Upgrades let you offer your subscribers the option to switch to a higher-value version of the items in their current subscription. This could mean moving to a larger pack, a higher-priced membership, a bigger quantity, a longer delivery frequency, or a combination of these.
This article covers the five upgrade types, how upgrades work for subscribers and admins, and how to track upgrade analytics.
Why use subscription upgrades
Subscription upgrades help you:
Improve subscriber retention by encouraging longer commitments.
Increase revenue per subscriber by promoting higher-value products or packs.
Deliver a more flexible and tailored subscription experience.
For example, a subscriber on a 1-month plan could be offered a 3-month plan with a better price and perks.
Upgrade types
You choose the upgrade type when you create a profile. Each type changes a different part of the subscription, so the setup and the subscriber experience differ between them.
Upgrade type | What it changes |
SKU upgrade | Switches your subscriber to a higher-value product at the same frequency. Learn more |
SKU upgrade + frequency change | Switches your subscriber to a higher-value product and a longer billing cadence. |
Membership upgrade | Moves your subscriber to a higher-priced membership plan at the same frequency. |
Membership upgrade + frequency change | Moves your subscriber to a higher-priced membership plan on a longer billing cadence. |
Product quantity + frequency change | Moves your subscriber to a higher quantity of the same product on a longer billing cadence. |
How upgrades work for subscribers
When a subscription is eligible for an upgrade, a promotional banner appears at the top of the subscription details page in the customer portal. The banner highlights the benefits of upgrading, such as better discounts or added perks.
Your subscriber can click the banner to view upgrade details in a dedicated drawer. This view compares the current subscription with the upgrade option, including pricing and frequency changes. If multiple upgrade options are available, the subscriber can click See all upgrades to browse the full list.
Even if the subscriber dismisses the banner, they can still access the upgrade offer later through a button on their subscription page.
Admin experience
You can trigger upgrades manually from the subscription detail screen in Loop admin. Every upgrade is tracked in the subscription activity logs, including before and after details for product, frequency, and price.
Your support team can use this to offer upgrades to subscribers and apply them on their behalf.
If the subscription has multiple subscription offers available, the admin and support team can first select the upgrade offer that is ideal for the subscription, and then see it to confirm.
Setting up upgrades
Follow these steps to create an upgrade profile:
Navigate to Loop admin > Grow > Upgrades
Click Create new profile and select the upgrade type. As mentioned above, there are 5 types of upgrade profile. To learn more about each and how to configure them, you may go through the following articles:
SKU upgrade
Switch subscriber to a higher-value product at the same frequency.SKU upgrade + frequency change
Switch subscriber to a higher-value product and a longer billing cadence.Membership upgrade
Upgrade to a higher-priced membership plan at the same frequency.Membership upgrade + frequency change
Upgrade to a higher-priced membership plan on a longer billing cadence.Product quantity + frequency change
Upgrade to a higher quantity of the same product on a longer billing cadence.
Add conditions, configure the upgrade and it's discounts, and modify the texts related to upgrade flow.
Set the upgrade profile live to make it available to your customers.
Note: An upgrade profile is visible to customers in the Customer Portal only when it is set to Active. Profiles in Draft status are not visible.
Previewing and customizing the upgrade experience
Every upgrade profile has an interactive preview, so you can see the upgrade flow the way your subscribers will experience it without configuring a test profile. The preview covers the upgrade banner, the drawer listing all upgrade options in the profile, and the upgrade offer details page where your subscribers accept or reject the offer. You can click through these components rather than viewing static images.
The experience customizer opens as a full-page, side-by-side view with the customization panel on the left and the preview on the right. Changes appear in the preview in real time.
The customization panel lets you change:
Setting | What it does |
Upgrade profile banner | Controls the banner shown to your subscribers for this profile. |
Styles | Controls the visual styling of the upgrade components. |
Texts | Controls the copy across the upgrade flow. The list is searchable. |
You can also switch the preview between mobile and desktop views to check both layouts before you publish.
Upgrade analytics
You can access upgrade analytics in Loop admin and compare numbers across date ranges. Analytics are available at both the cumulative level (all profiles) and the individual profile level.
