CURATION
The most popular subscription type historically and the one that sparked the subscriptions movement in ecommerce originally is the curated box. These boxes are filled with various products picked by the brand and sent to the customer at a regular interval. The value proposition with a curated box, or subscription box, is the surprise and delight feeling customers get when opening a box they know was chosen specifically for them and upsell/cross-sell opportunities. Curated boxes work great for Fashion & Apparel, Food & Beverage, or even a Pets & Animals vertical.
REPLENISHMENT
With replenishment subscriptions brands ship the same products on a consistent basis. This gives shoppers the ability to ‘subscribe & save’ by receiving a discount for having the same product sent to them. While certainly less exciting than a curated box, customers who subscribe to a replenishment model are looking for consistency in their products. The convenience of this model outweighs the desire to be surprised with each shipment.
Merchants who offer consumables, often within the Home Goods, Health & Wellness, or Beauty & Personal verticals, are the best fit for this type. A brand like Pure For Men, a wellness brand for sexual health, is a perfect match for this model. Recharge and Propeller partnered with Pure For Men to launch their subscription practice and continue to implement best practices to help them scale.
ACCESS
Access subscriptions are also known as the membership model. In this subscription type, merchants will offer subscribers access to a service, or membership with benefits like early-release products, free shipping, or discounted items. Many streaming subscriptions that give members access to gated music, video content, or audiobooks, as well as some publications that offer access to gated digital content, fall under the access subscriptions category.