Netflix, monthly snack boxes, and you
Last year, we introduced you to a selection of businesses using the “Netflix model” of business. Renting over buying seems to be the new, hot thing. It allows you the freedom to change your mind, without committing time and money to buying each product. Subscription services can help you find something you like, that you never thought you would as well.
We also dug into the emerging trend of subscription box services, referred to as “subscription commerce,” another twist on the “Netflix model.” This sales trend enables retailers to offer a low cost sampling of products they pull together and offer in a box. Consumers enjoy the novelty of sending themselves or others a care package; it is kind of like a monthly surprise box, while still allowing customers the commitment-free freedom they have come to know and love.
Introducing Cratejoy so you too can get subscribers
Now, with Cratejoy, you can create a monthly subscription service without doing the legwork. Cratejoy is an app that helps you set up a subscription service in three steps. First, you will use their website or mobile app to build your virtual storefront; this only takes a few minutes. Next, invite customers to your new virtual storefront, or, if you have existing customers, sign them up using the Cratejoy mobile point of sale app. Finally, print packaging label and order boxes each month on the site and mail the product out to your customers. This allows you to enjoy the benefits of a subscription service without managing the entire process.
In the storefront creation process you can choose a custom URL, set your schedule: for example, ship all your products out of the 10th of every month, set your cut-off date: customer who order on the 5th or before will receive the current month’s box, otherwise they will receive the next month’s, and connect your Stripe account to receive payment within the Cratejoy platform. You can also view your current subscribers and if someone’s subscription has expired and email them from the platform, inviting them to come back.
Cratejoy is launching in early 2014. Sign up at the bottom of the page to be notified when they officially launch. Subscription box services have become even more popular, due largely to the fact that consumers enjoy the novelty of the service. Not only do they receive a sampling of products they most likely have not tried before, they also find themselves connecting with other people online reviewing the products they received, asking what others thought through social media channels, and so on. For retailers, it is a way to offer the next best thing at discounted prices, encouraging the customer to buy full-sized products and encourage their friends to do the same.
