This year alone, the subscription market has seen an impressive surge, with a 41% increase in subscription sales, with the global subscription industry poised to reach $2 trillion by 2025.
Amidst this growing wave, one model that stands out for its versatility and customer appeal is the ‘build-a-box’ subscription.
In this blog, we delve into this innovative approach, breaking down how it’s changing the game for consumers and businesses alike and why it might just be the perfect addition to your eCommerce strategy.
What is a build-a-box subscription?
Imagine a shopping experience where customers play a leading role in creating their product bundle. That’s precisely what the build-a-box subscription model offers. It’s a fresh take on the traditional subscription concept, giving customers the power to pick and choose from a variety of products or services to assemble their perfect box.
This customized selection is then regularly delivered to them, blending the ease of regular subscriptions with the excitement of personalization.
This model has taken off in various industries, from fashion and beauty to food and wellness, as it caters to the individual’s preferences, offering a unique blend of discovery and customization.
Take, for example, Stitch Fix’s personalized fashion picks, Dollar Shave Club’s grooming essentials, or Hello Fresh’s meal kits. These brands have successfully harnessed the power of build-a-box to deepen customer engagement and loyalty.
As of 2023, the subscription eCommerce market has continued to thrive, with a report from McKinsey & Company indicating that 15% of online shoppers have signed up for one or more subscriptions to receive products on a recurring basis.
This model’s upward trajectory is underscored by its expected growth, with the global subscription market projected to reach $7.8 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% from 2020, according to a market analysis by Grand View Research. These numbers reveal the increasing consumer demand for personalized, convenient, and varied shopping experiences that subscription models like build-a-box offer.
What are the benefits of a build-a-box subscription model?
The build-a-box subscription model is reshaping the eCommerce landscape with its unique benefits:
1. Increased Average Order Volume
This model encourages customers to order multiple subscription products simultaneously. For instance, offering a mix-and-match option with incentives like “Select 4 items & get 15% off at checkout” can significantly increase the average order size.
2. Attractive Subscription Discounts
Build-a-box subscriptions allow for flexible discount structures, with percentage-based discounts being particularly popular. You could offer, say, a 15% discount on any subscription frequency chosen, which tends to be highly effective.
3. Flexible Delivery Options
The pay-per-delivery plans are a hit among customers, offering low commitment with the ability to cancel anytime. This model is more approachable as it doesn’t require prepaying for multiple deliveries, reducing barriers to entry.
4. Discovery of New Products
Build-a-box displays a variety of products in one view, aiding customers in discovering new items without the need to navigate extensively around the website. This visibility can lead to increased interest in products they might not have been aware of.
5. Highlighting Popular Products
Featuring around 30 products, build-a-box is excellent for showcasing your top-selling items. Select products with high traffic, conversion rates, and profit margins to encourage subscription to these items.
6. Gamifying the Shopping Experience
This model adds an element of fun to shopping. Customers enjoy the flexibility of adding products, selecting frequencies, and seeing their savings instantly, making the shopping experience more engaging and interactive.
7. Prepaid Subscription Plans
Offering an option to prepay for subscriptions, such as “Prepaid 3 Months / Monthly Delivery / 20% off,” can attract customers who are regular buyers. This approach provides them with substantial savings for commitments they would have made anyway.
8. Streamlined Automatic Processes
The model simplifies the subscription process, including automatic recurring charges, order creation based on the chosen frequency, and easy subscription management for customers.
Why is Appstle the best for setting up a build a box subscription?
Appstle emerges as a leading choice for eCommerce businesses looking to launch a build-a-box subscription, offering a suite of features tailored to enhance both the customer experience and business performance. Here’s why:
1. Proven Performance: Appstle’s build-a-box model is designed to significantly boost the average order value, with businesses witnessing a substantial increase in sales.
2. User-Friendly Subscriber Portal: Appstle offers a passwordless portal where customers can effortlessly manage their subscriptions, reducing the need for additional customer support.
3. Engaging Gamification: Developed by expert engineers, Appstle’s build-a-box layout is not only efficient in driving sales but also ensures a fun and interactive shopping experience for customers.
4. Express Checkout Process: The platform features a seamless checkout experience, bypassing the cart page and directly leading customers to checkout, thereby reducing transaction friction.
5. Unified Shopify Checkout: Unlike other subscription services, Appstle integrates seamlessly with Shopify’s checkout system, ensuring a fast and familiar checkout process while supporting effective marketing analytics.
6. Dynamic Pricing: Appstle’s dynamic pricing system automatically calculates discounts as customers add products to their box, often leading to higher average order values compared to fixed-price subscriptions.
