Gift Prepaid Subscriptions
Chord allows your customers to purchase a prepaid gift subscription to a person of their choice.
A gift subscription is a one-time payment and non-refundable order created by a customer (purchaser) to a person of their choice (giftee or recipient).
Giftees are not billed for the duration of their gift subscription, but if they want to keep receiving the products after the gift subscription ends, they can create a new gift subscription or the recipient can purchase a recurring prepaid subscription.
Purchasing a gift subscription
The buyer chooses a gift subscription and specifies the quantity and frequency. They provide the recipient's name, shipping address, and email and can include an optional gift message.
The buyer also has the option to include an actionable date, which represents when the gift subscription should be activated (the start date of when the subscription should come into effect). If the actionable date is not included, the subscription will be activated immediatly after checkout. If the actionable date is included, the prepaid gift subscription will be in a pending state until the date it's set to start, and then the subscription will become active.
The purchaser is then directed to Checkout, as the gift subscription skips the Cart, using the "Buy Now" flow, and is pre-paid in full in a single transaction. As such, they can only purchase one gift subscription at a time and not add other items to the order.
When the order is complete, the purchaser receives an email to confirm their gift subscription.
If your customer needs to cancel the gift subscription, please contact [email protected].
Giftee
The giftee is notified by email when the purchaser submits their gift subscription order and does not need to take any actions to confirm the gift subscription. The gift subscription starts at the time of gift purchase.
When the Print method is chosen, the purchaser has the choice of notifying the giftee via email or not
A Chord OMS account is created for the giftee if one does not exist and, similarly to your current customer's login, is accessible through the passwordless authenticator. Although the giftee will see the gift subscription in My Account, no modifications will be available.
If the giftee has existing subscriptions along with a gift subscription, they will all display under My Account
Let's look at the process of a gift subscription order and its representation in the Chord OMS:.
A customer initiates a gift subscription purchase, opting for a prepaid subscription to send to a friend, and chooses the Ship method.
Customer's order: The order is automatically marked as Shipped. This order functions primarily as a receipt and establishes a connection to the Giftee's subscription.
The cadence selected is every 2 weeks for 6 installments
The first screenshot is the original order prepaid Gift Subscription (the receipt)
The screenshot below represent the gift subscription first installment order
If you have "Require manual approval for shipments in this zone?" set to yes, the orders will not be marked as Shipped but Pending.
To navigate to the prepaid Gift Subscription, click on the link next to Subscription in the Order Information section.
The Subscription is Active and set to Prepaid.
In the Installments tab, you can see that the first order has been fulfilled, while the Orders tab displays the gift subscription order(s)
If you click on the ID next to Prepaid Details, you will see that the Gift Subscription has been auto redeemed since the purchaser selected the Ship method.
The purchaser is given two other options when buying a prepaid gift subscription.
Using the Email delivery option, we will inform the recipient that the purchaser bought a subscription for them on the specified activation date. Subsequently, the giftee will be required to enter an activation code to initiate their subscription
The Print delivery option lets you print a page containing a redemption code (which you can hand-deliver) to the recipient. The giftee will be required to enter this code to activate their subscription.
To redeem a prepaid Gift Subscription, your customer will navigate to their email and click on the Redeem link, which will take them to the Redemption page.
Once the gift subscription is redeemed, the gift subscription will start. This means that the subscription will only start (i.e. the subscription order will be created) when the gift subscription is redeemed by the gift recipient.
There is currently no setup needed in the Chord OMS.
When the purchaser submits a gift subscription order, an email confirmation is triggered and sent to them to acknowledge their purchase.
The email contains the order total, gift subscription details, and giftee shipping address.
The email template can be edited in your CMS!
Purchaser email
The giftee is also notified by email that a gift subscription has been created for them. The email contains their shipping address, along with the gift subscription details.
The email template can be edited in your CMS!
Giftee email
The giftee will also be reminded that their subscription orders are coming up if you have Gift Reminders email settings ON. When the gift subscription is about to end, the giftee will be notified by email with the option to create a new subscription.
Redemption email
When a prepaid gift subscription purchase is completed and the 'Email' redemption option is selected, the recipient will automatically receive an email confirming their gift. This email will contain the redemption code and a link to claim their gift subscription.
If the purchaser opts for the 'Print' redemption option upon completing the gift subscription, they should see a redemption code on the order confirmation page. This code will have a button for printing. Clicking this button will take them to a separate page with instructions on how to redeem the gift
Redeemed email
Definitions of Segment Events:
- Email Order Completed: Fired after the order purchase flow is complete; when the gift subscription is initially purchased, this event is intended for the purchaser; after each subscription installment is created and an order is generated, this event will be intended for the recipient.
- Email Subscription Installment Created: Fired when a new installment for the gift subscription is created. This event is intended for the recipient.
- Email Subscription Canceled: Fired when the gift subscription installment count has been reached, the subscription will then be automatically canceled. This event is intended for the recipient.
- Email Subscription Generated: Fired when the gift subscription has been created. This event is intended for the recipient.
- Email Carton Shipped: Fired when an order shipment has been fulfilled. This event is intended for the recipient.
- Email Shipment Delivered: Fired when an order shipment has been delivered. This event is intended for the recipient.
Purchasing a gift subscription
Name = Order Confirmation Gift Prepaid Subscription Email
Slug = gift_subscription_order_confirmation_email
Can my customers be eligible for existing subscription promotions with the gift subscription?
Currently, Gift subscriptions do not have access to subscription promotions logic or discount codes.
Does the shipping rate differ from any other subscription or non-subscription orders?
It is recommended that you can define the shipping rate as free or a specific flat rate or any other shipping base calculator of your choice.
What information is required for the purchaser to provide?
Purchaser must provide all necessary recipient information: Gift subscription options such as frequency and installments, name, giftee email, and giftee shipping information, while gift message is optional.
Can you cancel a gift subscription the purchaser submitted?
Just like Gift Cards, gift subscriptions are final sales. If a cancellation is needed, please contact [email protected]; we can assist!
Will the giftee receive a cancelation email if the purchaser needs to Cancel the order?
No, currently only the purchaser will be made aware of the cancelation.
Will the giftee need to take any action to confirm the gift subscription?
No, the giftee is notified by email, and the gift product(s) are shipped to them using the frequency and quantity the purchaser selects.
Is there a limit for the Gift Note?
Yes, for a great user experience we have limited the field to 50 characters.
Is an account automatically created for a gift subscription recipient if one does not exist?
An OMS account is created for the recipient if one does not exist (you can search for them via email address in the OMS).
Can customers buy a gift subscription using Gift Card or Store Credit?
Yes if the purchaser has outstanding store credit on their account (when they claim their gift card, it will create store credit automatically on their account). The store credit amount will also be used towards paying for the order.
Will the gift subscription display in the purchaser’s order history?
No, the gift subscription order will only display in the Giftee's account