Your CEO just asked about subscriptions. Again. Because every metric that matters (revenue, retention, lifetime value) looks better with subscriptions. They love predictable revenue. Your CFO loves the cash flow. Your investors love the growth story. But here's what they don't tell you: success at scale requires architecture that can keep up with your ambitions.
If you're building subscription commerce at enterprise scale, you already know the drill. Your perfect subscription model today won't be perfect in six months. Your billing logic will get weird. Your customers will want options you never imagined. And that slick all-in-one platform you considered? It'll become a straitjacket.
CTOs get this. They're building for a future where product strategies evolve, customer expectations shift, and new revenue opportunities emerge overnight. They need architecture that adapts as quickly as their market moves. They need to swap components without rebuilding from scratch. They need systems flexible enough to capture opportunities they haven't even identified yet.
Shopify built something different. Instead of another monolithic subscription platform, we created a composable system that gives you solid foundations plus the flexibility to build exactly what your business needs or integrate with partner solutions. You get production-ready subscription capabilities on day one and can extend them however you want.
In this article, we'll show you how enterprises use Shopify's subscription APIs and partner integrations to build systems that actually scale and evolve with your business.
The building blocks: Shopify subscriptions primitives
Shopify gives developers composable building blocks to create custom subscription solutions. You're not stuck with rigid subscription models. Instead, you mix and match APIs, webhooks, and extension points based on what your business needs.
The foundation layer: Selling plans & contracts
Everything starts with SellingPlanGroups and SellingPlans. These define your subscription structures before customers commit to anything. They break down into four policy types:
- Billing Policies (when to charge)
- Delivery Policies (when to fulfill)
- Pricing Policies (how to price)
- Inventory Policies (when to reserve inventory)
This separation matters. You can combine different billing schedules with various delivery patterns and pricing models, plus inventory management strategies. Each piece works independently.
Once customers check out a subscription, Shopify generates a subscription contract. Multiple APIs work together: The Subscription Contract API manages lifecycles. The Billing Management API processes payments. The Metaobjects API lets you add custom data structures. The Payment Methods API keeps payment processing secure. Change one component, and the others keep working fine.
The financial execution layer: Billing cycles & billing attempts
Billing cycles determine when customers get charged. Billing attempts initiate the actual payment processing. Shopify automates most of this, but you get plenty of customization points for your specific business logic.
Need to pause a subscription, skip an order, or modify it entirely? Just make an API call. Need to have different line items or promotions just for this bill? Just submit a draft to the billing cycle for it to apply only one time. You can build grace periods and seasonal adjustments. When it comes to billing attempts, you get failure handling and success processing. Use Shopify's automated systems or build your own custom implementations on top.
The system broadcasts billing attempt states (success, failure, challenged) through webhooks. This means real-time integration with external systems for dunning management, customer communication, or business intelligence platforms. Each billing cycle runs independently to fix one without breaking another.
Event-driven integration layer
Shopify webhooks turn these primitives into an event-driven architecture. You get:
- Selling plan webhooks (selling_plan_groups/*)
- Subscription contract events (subscription_contracts/*)
- Billing attempt notifications (subscription_billing_attempts/*)
- Payment method changes (customer_payment_methods/*)
This creates a real-time event stream. Build custom business logic that reacts to subscription lifecycle changes. Connect external analytics platforms. Trigger custom workflows. Sync with your existing enterprise systems. Pick and choose which webhooks you need.
Extension points
Extension points let you customize the entire subscription customer experience:
- Admin UI Extensions for custom merchant back-office workflows
- Checkout Extensions for tailored customer experiences in Shopify Checkout
- Customer Account Extensions for self-service in the Shopify Customer Account
Each extension type works independently so you can customize specific touchpoints without touching others.
Start with basic subscription functionality and add custom logic where you need it. Extensions can be developed, deployed, and updated separately, so your subscription experience evolves as your business does.
With these building blocks understood, let's examine how they can come together in practice with the Shopify Subscriptions Reference App.
