How UnderwearExpert Boosted Subscription Retention by 40% with Custom Shopify Solutions by Codingkart
Project:
Underwear Expert
Client Name:
Michael Kleinmann
Industry:
Underwear Subscription
Website URL:
https://www.underwearexpert.com/
Business Challenges
Our client faced several challenges that needed to be addressed for a seamless online shopping and subscription experience:
1. Complex Product Handling with Different Purchase Options
The store needed multiple product templates to manage different purchasing methods. Some products required an advanced reservation feature, while others needed direct add-to-next-box functionality. Additionally, underwear products had specific rules, requiring a separate handling template.
2. Collection Page Enhancements for Better Product Discovery
The store’s collection pages lacked an intuitive browsing experience. Key issues included:
- Lack of proper product filtering, making it difficult for customers to find products by color.
- No distinction between different color variants of the same product.
- Pagination affecting user experience and engagement.
3. Customizable Sections & Dynamic Store Features
The client wanted custom sections, snippets, and blocks to manage dynamic store elements like banners, videos, and rich text with flexible settings for font sizes, colors, and layouts across devices. This was necessary to eliminate the need for purchasing separate themes for every new requirement.
4. Subscription Page Redesign for Better Conversions
A dedicated subscription experience was required to optimize customer conversions. The standard Shopify theme was not sufficient, and a React-based subscription wizard was needed to improve performance and engagement.
5. Optimizing Checkout for Subscription Offers & Discounts
The client wanted to enhance the checkout experience by:
- Displaying custom cart meta fields related to subscriptions.
- Automatically applying X% discounts on cross-sell products when purchased with a subscription.
- Setting different discount percentages for each product variant through Shopify Functions.
6. Exclusive Subscription Reward Page with Recharge SDK
A custom rewards page was needed to display rewards and credits for active subscribers. This required dynamic styling to ensure easy updates without modifying core code.
7. Revamping the Customer Account Experience
The existing Recharge legacy portal was outdated and did not offer a seamless experience for managing subscriptions, updating payment methods, or modifying orders. Additionally, Shopify and Recharge had separate account dashboards, leading to inconsistencies in design and functionality.
8. Upgrading the Theme Without Losing Customizations
The client’s store was built on an older Shopify theme with heavy customizations. Direct theme updates were not possible without breaking these modifications. Instead, the theme had to be upgraded manually while preserving all custom functionalities.
Solutions & Implementation
1. Custom Product Templates for Subscription & Advanced Reservation
We created four separate product templates with different functionalities to meet the client’s needs:
- Advanced Reservation: Allows pre-booking items to be delivered with the next recurring order.
- Advanced Reservation (Add to Next Box Only): Restricts pre-orders exclusively to the next box.
- General Add to Next Box: Lets customers add products directly to their next order.
- Recharge Widget Product Template: Applied only to products with active subscriptions.
This separation ensured specific purchase rules for different product categories, particularly for underwear products that required exclusive advanced reservations.
2. Collection Page Enhancements for Better User Experience
To improve product discovery and engagement, we implemented:
- Dynamic color-based product splitting: Instead of showing one product with multiple colors, each color variant was displayed as an individual product card.
- Custom metafield-based filters: Products were grouped into color families (e.g., all shades of blue grouped under ‘Blue’).
- Infinite Scroll with Load More: Replaced traditional pagination for a smoother shopping experience.
3. Customizable Sections & Dynamic Store Features
We developed various custom sections and snippets, including:
- Custom Rich Text, Video, and Banner Sections
- Fully Dynamic Settings (font size, colors, etc.) for both desktop and mobile
- Reusable Snippets for Faster Store Customization
This allowed the client to update their store effortlessly without needing a new theme for every change.
4. Subscription Wizard for a Streamlined User Journey
We built a three-step subscription wizard in React to improve the conversion rate:
- Style Selection: Customers choose size, type, and styles of underwear.
- Plan Selection: Users select purchase frequency and plan options.
- Cross-Sell Recommendations: Customers can add additional items before checkout.
We integrated Shopify GraphQL APIs instead of legacy AJAX APIs, improving speed and efficiency.
5. Checkout UI Extension & Automated Subscription Discounts
To enhance the checkout experience, we developed:
- Shopify Checkout UI Extension: Displays subscription-related cart meta details at checkout.
- Custom Shopify Function: Automatically applies product-specific discounts (e.g., 15% for one product, 10% for another) based on variant meta fields.
We also built a dedicated Shopify app to manage this feature dynamically.
6. Custom Subscription Reward Page Using Recharge SDK
We created a separate rewards page that:
- Displays reward-related details for logged-in, active subscribers.
- Supports dynamic styling, allowing easy updates.
7. Fully Custom Recharge & Shopify My Account Dashboards
To ensure consistency and better usability, we:
- Redesigned the Recharge Account Dashboard with a custom UI using Recharge Affinity Portal.
- Matched Shopify’s /account layout to the Recharge portal for a seamless experience across both platforms.
Additional features included:
- Subscription management tools (e.g., change order selections 3 days before delivery).
- Cross-sell upsell options on the My Account page.
- Klaviyo email & SMS automation integration for customer notifications.
8. Theme Upgradation Without Losing Custom Features
Since direct theme updates would remove customizations, we:
- Manually upgraded the theme while preserving all functionalities.
- Optimized old customizations by replacing deprecated legacy APIs with modern Shopify APIs.
Results & Impact
✅ Improved Subscription Experience – Seamless purchasing, managing, and modifying subscriptions.
✅ Enhanced Product Discovery – Color-based filtering and dynamic collection pages improved navigation.
✅ Faster Checkout Process – Shopify Checkout UI extension and GraphQL API optimized performance.
✅ Higher Conversion Rates – Custom subscription wizard streamlined the buying journey.
✅ Better User Engagement – Improved dashboard UX increased retention and repeat purchases.
✅ Increased Operational Efficiency – Shopify Functions automated discount handling.
Conclusion
By implementing these custom Shopify + Recharge solutions, we transformed our client’s store into a high-performing, user-friendly, and scalable subscription business. From custom product templates and advanced filtering to subscription wizards and checkout optimizations, our work ensured seamless management, higher customer retention, and better conversions.
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