# 'Subscribe' instead of 'Autoship': +100% subscription orders

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Site-wide (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Subscriptions & subscribe-and-save, Headlines, product titles & copy
- Test run by: [Blend Commerce](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/blend-commerce/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://blendcommerce.com/blogs/ab-tests-shopify/clearer-subscription-messaging-increase-orders
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/sports-nutrition-subscribe-vs-autoship-label/

Swapping the label 'Autoship' for 'Subscribe' across product cards, product pages and cart lifted subscription orders per visitor by 100.43% and average order value by 5.79%. Blend Commerce ran this test for a sports nutrition brand, using Intelligems. The catch: add-to-cart rate dropped 11.89% in the same test.

## Result

**+100% subscription orders**

- Subscription orders per visitor: +100.43%. This was the primary metric and the main reason the change shipped.
- Average order value: +5.79%. Orders that did come through were slightly larger.
- Add-to-cart rate: -11.89%, a negative result. Fewer visitors added anything to the cart.
- Product-page add-to-cart button clicks: -6.07%, also negative. Blend Commerce noted some secondary metrics were still directional.

## Control

Recurring orders were called 'Autoship' on product cards, product pages and in the cart. The cart option read 'Autoship & Save 10%', and the existing 'Save 10%' badge sat beside the label.

## Variant

The same option was renamed 'Subscribe' on product cards and product pages, next to the unchanged 'Save 10%' badge. In the cart it read 'Subscribe and Save 10%'.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- 'Subscribe' is the word most shoppers already know from other stores, so they may not have to stop and work out what the option means.
- The savings stayed the same, so the gain likely came from understanding, not a better offer.
- The add-to-cart drop may mean the clearer label made the commitment more obvious, putting off some casual one-off buyers.
- Consistent wording from product card to cart removes a small moment of doubt at each step.

## Caveats

The test ran for only seven days and sample size was not shared. Some secondary metrics had not settled, and add-to-cart rate fell, so the net effect on total orders is unclear.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we rename our recurring-order option from a branded or unusual term to 'Subscribe', then more visitors will choose a subscription because the option is instantly recognisable.
- Primary metric: Subscription orders per visitor
- Guardrail: Add-to-cart rate
- Guardrail: Total orders per visitor
- Guardrail: Subscription cancellation rate in the first 60 days
- Who should test it: Stores that sell repeat-purchase products and call their subscription something other than 'Subscribe'. If you already use plain subscription wording, there is little to gain here.

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Credit: Blend Commerce ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/sports-nutrition-subscribe-vs-autoship-label/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.