Cumulative analytics
Total banner views: The number of times the upgrade banner was shown on the customer portal.
Total offer details views: The number of times subscribers clicked "View details" on the upgrade banner.
Conversions: The number of successful upgrades completed on the customer portal.
Conversion rate: The percentage of conversions relative to total upgrade banner views.
Profile-level analytics
Profile: Internal name of the upgrade profile.
Status: Status of the upgrade profile.
Type: Type of the upgrade profile
Banner views: The number of times the banner was shown on the customer portal.
Offer details views: The number of times subscribers clicked "View details" on the banner.
Conversion rate: The percentage of conversions relative to banner views.
Offer rejected: The number of times subscribers actively dismissed the upgrade banner.
Note: To calculate the conversion at a particular upgrade profile level, please use the formula given below for the same.Conversions = Banner views x conversion rate
Reset upgrade visibility
If your subscribers have dismissed an upgrade banner, you can reset the visibility so they see the offer again. Click Reset upgrade visibility on the upgrades page to open the reset dialog.
There are two options:
Show upgrades to all customers: This re-shows upgrade offers to all subscribers, including those who had previously dismissed them.
Only show upgrades to customers who have not dismissed previous offers: This keeps the dismissed state for subscribers who already rejected the offer and only shows upgrades to those who have not.
Select the option you want and click Save.
Preferences
Preferences apply across all your upgrade profiles rather than to one profile at a time. Navigate to Loop admin > Grow > Upgrades, then click Preferences.
Preference | What it does |
Charge subscription immediately after the customer upgrades their subscription | Charges your subscriber at the moment they accept the upgrade instead of waiting for the next billing date. |
Show discount badge on the new product in upgrade drawer | Displays the discount badge alongside the upgraded product in the upgrade drawer. |
Multiple upgrade options visibility | Controls how multiple product upgrade options are presented for selection. |
Multiple upgrade options visibility has two options:
Show the highest priority product selected as configured in upgrade profile: Your subscribers see only the default highest priority upgrade product. This is the default setting.
Show available SKU upgrade options to customers for selection: Your subscribers see all available SKU upgrade options and pick the one they want.
Upgrade texts
The Texts tab holds the general copy your subscribers see, reused across the upgrade flow. Navigate to Loop admin > Grow > Upgrades, then click Texts.
Eligibility and limitations
Keep the following in mind when setting up upgrades:
SKU upgrade offers are shown on contracts with one or more subscription lines. All other upgrade types are shown only if the subscription has a single subscribed product.
One-time add-ons do not affect eligibility.
The new product must be mapped to a valid selling plan and must be in stock.
Prepaid, gift, and in-dunning subscriptions are not supported.
Each upgrade type has additional limitations. Check the article for the type you are setting up before you go live.
FAQs
How do I show multiple upgrade options or show only the highest priority product to customers in the upgrade flow?
Go to the upgrade profile in Loop admin, open the upgrade flow settings, and locate the Multiple upgrade options visibility preference. Select one of the two options and save.
Show available SKU upgrade options to customers for selection: Your subscribers can view and select from all available SKU upgrade options instead of only seeing the highest priority product.
Show the highest priority product selected as configured in the upgrade profile: Your subscribers see only the default highest priority upgrade product during the upgrade process.
Can I let subscribers upgrade their membership mid-cycle?
Yes, you can let your subscribers upgrade to a higher-priced membership instantly, with a prorated charge for the remaining billing period rather than waiting until renewal.
Can I run an upgrade offer on a contract with more than one subscription product?
Yes, but only for SKU upgrades, because they swap the product without changing the frequency. The other upgrade types change the billing cadence, which would shift the frequency for every subscription line on the contract, so they remain limited to single-product subscriptions.
Do I need to reconfigure my existing profiles to use the new upgrade types?
No, your existing profiles keep working as configured. You create a new profile when you want to use a different upgrade type.
Need help? No worries - we're here for you! If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to email us at [email protected] or chat with us using the support beacon at the bottom right of your screen.
Regards, Loop subscriptions team 🙂