as a travel mug or a new roast to try, without changing the subscription.

Even a coffee people love turns into routine, and routine is easy to cancel. New roasts and limited lots on subscription, announced to subscribers first, give regulars something to look forward to without leaving.

Can you sell coffee subscriptions as gifts?

Yes, with prepaid billing. The buyer pays for several deliveries upfront, for example six months of monthly bags, and the product page shows the price per delivery next to the total. It suits gift buyers and regulars who would rather pay once.

Can a subscription grow with the customer?

Yes. A sequential flow changes a subscription at an order you choose. A common coffee example: sell a sample bag on the first order and replace it with the full-size bag from the second. The same tool can add a loyalty discount or a free sample of a new roast later on. Customers see the change in the portal before the order bills, so nothing comes as a surprise.

How do shoppers find the subscription offer?

On the product page, the subscribe widget shows the saving next to the one-time price and can show the price per kilo after the discount. In the cart, one click turns a one-time bag into a subscription, and on Shopify Plus the offer also appears in checkout. See subscription conversion offers.

TryMoin, who sell coffee concentrate, moved their subscriptions from Recharge to Zubs in a single switchover done by the Zubs team, then put the widget on every product page. Everyday changes such as skipping a delivery or swapping a flavor now happen in the customer portal instead of arriving as support tickets.