Learn The Best Tips And Takeaways From Membership Examples Of Ecommerce Brands
There are 12 million to 24 million eCommerce sites across the globe!
Can you imagine the competition between brands? Competition paves the way for growth, for trying new marketing strategies, and putting forth consistent effort to engage customers and drive sales.
One such strategy that’s catching on like wildfire is membership models.
All kinds of businesses are experimenting with membership plans as a model to generate revenue and engage customers.
In this article, we look at 20 eCommerce membership examples that are worth a look and lessons you can learn from them to apply to your Shopify membership models.
Ecommerce membership examples with key takeaways
There are several eCommerce businesses that are experimenting with the membership business model. But let’s take a look at some eCommerce membership examples that are leading in this space:
1. Malt The Brewery
A brewery based in the UK, Malt, offers an annual brewery club membership, called The Maltsters. Members pay a fee and get a 10% discount on every order, members-only events, loyalty and rewards points, among other benefits.
Takeaway: The brand has combined the loyalty and rewards program into the benefits of the membership plan—an excellent way to boost sales and cross-promote marketing programs.
2. Coming Inflatable Slide
Coming Inflatable Slide is an inflatable slides and games brand. Its membership program offers members discounts and exclusive invitations to events for an annual fee. The fee gets offset by the amount of discounts customers receive. The brand cleverly displays three price options on every product page, including the price for members. In addition, every page also has the ‘Join Membership’ CTA button to boost sign ups.
Takeaway: The website has the CTA button to join membership on every product page, which helps boost sign-ups.
3. Lilac & Pine
Another eCommerce membership model to talk about is by Lilac & Pine. It is a creative design brand that sells designs such as door hangers, signs, boards, decoration, hangings, etc. The L&P SVG Club is the brand’s membership program that offers a limited number of members access to design bundles.
Takeaway: The L&P SVG Club membership allows a limited number of customers to join as members. This makes the membership program more exclusive and sought after.
4. Marquis Wine Club
Marquis Wine Club is a membership model that delivers wines to the doorstep. The membership is free. Members can choose monthly or quarterly plans and receive carefully selected wines, tasting notes, food pairing suggestions, discounts, exclusive access to tastings, events and seminars.
Takeaway: The brand keeps everything customer-centric for good customer experience, something that every eCommerce membership model should follow—no membership fee, easy cancellation with no cost, and provides excellent customer service.
5. Desired Landscapes
A magazine about urban experiences, spaces and places, Desired Landscape publishes a pocket-sized magazine every nine months. It also organizes walks and sells maps and guides. Desired Membership gives members 10% discount on all products and 20% discount on walks.
Takeaway: Desired Landscapes has kept its membership plan simple, resonating the brand essence. On the website, the brand has given its membership feature prominence by having the membership tab first in the navigation bar.
6. Metolius Artisan Tea
A wholesale brand for teas, Metolius Artisan Tea runs a membership plan that offers discounts, free shipping and priority fulfillment. In addition, members get to try products before the launch and share product development inputs.
Takeaway: Metolius Tea offers free shipping on wholesale orders within the country. Free shipping can be a huge benefit for businesses that can improve profits.
7. Nakunako Oy
A baby clothing rental brand, Nakunako Oy has three membership plans to choose from—monthly, tri-monthly, and semi-annually plans. Members can choose 10 second hand baby clothes in every delivery.
Takeaway: The brand provides a wide range of sizes so as babies grow they can keep increasing the sizes of the garments in the membership boxes. This motivates members to continue memberships for a longer duration.
8. Moda Confidential
Another excellent eCommerce membership example is Moda Confidential—a community-oriented platform that helps women embrace the Parisian way of life and transform shopping habits for a more sustainable life. It offers two annual membership plans. Members receive boxes of products, playbooks, online consultation, and get to be part of an exclusive community.
Takeaway: The brand has included a subscription box as a perk in the membership plan—an excellent way to cross promote different programs of the brand.
9. Rachel’s Texas Kitchen
Rachel’s Texas Kitchen is a small, home-based jam business. It’s monthly membership plan at a fee of $8 includes perks such as free shipping, 15% discount, and access to their traditional recipes.
Takeaway: The small and simple business vibe resonates in its membership plan, too—one standard membership plan with straightforward perks.
10. Fabric Bash
A brand that provides all things quilting and sewing, Fabric Bash has both an online and physical presence. The brand offers, on rent and sale, material, accessories, machines, and tools to the brand’s community of sewers and quilters. The monthly membership plan called Longarm Club offers perks such as discounts on rentals and products.
Takeaway: The brand keeps it simple and offers only one standard membership plan.
