Migrations can be scary. They demand time, require a steady hand, and often come with some stress — and the last thing any DTC brand wants is to disengage or lose subscribers in the process. 

That’s why a recent Shopify announcement regarding the upcoming end of third-party checkouts has been a source of anxiety for many brands, who are now left to decide whether they want to upgrade their legacy subscription app or go through with a migration elsewhere. 

A positive way to view this update is that it’s a prime opportunity for merchants to reassess their needs and see how they can make the most of their subscription business. And yes, choosing to migrate to an alternative Shopify subscription app is an investment — so it’s important to not only have a smooth migration but to also be transitioning to a platform that will ultimately bring your brand to the next level post-migration. 

That’s where we come in. With our seamless white-glove onboarding process, comprehensive LTV toolkit, and dedicated Client Success Managers, Smartrr is committed to growing your brand. While you’re doing your research (as you should), we’re covering what you need to know about the end of Shopify’s third-party checkouts — as well as 6 reasons to migrate to Smartrr. 

Shopify Will Soon End Third-Party Checkouts: Here’s What To Know

Last week, Shopify officially announced that third-party checkouts will no longer be supported as of October 18th, 2024. This announcement directly impacts legacy subscription apps that aren’t integrated with Shopify Checkout, like V1 versions of Bold and Recharge. 

“We wanted to bring this to your attention, as legacy subscription apps that are not yet integrated directly to Shopify Checkout will no longer be able to accept or process subscription orders after October 18, 2024,” the Shopify notification read. “We are letting you know 18 months in advance to ensure you have plenty of time to take action.”

Though Shopify has been laying the groundwork for a little while now, we know the official end of third-party checkouts is still scary for many DTC brands that are relying on these legacy subscription apps. 

In this 18-month window, impacted Shopify brands essentially have two options: they can stay with their current subscription platform and upgrade to a Shopify Checkout-integrated version — or they can migrate to a new subscription app. Either way, this change is going to require time and lots of care so as not to lose subscribers or disrupt your consumers’ experience in any way. 

As you’re weighing your options, here are the reasons why making the switch to Smartrr is well worth the investment. 

Reasons to Migrate to Smartrr From Your Legacy Subscription App

1. Our white-glove onboarding process makes the migration experience as seamless as possible. 

We pride ourselves on offering white-glove onboarding to help take the headache out of your migration. 

This means you don’t need a design team or any developmental resources to get the advanced, branded subscription program you want. 

Here’s how it works:

After you fill out our comprehensive onboarding form, we take care of the installation — which means:

• 🛒 Adding relevant code snippets onto your site’s product pages
• 🛍️ Setting up Subscription Programs
• 💻 Customizing your store’s Customer Account Portal
• 💵 Setting up rules around failed customer payments 
• 💳 Setting up a billing schedule for subscription orders
• 📦 Setting up your business’ shipping profiles 

And should you have any questions or need anything at all during the process —

2. You get your very own personal Client Success Manager who is committed to your brand’s growth beyond the migration. 

Other subscription apps (like Recharge’s support team) will give you a different Client Success Manager every time you reach out — and it can often take up to a week to get a reply at all.  

We know that kind of treatment isn’t good enough for your brand. So we do things differently. 

At Smartrr, you get assigned your own Client Success Manager who replies to you within the same day. Because of our strong in-house developers who work to ensure our app is the best it can be, our CSMs are freed up to go above and beyond for your brand. This means reaching out proactively to check in, offering subscription marketing suggestions, and supporting you as you grow. Because real partners show up all the time — not only when there’s an issue. 

3. We offer a robust Shopify Customer Account Portal to boost your customer lifetime value (LTV).  

The best way to boost your LTV is through an engaging customer account portal that puts consumers in control of their experience. 

Smartrr’s account portal enables you to enhance your relationship with your subscribers through flexible subscription management options, referrals, gifting, one-time add-ons, trending upsells, and more — all in a user-friendly and beautifully-branded portal that acts as a seamless continuation of your brand. 

Our customer account portal is the key ingredient that turns your consumers into committed, engaged brand advocates.

4. Speaking of LTV touchpoints — we’re the only subscription app with a Loyalty Program. 

Loyalty programs are measurably powerful — in fact, research shows that eCommerce platforms that utilize a loyalty program see an increase in average order quantity by 319%.

When it comes to subscriptions, loyalty is the name of the game. That’s why we’ve built out a loyalty program that encourages and rewards retention. The best part is that your subscribers don’t even need to enroll, so your only job is to lean on your subscription marketing skills to ensure your brand’s loyalty perks are widely known.

5. Shopify brands working with Smartrr see immediate, meaningful results. 

We’re always happy to explain the many benefits of working with Smartrr, but sometimes our stats just speak for themselves. 

Our brands see…

• 2X increase in subscription revenue in the first 60 days of switching to Smartrr
• 94% average monthly subscriber retention rate 
• 5X increase in sales of a subscriber’s lifetime
• 70% decrease in customer support tickets 

6. Smartrr reviews don’t lie; our brands give us 5 stars. 

It’s always important to read reviews before any big decision — so we’ll be transparent about ours, which you can find here. We’re consistently rated one of the best subscription apps in the Shopify ecosystem. 

We’ve also had the pleasure of sitting down with many of our brands to discuss their journeys to successful subscription programs — and you can see these case studies here to read exactly how Smartrr is leveling up a variety of different Shopify brands.

So while the concept of migrating to a new subscription app can feel overwhelming, we’re here to show you that it doesn’t have to be. See how we can enhance your subscription offering and make the switch to Smartrr. You’ll be glad you did.

‍🧠 Ready to migrate to Smartrr? Get in touch & request a demo.