Amazon Subscribe and Save: Growing Recurring Revenue for CPG Brands

Amazon Subscribe and Save is a program that lets customers set up automatic recurring deliveries of your products at a 5-15% discount, creating predictable recurring revenue for your brand. For CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands selling consumables like supplements, food, personal care, pet products, and household items, Subscribe and Save is one of the most powerful growth levers on Amazon. At Marknology, our Kansas City team has helped hundreds of brands build Subscribe and Save programs that generate 20-40% of their total Amazon revenue.

Andrew Morgans says it directly: "Subscribe and Save is the closest thing to a SaaS model that a physical product brand can get on Amazon. Once a customer subscribes, they are buying from you every month on autopilot. Your competitors cannot touch them. That is the most valuable customer you can have."

What Is Amazon Subscribe and Save?

Subscribe and Save (SnS) is an Amazon program that lets customers schedule automatic repeat deliveries of eligible products at a discounted price. Customers choose their delivery frequency (every 1-6 months) and receive the product automatically without needing to reorder.

For brands, this means predictable, recurring revenue with dramatically reduced customer acquisition costs after the initial subscription. At Marknology, we consider SnS the single most important growth program for any CPG brand on Amazon.

How Does Subscribe and Save Work for Sellers?

Here is the economics:

• You fund a base discount (typically 5%) for customers who subscribe
• If a customer has 5+ subscriptions in their monthly delivery, Amazon adds an extra 10% discount (15% total) and Amazon funds the additional 10%
• You receive the sale at your regular price minus your funded discount
• Amazon handles all delivery scheduling, reminders, and reorder logistics
• Customers can modify, skip, or cancel subscriptions at any time

The beauty of the model is that Amazon shares the cost of the larger discount. You fund 5%, Amazon funds up to 10% more. This makes the customer feel like they are getting a great deal while your margin impact is manageable.

The math on Subscribe and Save is incredible. You are paying 5% to lock in a customer for months or years. Compare that to spending 30-40% of revenue on PPC to acquire that same customer every single time they need your product.-- Andrew Morgans, Marknology

How Do You Set Up Subscribe and Save?

Subscribe and Save enrollment requirements:

• Products must be FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon)
• You must maintain consistent inventory (stockouts break subscriptions)
• Products must be in eligible categories (most CPG categories qualify)
• You must agree to fund the base discount tier

Setup steps:

1. Go to Seller Central > Advertising > Subscribe and Save
2. Enroll eligible ASINs
3. Set your funded discount percentage (minimum 5%)
4. Choose whether to offer a higher discount tier for the first subscription ("Subscribe and Save coupon")
5. Monitor performance through the SnS dashboard

For brands new to SnS, our team at Marknology recommends starting with your top 5-10 best-selling consumable products and expanding from there.

How Should You Price Subscribe and Save Discounts?

Base Tier: 5% (Standard)

This is the minimum and what most brands should start with. It qualifies your products for the SnS badge on your listing, which improves visibility and conversion.

Enhanced Tier: 10% (Aggressive Growth)

If you want to aggressively grow subscriptions, fund a 10% discount. Combined with Amazon's additional 5-10% for multi-subscription customers, this creates a compelling value proposition.

Subscribe and Save Coupons: First-Subscription Bonus

You can offer an additional coupon (e.g., extra 10-20% off) that applies only to the first SnS delivery. This is an acquisition tool. The customer gets a big discount on their first order and then continues at the standard SnS rate.

At Marknology, we typically recommend starting at 5% base plus a 15-20% first-subscription coupon. This aggressively acquires subscribers while keeping your ongoing discount manageable.

How Do You Grow Subscribe and Save Subscriptions?

Optimize Your Listing for SnS

Mention Subscribe and Save benefits in your bullet points and A+ Content. Many customers do not know the option exists until you tell them.

Use Subscribe and Save Coupons

First-subscription coupons are the fastest way to grow your subscriber base. They show as stackable savings on your listing and dramatically increase SnS sign-up rates.

Run Brand Tailored Promotions

Target repeat customers with exclusive discounts that nudge them toward subscribing instead of one-time purchasing.

