Getting repeat sales is always top of mind for an ecommerce business owner—having a strong and loyal customer base is a great way to grow. If you really want to take that customer relationship to the next level, Amazon Subscribe & Save is a great way to encourage loyalty and gain recurring sales you can count on.

But what is the Amazon Subscribe & Save program? Read on to learn:

• What the Subscribe & Save program is
• The benefits of Subscribe & Save for customers and sellers
• Subscribe & Save program requirements
• Funding, discount and coupon options
• How to add products and track the results of Subscribe & Save sales
• How to grow your business using Subscribe & Save, including best practices

What is Subscribe & Save?

Subscribe & Save is a program that lets Amazon customers sign up for recurring deliveries of products they use on a regular basis—think things like notebooks, haircare products, vitamins, and other products that may be a part of day-to-day life. Customers can choose how frequently they want to receive their items and have them delivered automatically according to their schedule, until they amend their shipment frequency or cancel their subscription.

By subscribing, customers can get up to a 15% discount on their purchases, making it a cost-effective solution for repetitive buys. Ultimately, Subscribe & Save is a convenient solution for repeated buys.

What are the benefits of Subscribe & Save for customers?

There are numerous benefits for customers who use Subscribe & Save, including:

• Convenience: The “set it and forget it” nature of Subscribe & Save means customers can get the items they need when they need them—automatically.
• Discounts: Signing up for Subscribe & Save can net customers a discount up to 15% on their order.
• Flexibility: Customers can decide on the frequency of their orders, change their shipping date or frequency as needed, and cancel their subscription when they want.
• Loyalty: When customers find a seller they like to shop with, Subscribe & Save makes it easy for them to buy frequently used items with an ecommerce business they love.

What are the benefits of Subscribe & Save for sellers?

There are numerous benefits for sellers who participate in Subscribe & Save, including:

• Repeat sales: Subscribe & Save can help you forecast your earnings because subscriptions are purchases you can count on. This can also help you forecast your inventory needs and stock up accordingly.
• Visibility: When customers search for Subscribe & Save products, they may come across your inventory in their hunt.
• Customer loyalty: If you have the products customers want, keep them in stock, and ship quickly, customers may be enticed to subscribe.
• Brand awareness: Customers may explore other items you sell when they subscribe to a product you offer.

What are the requirements to sell through Subscribe & Save?

To participate in Subscribe & Save, all sellers need to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be a Brand Representative for a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry
• Have a strong fulfillment history and in-stock rate greater than 90%
• Have an average selling price without exaggerated increases (not including deals)
• Have a buyable offer

Sellers should also offer products in the following categories:

• Beauty
• Grocery
• Health & Baby Care
• Automotive Parts & Tools
• Electronics
• Home Tools & Home Improvement
• Industrial Supplies
• Kitchen, Lawn & Garden
• Musical Instruments
• Office Supplies
• Outdoors
• Pet Supplies
• Sports
• Toys

You can participate in Subscribe & Save whether you sell through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or the Fulfilled by Merchant program, as long as your account is in good standing.

• If you use FBA, you can have your eligible products auto-enrolled in Subscribe & Save.
• If you use Fulfilled by Merchant, you’ll need to submit a request in Seller Central for each product you want to enroll in Subscribe & Save.

If you use Fulfilled by Merchant, your offers must also meet the following criteria for at least a period of three consecutive months in order to be eligible for Subscribe & Save:

• Free domestic shipping
• A delivery estimate accuracy greater than 93.5%
• An average delivery promise for domestic shipments fewer than five days
• A valid tracking rate greater than 95%
• An order defect rate less than 1%
• A pre-fulfillment cancel rate less than 2.5%
• A late shipment rate less than 4%

What are the funding, discount, and coupon options for Subscribe & Save?

There are three different funding options for Subscribe & Save. Let’s look at each one:

Seller-funded discount

Sellers have three base funding options to choose from: 0%, 5%, or 10%.

• Funding at 0% means the customer doesn’t get a discount on subscriptions of four items or fewer, but they do get a 5% discount on subscriptions of five or more items funded by Amazon.
• Funding at 5% means the customer gets a 5% discount on subscriptions of four items or fewer, and they get an additional 5% discount on subscriptions of five or more items funded by Amazon—a 10% total discount.
• Funding at 10% means the customer gets a 10% discount on subscriptions of four items or fewer, and they get an additional 5% discount on subscriptions of five or more items funded by Amazon—a 15% total discount.

