A SKU upgrade switches your subscriber to a higher-value product at the same frequency. A subscriber receiving a 250 g bag of coffee every month can move to a 500 g bag delivered every month, with a discount you configure. This article covers when to use SKU upgrades, how to set one up, how your subscribers choose between multiple options, and what to know about contracts with more than one subscription line.
When to use SKU upgrades
Use a SKU upgrade when the value increase comes from the product itself rather than from a longer commitment. This suits brands selling the same item in several sizes, strengths, or formats.
SKU upgrades are also the right choice when your subscribers hold contracts with more than one subscription product. Because the delivery frequency stays the same, upgrading one line does not affect the others.
Setting up a SKU upgrade
Follow these steps to create a SKU upgrade profile:
Navigate to Loop admin > Grow > Upgrades
Click Create new profile and select SKU upgrade
Add an internal name for the upgrade profile. Note that you can also switch between upgrade types while configuring the profile.
Add conditions based on subscription, product, customer, bundle, or demographic properties to target specific subscribers.
Map the current product to the products you want to offer as upgrades. You can map one product to several upgrade options, and also edit the priority of the upgrade options.
Multiple upgrades for different products can also be configured by clicking on "Add action"
Configure the discount. You can choose a discount based on the selling plan, a fixed discount, or a percentage.
You may also add customer tags to easily identify customers who have accepted this upgrade offer. You can add up to 3 comma separated values here.
Configure the upgrade banner and drawer texts your subscribers see on customer portal.
You may also click on customize to update the banners, styles, and texts and preview it in both, mobile and desktop views.
Set the profile to Active and save.
Customer portal experience
The banner of upgrade profile of the highest priority will be visible on the subscription.
Once the user clicks on the banner, the offer details are displayed.
If there are multiple upgrade profiles available for the same product, a "See all upgrades" button appears to allow the customer to explore all offers.
Offering multiple upgrade options visibility
You can map a single product to several upgrade choices, so your subscribers are not limited to one path. A collagen brand offering a larger pack in three flavors can map all three as upgrade options from the same starting product.
The Multiple upgrade options visibility setting in the upgrade flow 'preferences' section controls what your subscribers see:
Show the highest priority product selected as configured in upgrade profile
Only the default highest priority upgrade product. This is the default setting. A see all upgrades button appears to see other upgrade offers.
Show available SKU upgrade options to customers for selection
All available SKU upgrade options are shown to the customer, so they can pick the one that fits them best.
Showing the options directly makes upgrade choices more visible and lets your subscribers select the SKU they want instead of seeing only the default.If the second setting is enabled, and the customer wants to see other upgrade profiles that they may have available, they can click on "Go back" to see the current offer, along with the "See all offers" button.
Support for multi-subscription line contracts
SKU-only upgrade offers are displayed and can be availed for all eligible subscriptions on customer portal and admin portal, including multi-subscription line subscriptions. No configuration update is required to enable this.
Note: A multi-subscription line contract is any contract with more than one subscription line, calculated as total lines minus one-time added lines being greater than one.
Eligibility and limitations
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.
FAQs
Can I offer a SKU upgrade to subscribers who have more than one subscription product?
Yes, SKU-only upgrade offers work on multi-subscription line contracts, with no configuration change needed.
Can I let subscribers pick which product they upgrade to?
Yes, map several upgrade options to the same product and set the Multiple upgrade options visibility preference to show available SKU upgrade options for selection.
Does a SKU upgrade change my subscriber's delivery frequency?
No, a SKU upgrade keeps the frequency unchanged, but you can use SKU upgrades with frequency change if you want to move your subscriber to a longer billing cadence at the same time.
Is it possible to apply a SKU upgrade on a subscriber's behalf?
Yes, you can trigger the upgrade manually from the subscription detail screen in Loop admin, and the change is recorded in the subscription activity logs.
Can I use a SKU upgrade profile to move subscribers to a smaller or lower-priced product?
Yes, you map the current product to whichever product you want to offer, so you can map a larger pack to a smaller one and reach subscribers who want to scale down. Update the Upgrade banner and drawer texts to describe the offer, since the default copy is written for a move up in value.
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Regards, Loop subscriptions team 🙂