Pair with Sponsored Ads

Products with the SnS badge have higher click-through rates on Sponsored Product ads. The badge signals value and convenience, improving your ad efficiency.

Focus on Consumability

Products that run out on a predictable schedule (30-day supplement supply, monthly pet food, quarterly cleaning supplies) have the highest SnS adoption. If your product does not naturally lend itself to repeat purchase, consider creating bundle sizes that align with monthly consumption.

How Do You Reduce Subscribe and Save Churn?

The average SnS customer stays subscribed for 6-12 months, but churn is real. Here is how to minimize it:

• Never go out of stock. A stockout forces Amazon to cancel subscriptions. This is the number one cause of SnS churn and the hardest to recover from.
• Maintain product quality. If your formula, sizing, or packaging changes and customers notice, cancellations spike.
• Price stability. Frequent price increases trigger cancellations. If you need to raise prices, do it gradually.
• Right-size delivery frequency. If customers receive product faster than they use it, they skip deliveries and eventually cancel. Default to the frequency that matches actual consumption.
• Encourage multi-product subscriptions. Customers with 5+ subscriptions get an extra Amazon-funded discount, making them stickier.

Andrew Morgans emphasizes: "Inventory management is not just an operations problem. For SnS brands, it is a revenue problem. One stockout can destroy months of subscription growth. At Marknology, we monitor inventory levels for every SnS product daily."

What Metrics Should You Track?

• SnS Penetration Rate: What percentage of your total units are sold through SnS? Top CPG brands achieve 30-50%.
• New Subscriptions per Month: Are you growing your subscriber base?
• Churn Rate: What percentage of subscribers cancel each month?
• Average Subscription Duration: How many months does the typical subscriber stay active?
• Revenue Stability: How much of your monthly revenue is predictable SnS revenue vs. one-time purchases?
• Coupon Acquisition Cost: How much are you spending in first-subscription coupons to acquire each new subscriber?

Track these monthly in a dashboard. At Marknology, we report SnS metrics separately from regular sales because the economics and strategy are fundamentally different.

What Subscribe and Save Mistakes Should You Avoid?

1. Ignoring SnS entirely. If you sell consumables and you are not enrolled in Subscribe and Save, you are leaving recurring revenue on the table.
2. Stockouts. Cannot say this enough. Stockouts kill subscriptions and Amazon does not re-enroll cancelled subscribers for you.
3. Not using first-subscription coupons. The standard 5% discount alone is not compelling enough to change customer behavior. You need an acquisition incentive.
4. Wrong delivery frequency defaults. If your 30-day supply defaults to every 2 months, customers get confused. Align the default with actual consumption.
5. Not mentioning SnS in your listing. Many customers buy one-time because they do not realize Subscribe and Save is an option.
6. Funding too high a discount on low-margin products. Run the numbers. A 10% SnS discount on a product with 20% margins is not sustainable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Amazon Subscribe and Save?

Amazon Subscribe and Save is a program that lets customers set up automatic recurring deliveries of eligible products at a 5-15% discount, creating predictable recurring revenue for brands.

How much does Subscribe and Save cost sellers?

Sellers fund a base discount of 5-10%. When customers have 5+ active subscriptions, Amazon funds an additional discount of up to 10%. Your cost is only the base discount you set.

What products are eligible for Subscribe and Save?

FBA products in eligible categories (most CPG categories including supplements, food, personal care, pet supplies, and household items) can enroll. Products must maintain consistent inventory.

How do I grow my Subscribe and Save subscribers?

Use first-subscription coupons, mention SnS in your listing copy and A+ Content, run Brand Tailored Promotions targeting repeat customers, and pair with Sponsored Ads for visibility.

What happens if I go out of stock with active subscriptions?

Amazon cancels the affected subscriptions. Customers are not automatically re-subscribed when you restock. This is the single biggest risk for SnS brands and why inventory management is critical.

Can customers cancel Subscribe and Save at any time?

Yes. Customers can modify their delivery frequency, skip a delivery, or cancel their subscription at any time with no penalty.

What is a good Subscribe and Save penetration rate?

For consumable CPG brands, 30-50% of units sold through Subscribe and Save is considered strong. Some top brands achieve 60%+.

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