The blueprint: Shopify Subscriptions Reference App
The Shopify Subscriptions Reference App is your blueprint for building enterprise subscription systems. Want to see how all the pieces fit together? Technical teams can dig into the source code to see how Shopify's composable approach handles complex subscription logic and use it as a starting point to build their own subscription solution.
What's inside
The Shopify Subscriptions Reference App is a working subscription system that supports key features, including:
- Subscription plan creation and management
- Customer subscription lifecycle management (pause, resume, cancel, edit)
- Billing cycle management with automatic retry logic, payment method management, address updates
- Comprehensive admin and customer-facing interfaces.
The Shopify Subscriptions app was based on this reference app. Using it, you'll recognize many of these features like the subscription management UI or the subscriptions customer portal.
The tech stack
Built on Remix and React with SQLite/Prisma for data, the app connects to Shopify through GraphQL Admin APIs. It handles subscription contracts, selling plans, and billing cycles and webhooks keep everything in sync, from lifecycle changes to payment updates. Shop settings live in metaobjects, and customers manage their subscriptions through the Customer Account API.
Five extension types show off what's possible:
- Customer account extensions for subscription control
- Admin product extensions for plan setup
- Order action extensions for quick access in the Shopify admin
- Theme extensions for storefront integration
- Thank-you page extensions for post-purchase flows
Each one targets different parts of Shopify, creating a complete experience from storefront to fulfillment.
Build your way
This modular design means you can customize everything. Tweak webhook handlers, extend admin interfaces through purchase options, or completely redesign customer portals. Theme extensions work with any Shopify theme, and the multi-tenant architecture keeps each merchant's setup separate.
Shopify handles the heavy lifting for auth, data storage and scaling so you can focus on the subscription experience itself. Connect to payment processing, inventory tracking, and fulfillment while adding your own subscription logic.
Some merchants use the Reference App (or the Shopify Subscriptions app) as-is. Others use it as a foundation for custom builds. Many use partner platforms that connect their own subscription engines with Shopify's subscription building blocks to offer advanced capabilities. Let's take a look at those next.
How partners use Shopify Foundations to build unique subscription experiences
Straight from our CEO himself: Shopify's Reference App is the floor, not the ceiling.
And partners took that challenge seriously. They're using Shopify's subscription foundations to build specialized experiences for specific industries, business models, and customer behaviors. While Shopify focuses on rock-solid infrastructure, partners focus on solving unique merchant problems.
The examples below highlight specific partners for different scenarios. Keep in mind that subscription solutions may offer different integration approaches on Shopify for the same use case. To discover which partner best fits your needs, we encourage reaching out to them directly to learn about their full range of capabilities.
Let's now look at what happens when you build on solid foundations instead of starting from scratch. Our partners show just how high that ceiling can go.
1. Personalized subscription bundles
Personalized subscription bundles are subscription commerce on hard mode. When FabFitFun lets customers swap products or HelloFresh lets them pick recipes, they're not just offering choice, they're multiplying complexity exponentially.
Here's where things get tricky. A basic subscription charges $30 monthly for the same products. A personalized bundle charges variable amounts for different product combinations, with different inventory requirements, different shipping weights, and customer-specific preferences that change every cycle. Customers love personalized bundles because they feel in control, and your subscription system either handles this with elegance or becomes a support nightmare. A composable, flexible architecture is key.
Shopify's partner Recharge built exactly what these merchants need: dynamically-priced bundles where prices recalculate as customers build their boxes.
The technical implementation is clever. Merchants create bundles by linking Shopify Collections and individual SKUs to a Parent Bundle in Recharge. When customers see the Parent bundle on their storefront (via Recharge's widget or SDK), they're actually selecting from a curated collection of products that is tracked in Shopify.
At checkout, magic happens. Each component appears as its own line item, and Recharge ties everything back to the original parent SKU. This means inventory decrements correctly in Shopify, fulfillment knows what to pack, and customers see exactly what they're getting.