7. Customizable Pack Sizes: The service provides flexibility in offering different pack sizes for subscriptions, each with its unique discount, catering to varied customer preferences.
8. Optimized UX/UI for Conversions: With a mobile-first design, Appstle ensures that the build-a-box feature works flawlessly across all devices, enhancing the shopping experience and boosting conversions.
9. Flexible Subscription Bundling: Merchants can set minimum and/or maximum item limits for subscriptions, offering greater control over inventory and pricing.
10. Multilingual Support: Appstle caters to a global audience by offering a fully translatable build-a-box experience, including a subscriber portal in various languages.
11. Motivating Smart Progress Bar: The platform includes a progress bar that encourages customers to add more products to meet any minimum thresholds, boosting order size.
12. Prepaid Subscription Options: Customers can opt for prepaid subscriptions, enjoying larger discounts for upfront payments while receiving products on a regular basis.
13. Minimum Time Commitments: To protect against discount abuse, Appstle allows for minimum time commitments on subscriptions, ensuring customer loyalty and consistent revenue.
14. Advanced Shipping Options: Merchants can offer exclusive shipping deals, like free shipping or special flat rates, for their subscription products.
15. Collaborative Development: Appstle adopts a collaborative approach, incorporating feedback from merchants to continuously enhance and update features based on popular demand.
Build a Box Subscription Examples for Ecommerce
Here’s how leading brands are harnessing the power of customization through the build-a-box subscription model:
1. Frobishers Juices Build-a-Box
Frobishers, a purveyor of fine juices, has tapped into the build-a-box trend with a flair for customization. They offer a delightful way for customers to mix and match their favorite flavors, creating a bespoke box of beverages. This isn’t just about giving customers a say in what arrives at their doorstep; it’s about crafting a personalized drinking experience.
With Frobishers’ build-a-box feature, customers can:
- Customize Their Subscription Box: Customers are not restricted to a set selection. They can select from various juice categories like cordials, sparklers, and fusions, curating a box that caters to their individual taste buds and delivering it monthly.
- Add One-Time Items: The flexibility extends further by allowing customers to augment their subscriptions with one-off items. This is perfect for those looking to send a gift or try out a new flavor without altering their regular subscription.
2. Birchbox Build-a-box
Birchbox has cleverly adapted the build-a-box subscription model to the beauty industry’s unique demands. By allowing customers to sample products through a cost-effective monthly subscription, Birchbox removes the uncertainty that often accompanies online shopping. Customers can explore a variety of beauty products each month without the pressure of a high-stakes purchase.
Birchbox’s approach is particularly appealing because it frames each box as a low-risk discovery. For just $10 a month, customers receive a selection of beauty samples tailored to their preferences, making the subscription feel like a modest investment rather than a commitment. This strategy not only builds customer confidence in their purchases but also enhances their comfort with the brand, encouraging them to transition from sampling to regular purchases.
3. Dollar shave Club
Dollar Shave Club demonstrates a stellar example of how a build-a-box subscription can transcend the typical eCommerce transaction to become a thoughtful gift. In a marketplace where practical items are often overlooked as gifts, Dollar Shave Club has turned its utilitarian products into desirable presents.
They’ve achieved this by clearly showcasing gift options on their website, simplifying the decision-making process for buyers. With easy-to-navigate gift pages and clear options for gifting subscriptions, they invite shoppers to consider their shaving boxes as perfect gifts.
By framing their products as gifts, complete with options for presentation and personalization, Dollar Shave Club encourages more sales from customers looking for a practical yet thoughtful present. This approach shows other businesses how to leverage their offerings as gifts, potentially through a gift guide or present wrapping service, thereby enhancing the appeal and broadening the market reach of their products.
Ready to transform your ecommerce experience with build-a-box subscriptions?
The rise of the build-a-box subscription model marks a significant evolution in eCommerce, offering a personalized touch that today’s consumers crave. Whether you’re in the business of beauty, gourmet foods, or daily essentials, this model can elevate your customer experience and expand your market share.
Appstle is poised to help you capitalize on this movement, offering a suite of features designed to make subscription management effective and effortless.
From flexible subscription options to dynamic pricing and an intuitive subscriber portal, Appstle equips you with all the tools necessary to launch and grow a build-a-box subscription service. Whether you’re in the beauty industry, gourmet food, or any other sector, Appstle’s robust platform is ready to help you create a subscription service as unique as your products.
Start building your subscription box with Appstle today and redefine how customers engage with your brand.
Explore how Appstle can transform your subscription strategy.