11. Maker’s Fantasy
A brand for acrylic jewelry creators, Maker’s Fantasy offers designs, jewelry stands, etc. Its membership plan called Fantasy File Club offers members exclusive design files every month, 40% discount on products that aren’t part of the membership plan, access to a private Facebook community, and access to the past month’s files.
Takeaway: The Shopify website has a page that shows a comparison of the different membership plans making it easier for members to pick the best plan.
12. Freeze Drying Cookbook
A freeze drying cooking website, Freeze Drying Cookbook offers three membership plans—monthly, semi-annually, and annually. Customers can also join the free trial one-day membership plan to get a taste and then commit for a long-term membership plan.
Takeaway: Since it’s an online cookery website, its membership plan is available to customers globally. The localized pricing feature makes it easy for customers across the world to sign up. What is more, the brand has added memberships under its products section, giving memberships the focus it deserves.
13. Innate Macros
Health and wellness brand Innate Macros offers three membership plans – Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The membership plans include training programs, recipes, check-ins and evaluation, and personalized 24/7 support.
Takeaway: The perks are personalized based on members’ goals of health, nutrition, and training. The brand further personalizes member experience by being available to them one-on-one over phone and message.
14. Meat Mekanik
The online meat store, Meat Mekanik offers one standard semi-annually membership plan for a fee. Members get discounts, free shipping, and exclusive access to monthly clearance products.
Takeaway: A simple membership plan for regular, recurring consumable items—ensures long-term members and recurring revenue.
15. Arts@302
An arts class center, Arts@302 provides multiple membership options for customers to choose from. Members get discounts on art classes, gifts, priority access to special events, newsletters, and mention on collaterals such as websites, newsletter, etc.
Takeaway: Memberships are available for individuals and family, which boosts sign-ups.
16. Remy Lane Designs
Another good example of membership eCommerce model is the children’s design brand, Remy Lane Design offers two types of membership plans—finished design membership and clipart membership. Members can sign up for monthly, quarterly or yearly memberships. The brand also offers lifetime memberships. Lifetime members get access to all the membership plans. Members get access to new designs every week and exclusive collaborations.
Takeaway: The membership plans are limited to 100 members every month. This makes it more exclusive.
17. A Stitch A Half
A Stitch A Half is a machine embroidery design brand offering Gold Membership plans. Members get to choose from a wide range of embroidery designs and download eight designs every week.
Takeaway: The membership page on the website explains every detail, making it easy for members to sign up and use the membership plan.
18. Everyday Vegan
Ecommerce memberships and subscriptions work particularly well for everyday, routine, recurring products such as groceries. That’s what Everyday Vegan has done with its VIPea Pass eCommerce membership model. Members get free deliveries, can shop online and in-store, shop retail at wholesale rates, and earn Planet Points for more savings.
Takeaway: Everyday Vegan promotes the idea of being kind to the Earth via the membership plan, which helps emotionally connect with customers.
19. Chimera Planet
A design and lifestyle brand, Chimera Planet sells digital art, accessories, gifts, and more. Its monthly Premium Membership plan allows members free downloads, gifts, discounts, welcome discount, priority support, and exclusive access.
Takeaway: The brand offers a welcome discount every year, making it attractive to members to renew their memberships year-after-year.
20. Oukside
A wellness and fitness services brand, Oukside offers its members tips and advice on dieting, targeted guides, personalized content, and more, via monthly and yearly memberships.
Takeaway: Oukside offers a 7-day free membership for customers to get a taste before they sign up for a long-term membership plan.
Key learnings from these eCommerce membership examples
Here’s a quick recap of learnings from key takeaways from the above membership business examples:
- Combine other marketing features such as loyalty program and subscription with membership plans
- Have ‘Join Membership’ option on every product page
- Put a cap on the number of members to make the membership plan more exclusive
- Keep the customer at the heart of your membership perks
- Give a prominent spot to the membership page in the navigation bar
- Offer free shipping to encourage customers to sign up
- Make it worth for customers to join for long-term
- Incorporate localization depending on the region your memberships serve
- Keep the membership plan and perks simple for customers to understand
- Personalize the membership plans as much as possible
- Allow family members to use memberships and perks
- Weave in emotional connections within the membership plans
- Offer a free trial option
Wrap up
There are so many eCommerce membership examples and there’s so much to learn from each one. Even though there’s high competition in the membership market, there’s also opportunities to set up unique membership plans.
And you’ll need a Shopify membership app to help you along the way. From the start to scaling your membership business to innovating on your way to success.
That’s why you need Appstle Memberships and Loyalty app for your Shopify store.
Install Appstle Shopify Membership app on your Shopify store today!
