Reduce Churn is an automated retention tool that helps you keep subscribers who try to cancel. When a member starts to cancel, they see a short survey and a discount offer. If they cancel anyway, a Reduce Churn automation sends them win-back emails with the same offer.
It’s turned on for each subscription plan and runs as an Automation, so you can adjust the emails and the flow in Automations.
ℹ️ INFO: The highest percentage of cancellations typically occurs in the first month. For some industries, the average subscriber lifetime is just three months. Encouraging annual subscriptions (even with a discount) can significantly improve your overall retention.
What is Churn and Why is it Important
Churn is the number of subscribers you lose each month divided by the number of users you have. For example, if you have 100 subscribers and 5 cancel, your churn rate is 5%.
Reducing churn is crucial for several reasons:
It prevents revenue loss from canceled subscriptions
It's 5x more cost-effective to retain existing customers than acquire new ones
Reducing churn by just 5% can increase profit by 25-125%
Every retained subscriber continues to generate recurring revenue
📝 NOTE: Churn rates vary significantly depending on your industry and audience engagement. Generally, rates range from 2% for high-engagement audiences to 6% for medium engagement, and up to 11% for lower engagement.
How Reduce Churn Works
When a member on a plan with Reduce Churn enabled starts to cancel, this is what happens.
Cancellation Survey
They see a simple survey asking why they want to cancel.
Immediate Discount Offer
After completing the survey, they’re offered a discount on their subsequent payments, depending on the duration you set.
If they accept, the cancellation is prevented, and they continue their subscription with the discount applied to their next billing cycle.
Win-Back Emails
If they complete the cancellation without accepting the discount, the Reduce Churn automation sends them:
A first email immediately, offering the same discount as a second chance to stay subscribed
A reminder email the day before their subscription renews, with the same offer. This only goes out if the renewal is more than a day away.
💡 TIP: For monthly subscriptions, we recommend offering a 75% discount for the next month. For yearly subscriptions, a 15% discount is typically effective.
Who Sees the Offer
Reduce Churn has safeguards against promotional abuse. The offer is not shown to:
Members billed through an app store (iOS, Android, Roku, or Amazon)
Members in a free trial
Members who subscribed using a coupon
Members who have already used a Reduce Churn discount. The offer is available once per member per store.
Win-back emails are sent only to members who cancel through the cancellation page in their account.
ℹ️ INFO: If Pausing is turned on for the plan, members who start to cancel see the pause option first. If they continue with the cancellation, they then see the Reduce Churn offer. The order can’t be changed.
Set Up Reduce Churn
Each subscription plan has its own Reduce Churn settings and its own automation, so you can offer different discounts on different plans.
Method 1: From the Subscription Plan
Navigate to Subscriptions
Open a plan (New or Edit)
In the Marketing card, enable Reduce Cancellation Churn
Set the discount percentage and the deal duration
Click Save
ℹ️ INFO: New plans have Reduce Cancellation Churn turned on by default, with a 20% discount for 3 months on monthly plans (1 month on annual plans). If you use the Products page, the same Marketing card appears on the subscription form.
The Reduce Churn Automation
Reduce Churn is managed in Automations.
After the plan has been saved with Reduce Cancellation Churn on, open the plan again and click Edit next to the toggle to open its Reduce Churn automation in the automation builder.
ℹ️ INFO: Edit opens the Reduce Churn automation linked to that plan. It appears only after the plan has been saved with the toggle on.
Default Flow
Every Reduce Churn automation starts with this flow:
Automation Step | What it does |
Trigger: Member cancels their subscription | Starts when a member cancels. The goal is "Cancellation is Revoked", so a member who reverses their cancellation leaves the automation. |
Filter: Active | Only members whose subscription is active continue. |
Send email | Sends the first win-back email, with a subject like “Before you go”. It uses variables that fill in the plan’s discount and duration. |
Branch: Renews in > 1 day | Yes: the member continues to the reminder. No: the automation ends. |
Wait until | Waits until 1 day before the subscription renews. |
Send email | Sends the reminder email, with a subject like “Your discount expires soon”. Then the automation ends. |
Customize the Automation
The default flow is a starting point, and you can adjust it like any other automation, for example by editing the emails or changing the timing.
💡 TIP: The email subjects use variables that insert the plan’s discount and duration. Keep them in place so the emails always match the offer on the plan.
You don’t need to build a separate cancellation email flow for the discount. If you also want a goodbye or confirmation email, you can create it as its own automation.
🔗 Learn more about Automation Triggers
Track the Performance
You can monitor how your Reduce Churn automations are performing:
Navigate to Analytics > Marketing
Select Reduce Churn
View the Metrics
📝 NOTE: Analytics data is updated daily, not in real-time. Check back the following day to see the most recent data.
Cancellation Requests | Members who canceled and went through the automation |
Saved Members | Members who accepted the offer instead of canceling |
Conversion Rate | Calculated as Saved Members / Cancellation Requests |
Revenue Saved | Total revenue from Reduce Churn saves |
Conversion over time | Members who went through the Reduce Churn automation, and the percentage of them who accepted the offer |
Conversion Rate | Calculated as Saved Members / Cancellation Requests |
Cancellation Reasons | Cancellation survey answers from members who requested to cancel their membership |
💡 TIP: Drill down for more detailed analytics by clicking each data point.
FAQs
How long is the Reduce Churn discount valid?
How long is the Reduce Churn discount valid?
The discount is valid until the day before the next invoice is charged. If a member cancels within a day of their renewal date, they only receive the first email.
Will the discount be applied immediately?
Will the discount be applied immediately?
No, the discount will be applied to the next billing cycle, not the current one.
Can I customize the cancellation reasons in the survey?
Can I customize the cancellation reasons in the survey?
Currently, you cannot customize the cancellation reasons in the survey or add an open text field for custom feedback. The current survey provides the 'Other' option to allow users to enter a custom reason for cancellation.
Does Reduce Churn work on mobile and TV apps?
Does Reduce Churn work on mobile and TV apps?
The Reduce Churn feature is only available on the web platform, not on OTT subscriptions or mobile/TV apps.
Can users get multiple Reduce Churn discounts?
Can users get multiple Reduce Churn discounts?
No, the system includes safeguards to prevent promotional abuse. The Reduce Churn automation will only be triggered once per user per store.
Where did Marketing > Reduce Churn go?
Where did Marketing > Reduce Churn go?
Reduce Churn is now managed from each subscription plan and runs as an automation. Open the plan in Subscriptions, turn on Reduce Cancellation Churn, and click Edit to open its automation. If you used the previous tool under Marketing, check your plans to confirm the toggle is on where you expect it.
Can I offer different discounts on different plans?
Can I offer different discounts on different plans?
Yes. Each plan has its own Reduce Churn settings and its own automation, so you can set a different discount percentage and duration per plan.
Do members see the pause option or the discount offer first?
Do members see the pause option or the discount offer first?
If Pausing is on for the plan, members who start to cancel see the pause option first. If they continue with the cancellation, they then see the Reduce Churn discount offer. The order can’t be changed.
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