Product swapping using Loop flows
Product swapping is a widely used feature within Loop flows, especially for subscriptions that begin with a bundled setup and later transition to a simpler recurring product.
Real-world examples of product swap in action
- A customer’s first order might include both a coffee roaster and coffee beans, while future orders contain only the beans.
- In a water purifier subscription, the initial shipment might include the purifier unit, and subsequent orders include only replacement filters.
- A grooming brand might ship a complete grooming kit in the first order, and just refill blades or cream in recurring deliveries.
- A pet brand may include a starter toy or bowl initially, and only send treats or food from the second order onward.
Loop flows automates these product transitions based on subscription milestones, reducing manual work for brands and delivering a smoother, more personalized experience for subscribers.
In this article
- What is a product swap?
- Setting up product swap using flows
- Subscriber experience during product swap
- Related articles
- Need help?
What is a product swap?
A product swap occurs when Product A in a subscription is replaced with Product B. With Loop flows, this process can be automated. The graphic below illustrates how product swapping works.
Here’s a real-world example of a brand using product swapping in a creative way to boost customer lifetime value through subscriptions. In this setup, the customer initially buys the main product (a scrubber), and is then automatically subscribed to receive an accessory (replacement brushes) every 3 months.
Setting up product swap using flows
To set up a product swap in Loop, we’ll walk through a real-world problem scenario and implement a solution for it. This approach will help in better understanding how the feature works and how it can be applied effectively.
Problem statement
The brand wants to offer a subscription where the first order includes a coffee machine starter pack (containing a roaster and a pack of beans). From the second order onwards, the subscription is automatically swapped to only include the coffee beans, delivered at the selected frequency.
Follow these steps to complete the process.
- Navigate to Loop > Retain > Flows > Click on create flow button.
- Give a name to your flow - “Remove coffee roaster".
- Now we want to remove the coffee roaster from the second order of the subscription, so we will be selecting the When trigger as "A new subscription is created".
- In IF condition, we will select a product based condition and select "Product in subscription" as our Coffee Roaster & Beans pack, which we want to swap with just coffee beans.
- Select Add action and then choose Swap Product. It will show the option of old product and new product. Choose "Coffee machine and beans starter pack" as old product and in new product choose "Coffee Beans Pack".
- Set the status to Active to activate the flow and click on Save.
Subscriber experience during product swap
In this section, we’ll cover what the subscriber sees on the portal once a product swap is triggered through a flow.
- The customer purchases the desired product as a subscription from the storefront.
- Once the purchase is completed, the Loop flow will be triggered based on the set conditions, swapping the product with "Coffee Beans Pack." From the second order onward, this product will be delivered to the subscriber at the defined interval.
- From the admin portal, by opening the desired subscription ID, you can view the activity logs to confirm that the flow was triggered successfully and the product swap was completed.
Related articles
Here are some related articles that may offer additional insight and context.
Need help?
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Loop Subscriptions Team 🙂
Updated on: 30/06/2025
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