You’ve probably noticed that a lot of eCommerce stores offer a monthly subscription box. You can have makeup, hair products, pajamas, grooming products, books, and toys for your pet arrive in a fancy box at your house every month. The possibilities are endless, and the monthly subscription business can be a lucrative one, but is it for you?
Here are three points to consider before adding a subscription box service to your eCommerce store:
Do you have the right products for a subscription box?
Monthly subscription boxes usually offer customers a select sampling of something they love, like a collection of healthy snacks for work, cigars that have been selected by a pro or children's learning activities…you get the idea. Can you package your product in this way, offering your customers a sampling of something of true value every month?
Put together a sample box and ask your friends and family what they think; Hopefully, you will have a hit on your hands.
Can you keep it a surprise?
Customers love opening subscription boxes because they provide an element of surprise. Do you create or curate enough products to be able to keep up with a brand new box every month? If the answer is yes, then you're good to go!
Now, If your products are something that will need refills by the end of each month like a shaving stick subscription, or a subscription box for items chosen by you, then customers will be happy to receive just what they expected!
Do the math
Generally speaking, monthly subscription boxes generate a healthy profit margin, largely because of the no-fuss marketing that works in this business model, and because you have the flexibility to mix up products with low and high margins to achieve your target profit.
Cratejoy has put together a nifty calculator that will help you to figure out what your profits will be, should you become a seller of monthly subscription boxes.
How will it look?
You've gotten as far as curating and creating ideas to put in your monthly subscription boxes. Have you thought about design? The type of box? Before surprising your customer with monthly gifts, you want to delight them with beautiful packaging and make unboxing an unforgettable experience. How will your brand leave an impression? Will customers want to reorder? Luckily for you, there are companies like Arka around designed to create beautiful subscription boxes that speak to your brand and amaze your customers. Super easy process and well worth it.
How passionate are you about this idea?
Monthly subscription boxes that thrill the customers who receive them have one thing in common, a person or a team of people who are totally passionate about the products that will be part of the boxes that leave the warehouse – or house – each month.
If your mind is overflowing with ideas for your first gift box, you should probably get into the monthly subscription box game. It is you, and your knowledge and passion for your products, that will determine the success of this new venture.
Oh, one more thing: The average subscriber to boxes receives five every month, which indicates a full embrace of this no-fuss style of shopping.
Ready to dip your toes in?
eShipper can provide you with practical, low-cost shipping solutions for your subscription box business. We've also partnered up with Arka to give your subscription box the wow-factor it needs to compete within the (relatively small) pool of Canadian subscription box businesses that exist today. You have nothing to lose and a ton to gain!
Interested in saving on shipping and designing your first ever subscription box? Email us at sales@eshipper.com or have us contact you instead! Our automated platform allows you to process your shipments using just one application, and your subscription boxes will arrive on your customer’s doorstep on time, and looking beautiful.