Seller-funded deals

Seller promotions and discounts can be added on top of a Subscribe & Save discount. For example, a Seller can run a Best Deal on a product that’s included in Subscribe & Save, providing the program discount along with the deal price for the product.

Seller-funded coupons

Subscribe & Save specific coupons can be redeemed on the first delivery of a new subscription. You can create a coupon in Seller Central at any time, with a start date set for the next day. You can select which product you want to have coupons on for either a dollar or percentage amount. They can last longer than deals—up to three months. You can also create targeted coupons—for example, a coupon that offers a discount to a customer who has previously bought a Subscribe & Save product from you in the past, but who has maybe lapsed on reordering.

How do you add products to Subscribe & Save?

Adding products to Subscribe & Save is easy—if you’re enrolled in FBA, Amazon often does it for you. Your eligible products are automatically enrolled at the default discount that you selected on the Manage products tab of the Subscribe & Save tool in Seller Central. It automatically defaults to 0%, but if you want to update your default enrollment discount to 5% or 10%, navigate to Manage products and select Change default enrollment discount at the top of the page.

If your products haven’t been automatically enrolled, you can use the self-service product eligibility feature on Manage products to find out why. For further assistance determining product eligibility and enrolling products, you can also get support on the Get help and resources page in Seller Central. Just make sure to share your marketplace ID, merchant or seller ID, and the ASIN and SKU for the products you wish to enroll.

You can also update and manage funding options for individual products on the Manage products tab of the Subscribe & Save tool.

How do I track results of my Subscribe & Save program?

You can track the results of your program participation on the Dashboard tab of the Subscribe & Save tool in Seller Central. There are four main sections that can help you gauge your success:

• Subscribe & Save performance: This section shows metrics and data that can help you analyze performance and identify trends. This includes sales numbers, the total percentage of Subscribe & Save sales, the number of active subscribers you have, your retention count, and more.
• Funding strategy: In this section, you’ll find the value of higher Subscribe & Save discounts, including metrics such as the percentage breakdown of total sales generated by each discount tier, the number of subscriptions generated by each discount tier across orders over 12 months, and average sales and reorders generated by subscribers versus non-subscribers.
• Coupon performance: Here is where you can explore insights into the effects of coupon promotions and discounts offered through the Subscribe & Save program. This includes metrics like the percentage of Subscribe & Save sales generated from orders with a coupon or promotion code, and the percentage of subscriptions acquired through coupon promotions.
• Subscription inventory planning: Lastly, this section shares metrics on missed deliveries and revenue loss due to lack of inventory in Subscribe & Save. Metrics include the forecasted number of product units expected to ship through the Subscribe & Save program over a specific period, forecasted revenue based on existing subscriptions and anticipated growth, the percentage of orders that couldn’t be delivered or fulfilled due to the specific products being out of stock, and sales loss associated with the number of orders that couldn’t be fulfilled due to the specific products being out of stock.

You can also download a performance report on the Dashboard tab of the Subscribe & Save tool in Seller Central.

Track Subscribe & Save performance

How do I grow my Subscribe & Save program, and what are the best practices?

If you’d like to grow your Subscribe & Save program and make the most of it, these are the best steps you can take:

• Increase your seller-funded Subscribe & Save discounts to 5% or 10% from the start, so your customers can take advantage of savings the minute they subscribe. Or change the subscription amount—for example, if you started at 5%, you can change the amount to 10% to incentivize subscriptions. You can set your discounts using the Subscribe & Save tool in Seller Central.
• Make sure your inventory levels remain healthy, so you’re meeting subscriber demand. You can monitor your inventory direct from the Subscribe & Save tool in Seller Central.
• Continuing to deliver subscribed products frequently and on time. If you have any delivery issues, do what you can to maintain good customer service as you’re addressing any complications.
• Deploy coupons, like a Subscribe & Save coupon that customers can redeem on the first delivery of a new subscription, or reorder coupons that offer customers an additional discount for products they’ve purchased but not subscribed to.
• Keep an eye on your performance report to identify trends and stock according to what’s selling the most for you, see if you have any gaps in your inventory, spot any issues with your shipping, and plan for the future.

Ready to get started with Subscribe & Save?

Amazon Subscribe & Save is a great way to encourage repeat sales and create a stronger bond with customers who like to shop with you regularly. Not only can it help bolster your sales, it can also introduce you to new customers and help you grow your business. And it all starts with a Professional selling plan. Sign up for one today.