Subscriptions overview

A subscription allows customers to receive products on a recurring basis - weekly, monthly, or at any interval you set. It’s a powerful way to build predictable revenue and long-term customer relationships.

With Loop, you can create flexible subscription experiences tailored to your business needs. This article gives you a quick overview of the different types of subscriptions you can set up, each designed to support unique selling models and customer journeys.

In this article

• Standard subscription
• Prepaid subscription
• Gift subscription
• Build a bundle
• Trial subscription
• Membership subscription
• API endpoints and webhooks
• Related articles
• Need help?

Standard subscription

Standard subscriptions are the most common and straightforward type of subscription. A customer subscribes to a product, and it’s delivered to them on a regular schedule - for example, every 2 weeks or once a month. You receive payments on the same recurring cycle.

This model is ideal for products people use regularly, such as coffee, snacks, pet food, skincare, or vitamins. Once the subscription is active, everything runs automatically unless the customer chooses to pause, edit, or cancel it.

Standard subscriptions offer convenience for customers and provide predictable revenue for your business.

• Setup standard subscriptions on your store
• Check out an example of a standard subscription

Prepaid subscription

Prepaid subscriptions require the customer to pay upfront for a set number of deliveries that will be fulfilled over time. Instead of being billed before each shipment, the customer makes a single payment that covers multiple future orders - for example, a 3-month or 6-month plan.

This model is ideal for subscriptions with longer commitment periods, such as fitness kits, chocolate boxes, grooming kits, or curated snack packs. A familiar example is amazon prime - you pay once and receive services throughout the year.

Prepaid subscriptions improve cash flow, reduce churn, and are a great way to offer discounts or incentives for customers who commit in advance.

• Setup prepaid subscriptions on your store
• Check out an example of a prepaid subscription

Gift subscription

Gift subscriptions allow a customer to purchase a subscription on behalf of someone else, such as a friend, family member, or colleague. It’s a thoughtful way to give recurring value, whether it’s a box of goodies, gift cards, wellness items, or any product delivered over time.

This model works as an extension of prepaid subscriptions, where the buyer pays upfront, but the deliveries go to the gift recipient. These subscriptions are typically set to expire automatically after a fixed number of shipments - for example, a 3-month or 6-month gift plan.

Gift subscriptions are popular during holidays, birthdays, and special occasions, offering a simple way to give a lasting experience instead of a one-time gift.

• Check out an example of a gift subscription

Build a bundle

Build a bundle allows customers to create a personalized subscription by selecting multiple products and combining them into a single bundle. This provides them with more flexibility and control over what they receive, all within a single subscription.

The bundled items are delivered together based on the chosen delivery frequency, such as weekly, monthly, or at any custom renewal interval you set. Customers can update their bundle contents as preferences change.

This model is ideal for businesses offering a variety of products, like snacks, grooming items, skincare, or meal boxes, and looking to give customers a more curated, mix-and-match experience.

• Setup build a bundle on your store
• Check out an example of build a bundle

Trial subscription

Trial subscriptions enable customers to test a product or service for a specified period at no cost. They are not charged during this time, giving them a risk-free way to experience the offering before committing.

Once the trial period ends, the subscription automatically converts into a paid plan, and the customer is charged based on the regular billing cycle you’ve defined, such as 7 days, 15 days or monthly.

This model works well for encouraging first-time users to try your product, build trust, and increase conversion rates by removing the initial barrier to purchase.

• Setup trial subscription on your store
• Check out an example of a trial subscription

Membership subscription

Membership subscriptions allow customers to subscribe to a loyalty or VIP program that gives them access to exclusive benefits. These benefits can include special pricing, early access to new products, or unique discounts across the store.

Unlike regular product subscriptions, the focus here is on offering members a different overall experience. For example, members might see lower prices on every order or enjoy perks not available to non-members.

This model encourages repeat purchases, strengthens brand loyalty, and increases customer retention by rewarding long-term commitment.

• Check out an example of a membership subscription

API endpoints and webhooks

API endpoints

• Read all subscriptions admin API
• Read subscription details admin API
• List subscriptions storefront API
• Read subscription details storefront API

Webhooks

• Webhooks overview

Related articles

Here are some related articles that may offer additional insight and context.

• Prepaid plans
• How to create a selling plan

FAQs

Ques: How can we check that bogus payment are enable for subscription orders?

Ans: About checking that bogus payment are enable for subscription orders, Shopify help center says:

The Bogus Gateway is a payment provider used to simulate transactions for testing purposes.

To check if the Bogus Gateway is set up for your store, including for subscription products, go to your Shopify admin at Settings > Payments.

If the Bogus Gateway is activated as your payment provider, it applies to all transactions processed through your checkout, including subscriptions. However, note that subscription products require supported payment gateways such as Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen, or Stripe.

The Bogus Gateway is primarily for testing and may not fully support subscription payment flows. To test subscriptions, ensure you are using a supported payment gateway in test mode or the Bogus Gateway for simulated transactions. After testing, deactivate the Bogus Gateway to accept real payments.

Ques: We noticed that some of our newly created subscription (from Loop Portal) orders for US customers are not going through in USD. Is there a way to set it up so that orders created in the Loop portal use the USD currency if the shipping address is based in the US?

Ans: When a subscription is manually created (either through the customer portal or by a merchant in the admin), Loop uses the store’s base currency (likely CAD in your case) on the backend. However, after the subscription is created, customers will still see prices in their local currency (e.g., USD for US customers) on their end.

This is a known limitation, localized currency detection and adjustment only works when a customer starts a subscription directly from your storefront, where Shopify Markets applies the correct currency based on their location.

To summarize:

Manual creations (via admin or customer portal) → backend shows store's base currency.

Storefront subscriptions → respect and display localized currency based on the customer’s region.

Need help?

No worries - we're here for you!

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to email us at support@loopwork.co or chat with us using the support beacon at the bottom right of your screen.

Regards,

Loop Subscriptions Team 🙂

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Updated on: 07/08/2025