5-hour ENERGY sells liquid energy shots that can help you feel energized and alert for hours. Frustrated by the lack of reoccurring billing solutions on the market, they reached out to ReCharge to enlist their help in creating an app that could manage subscription sales.
Since the app launched last month, recurring billing now represents almost 50% of 5-hour ENERGY’s online Shopify sales.
We caught up with Oisin O'Conner, co-founder of ReCharge, to find out more about how they developed their app.
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Tell us a bit about ReCharge
We started ReCharge in 2014 as an off-shoot of our development company, Bootstrap Heroes. Currently, ReCharge is a team of 12 employees based out of Los Angeles, California.
The goal of ReCharge was to create a seamless solution for Shopify that would enable Shopify storeowners to bill on a recurring basis, while providing great customer experience. Since we started, we've been used by over a thousand stores, ranging from household names, such as 5-hour ENERGY and Hallmark, to up-and-coming brands like Boxed Water and Beardbrand.
Why did 5-hour ENERGY choose Shopify?
Before they began using Shopify, 5-hour ENERGY was using a custom solution that only worked for one-time sales. They had an additional solution for subscription sales. Through Shopify, they were able to combine both, and now they have access to Shopify's widespread marketplace of applications and solutions.
How did you get in contact with them?
We got in contact through North Star Marketing. They run the 5-hour ENERGY online store, and they gave us a call after being frustrated with the other recurring billing apps on the market.
They wanted an easy way for their customers to subscribe to 5-hour ENERGY, and then manage their future shipments. It was very important to them that ReCharge integrated seamlessly into their site’s customer experience.
The fact that ReCharge integrates fully into Shopify’s product pages, checkout flow, and order system made this possible.
Why was recurring billing so important to them?
5-hour ENERGY had a loyal existing customer base that purchased the energy shots on an ongoing basis manually, and a main criteria for choosing a new platform was finding a solution that would automate this manual process.
How does the ReCharge App work?
ReCharge is a recurring billing solution that seamlessly integrates into Shopify, and allows customers to manage all subscriptions directly from their Shopify account. In the case of 5-hour ENERGY, customers are able to buy a product one time, or on a recurring (subscription) basis. If they choose the subscription option, they are then able to choose the frequency with which they'd like their 5-hour ENERGY delivered.
Once customers make a purchase, they can log in and manage their subscriptions directly from 5-hour ENERGYwith our easy-to-use customer portal.
What challenges did 5-hour ENERGY have when choosing a recurring billing solution?
5-hour ENERGY's ecommerce provider spent a good amount of time testing and trying out different recurring solutions, but found that many didn’t integrate properly with Shopify or didn’t interact well with the other apps that were necessary for their site to function at an optimal level.
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Did 5-hour ENERGY have any other unique requirements?
They wanted ReCharge to process through PayPal, as their user demographic included small merchants. We were able to solve this by supporting Braintree, a PayPal company.
In addition, 5-hour ENERGY's ecommerce provider wanted their customers to be able to control their own subscriptions (cancel/pause/change products). ReCharge already solved this within the application, so it required no additional work on our behalf.
Another big requirement was that they wanted ReCharge to integrate flawlessly with all of their promotion strategies. These strategies included onsite upsells, email campaigns, special deals, and the like. This also wasn’t a problem for ReCharge, because by default we integrate with most existing Shopify apps.
Customer support was also key for them. Since recurring billing is such a big part of their business, they needed experts who could help work with them through all of the details. We addressed everything from the product page down to the shipping codes.
Further, 5-hour ENERGY wanted someone who could coach them on how to best grow their subscription base. We did so by consulting with them on marketing and upsell strategies that resulted in optimal one-time buyer to subscriber conversion.
Have you gotten any feedback from 5-hour ENERGY about how recurring billing is impacting their business?
Since it launched last month, recurring billing now represents almost 50% of 5-hour ENERGY’s online sales! Plus, their subscription base is growing approximately 10% a week.
Whenever 5-hour ENERGY is thinking of running a new promotion or rolling out a new flavor, they contact their subscribers first and get their opinions. This provides an elevated level of customer interaction, thereby creating increased loyalty and consumer confidence.
Any last thoughts?
We feel extremely grateful to work so closely with Shopify, as it has given us the ability to work with some of the biggest companies out there — like 5-hour ENERGY. We are forecasting an explosion in growth for subscription-based ecommerce, and we hope to help Shopify lead that charge.
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