The Shopify Customer Account becomes command central for subscription personalization. Subscribers modify their bundles between orders, and Recharge remembers their preferences or resets selections based on merchant rules. Discounts work across the board: tiered pricing, one-time promotions, percentage-off codes. Everything recalculates automatically.
Oats Overnight shows what's possible when you nail bundle personalization with Recharge on Shopify. Their customers use a bundle builder to create custom flavor combinations for each shipment.
In 2023, they saw 152% more recurring orders, subscriptions lasting 41% longer, and average order values up 13%. Churn dropped 29%.
2. Prepaid subscriptions
Prepaid subscriptions are one of the biggest levers for driving LTV in enterprise commerce, yet most brands leave this growth untapped. Customers pay upfront for multiple shipments instead of per-order, giving merchants immediate cash flow and guaranteed revenue. Subscribers get deeper discounts and right-sized deliveries without bulk storage.
The results speak for themselves. Prepaid customers stay 73% longer than standard subscribers, spend more, and rarely contact support. Analysis done with enterprise brands using Ordergroove show that prepaid subscriptions can account for up to 80% of subscription revenue. This upfront commitment fuels retention and brand loyalty.
But without the right technology, the implementation breaks down. You're tracking parent orders that must be linked to child shipments months later. Revenue recognition gets complex when spreading upfront payment across deliveries. Inventory systems must reserve stock for future shipments without overselling. Refunds and product or plan switches mean unwinding transactions across multiple orders, often forcing subscription cancellations to make a change. Left unaddressed, these obstacles stall a brand's Prepaid strategy before it gets off the ground.
Ordergroove's single-SKU Prepaid framework eliminates this complexity. Merchants define prepaid subscription products, set shipment schedules, and configure bulk vs. recurring discounts. This data model gives subscribers advanced flexibility: they can upgrade from pay-as-you-go, swap SKUs mid-cycle, and control auto-renewal at the variant level – perfect for gifting or custom subscriber journeys. For enrollment, out-of-the-box Prepaid options integrate directly into Shopify storefronts through configurable widgets, making setup simple. For brands that want detailed design control or advanced onboarding flows, the SDK provides limitless, code-level customization.
Ordergroove's order architecture links everything together in Shopify through line item properties and order tagging. Subscribers purchase a 6-month Prepaid subscription, and each monthly shipment references that original transaction. Support agents see the complete relationship. Finance teams track revenue allocation because Ordergroove provides multiple paths for revenue recognition. Tagged orders feed into accounting systems. Prepaid analytics show deferred revenue schedules. Refund requests process against parent orders while maintaining child order relationships. The financial trail stays clean even as orders branch and multiply. This level of granular data ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Compass Coffee's implementation on Ordergroove + Shopify proves the model works at scale:
- Subscription revenue went up 122%
- Active subscriber base grew 173%
- Prepaid customers are worth 30% more in lifetime value
- Order-over-order retention increased 73%
- Subscription support tickets are below 0.5% of total volume
- Renewal rates are 62% higher than standard subscriptions
3. Kit + Refill and trials automation
The Kit + refill and trials subscriptions is a conversion game where single-digit improvements translate to millions in revenue. When customers buy their first kit or start a trial, you have seconds to convince them of the value of your subscription program. Too much friction? They're gone. Too many steps? Cart abandoned. Can't easily pause when they're overwhelmed? Cancelled forever.
Here's what kills conversion: making customers re-enter preferences, forcing them through checkout again, or trapping them in subscriptions they can't control. Smart automation removes these friction points, turning one-time buyers into subscribers who pause and reactivate on their terms instead of churning.
Recharge built automation that handles the tricky parts of kit subscriptions: getting customers from their first kit to refills, or from trial products to paid subscriptions. They use SKU-swapping workflows that work with Shopify's subscription contracts. Set a timeframe or trigger event, and the system automatically switches products. No customer action needed.
Here's how it works under the hood. Merchants set up workflows in Recharge Automate: when the workflow swaps SKUs on a customer subscription in Recharge webhooks fire to the Recharge app to notify it of the change. The app then drafts changes and commits them to the original subscription contract in Shopify. The subscription keeps running, billing cycles stay intact, and inventory tracking works across different product phases.
