Private Consumer Brand · Case Study
Rebuilding Subscription Self-Service in Shopify
Redesigned purchase and account flows gave customers clearer ways to manage their subscriptions.
- Starting Point
- A platform replacement affected both the purchase flow and what subscribers could change later.
- Design Decision
- Evaluate the platform against customer tasks, then design checkout and account management together.
- What Changed
- Customers could choose their delivery cadence and manage changes through their account.
- My role
- Product Design & Brand Lead · Contract Worked across the storefront and account experience so customers could understand their options and manage subscriptions on their own.
- People involved
- Subscribers and the ecommerce team
In This Case
Replace the Platform Behind the Subscription
The existing platform limited what customers could do at purchase and in their account. Before buying, someone needed to know what they were signing up for and how often it would arrive. After buying, they needed to adjust the plan as their routine changed.
As the embedded product design and brand lead, I helped evaluate a replacement, redesigned the customer-facing purchase and account flows, and stayed involved through Shopify implementation and QA.
Evaluate the Platform Through Customer Tasks
I evaluated the platform by following the same subscription across two moments. Could a new customer understand the cadence before checkout? Could a returning subscriber find the next delivery and change it without contacting support? That put the experience on both sides of the purchase into the platform decision.
Design the Purchase and Account Flows Together
I carried the same delivery language from the storefront into the account. At purchase, the cadence helps someone decide whether the subscription fits their routine. In the account, seeing that cadence alongside the next delivery helps them understand what they’re changing.
From Choosing a Plan to Changing It
Before Checkout
Choose a replenishment interval and understand what the subscription means.
After Purchase
Find the next delivery and see the changes available in the account.
When Plans Change
Choose the adjustment that fits the situation, including skipping, rescheduling, pausing, or canceling.
Show What Each Change Affects
Someone with more product than they need may want to miss one delivery. Someone traveling might still want that shipment on a different date. Those situations call for different choices, even though both start with the next delivery.
The design needed to make clear which actions affected one delivery and which affected the plan. I carried that distinction from the account flows into Shopify QA.
Carry the Design Into Shopify
Implementation meant checking the experience across the storefront and account. The critical handoff was whether someone could recognize the cadence they chose, find the next delivery, and understand what the action they selected would change. I worked through these decisions during the migration and QA.
I used recurring support questions, analytics, and A/B testing to guide follow-up work. Support questions can tell me where customers still need an explanation. Analytics can show where they stop, while testing can help distinguish a wording problem from a harder-to-find control.
What Customers Could Do for Themselves
The redesigned flows covered both joining a replenishment plan and managing it afterward. Customers had dedicated paths to pause, skip, reschedule, or cancel. Each action addressed a different reason for coming back to the account.
To evaluate the changes over time, I’d track completion and support contacts for each task separately. That would show whether people could make the change they wanted and where they still needed help.
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