The real win? Customers get control without complexity. Through Shopify Customer Account Extensions or Recharge's SDK, they can cancel, pause, resume, skip, or swap products themselves. When they try to cancel, Recharge jumps in with churn prevention offers to keep them around. Customers feel in control while merchants keep them engaged through automated retention flows.
Native's replenishment program runs on pure automation. Their Shopify + Recharge setup moves trial customers into subscriptions without making them think twice. A 142% spike in new subscribers, 40% subscription revenue growth, and 15% less churn proved their theory: make the trial-to-subscription transition automatic, and customers stick around.
4. Digital subscriptions
Subscribers want value everywhere they interact with your brand, whether that's on your website, through texts, emails, connected devices, or in your stores. Every interaction is a chance to build loyalty and increase how much customers spend over time. To make this happen, brands need infrastructure that handles all subscription types across all shopping channels. That means more than just shipping boxes. It includes digital access, memberships, and connected experiences.
Here's the problem: digital subscriptions work differently than physical ones. They need real-time access checks, instant plan upgrades, and billing that adjusts mid-cycle, not just warehouses and shipping labels. When you try to squeeze digital subscriptions into systems built for physical products, everything breaks. Customers hit roadblocks. Your team gets headaches.
Ordergroove fills this gap by bringing digital subscriptions right into your Shopify store. Entitlements are the benefits subscribers get, like streaming content, online courses, VIP perks, or app access. These work alongside your physical subscriptions in one system. Since everything connects directly to Shopify and your other tools, customers manage their digital benefits and physical orders in one account. You can offer any subscription model you want, from digital-only to mixed physical and digital bundles, without the operational mess. Your subscribers get a smooth experience, and you get a system that actually works.
When Arctic Grey helped Lids consolidate their multiple brands and programs onto a unified Shopify platform, the Access Pass membership program presented a unique challenge. This $10 annual digital subscription delivered, among other things, exclusive rewards, early product access, and special discounts across all channels. Ordergroove and Arctic Grey built custom API integrations that keep membership benefits synchronized between Shopify's online stores and Lids' physical retail locations. A customer with Access Pass membership buying in-store gets the same perks online, instantly.
The technical implementation required careful orchestration. Arctic Grey handled the broader Shopify migration and frontend experience, while Ordergroove managed the subscription mechanics and entitlement sync. Together, they ensured Access Pass members maintained continuous benefits throughout the transition.
Post-migration results speak volumes: active Access Pass subscribers increased 33%. The seamless omnichannel experience, powered by proper digital subscription infrastructure, kept members engaged across every touchpoint.
Future-proofing subscriptions on Shopify's composable foundations
Build, buy, or start with what's already there? Shopify gives you all three paths.
Use our Reference App out-of-the-box. Basic subscriptions, solid billing, reliable fulfillment. For many merchants, that's enough. When it's not, you have options.
Build your own Subscriptions app with the same primitives, APIs and webhooks. They are yours to extend: add your custom logic, unique workflows, proprietary features. You're not starting from scratch, you're building on proven foundations.
Connect specialized platforms. Recharge and Ordergroove bring their own sophisticated subscription engines to Shopify through deep integrations. These aren't simple apps, they're full platforms with years of subscription expertise built in. They handle complex scenarios like personalized bundles, kit automation, and prepaid programs through their own infrastructure and sync seamlessly with Shopify's commerce layer.
The architecture supports your evolution. Start with the Reference App today. Connect a partner platform when complexity grows. Build custom features where differentiation matters. Each approach leverages Shopify's core commerce infrastructure while solving subscriptions differently.
That's composability in practice. Not forcing a choice between build or buy, but providing solid foundations and multiple paths forward. Your subscription architecture grows with your ambition, not despite it.
Ready to build subscription commerce that scales? Start with Shopify's subscription foundations and extend them as your business grows. Whether you use our Reference App, build custom solutions, or connect with specialized partners, you get enterprise-grade infrastructure from day one.
