‘Build-a-box’, also known as box or box subscriptions, is a subset of subscription or recurring revenue-based business models. In build-a-box, a customer is allowed to literally build their own customized box of products or services and check them out together, as a bundle. The same bundle is delivered on a recurring basis to the customer! Some of the well-known and successful examples of build-a-box models are Stich fix (apparel and fashion), Dollar Shave (grooming), and Hello Fresh (food). What started as an innovative business model idea to build customer loyalty and lasting relationships about a decade ago has grown at a stellar rate! The IMARC group estimates the worldwide size of the subscription box market at approx. $18.8B (as of 2020), with a 20% YoY CAGR. That is just astounding!
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In this help doc, we will be walking you through the steps to set up a build-a-box, or bundling, model in your store using Appstle Subscriptions.

Create a Subscription Plan: The first step in creating a build-a-box plan is creating a regular or traditional subscription plan.

To learn more about creating a regular subscription plan, please click on this link.

In your dashboard, go to More> All/Revenue boosters > Build-A-Box.

Go to "Create Build-A-Box" and then check the "Enable" box for enabling the Build-a-box.

Choose from one of two types of Build-a-box, dynamically pricing or fixed pricing.

Dynamically Pricing Bundle

As its name suggests, the price that customers pay for this bundle will change based on the individual products inside it. The example box here is for ice cream.

Fixed Pricing Bundle

This type requires you, the merchant, to create and use a parent product with a price you set. This price will be what your customers pay once they make their selection.
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Set the minimum product count, as well as the minimum and maximum order amounts customers' boxes need to be with numbers that make the most sense for you in the appropriate fields.
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Finally, select where the bundle (accessible through a link you will receive once the build-a-box is finalized) will redirect upon opening. It is the cart page by default, but it can be configured in the dropdown to also be either the checkout page or a custom page on your website (with an appropriate URL).
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Finally, there is the option for Tiered Discounts. You can choose to base it on quantities of products or the monetary value of products being purchased.
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Then configure the discounts so that the more customers purchase, the greater discount they will receive.

Then there’s the fixed pricing type. As mentioned before, you will need to create a source product in your Shopify Products section that which will act as a poster product for the box.

Like with dynamically pricing, select a subscription plan you have created to tie the box to.
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As mentioned before, you will need to create a source product in your Shopify Products section that which will act as a poster product for the box and ensure that it is part of the subscription plan you want to offer.

After choosing your subscription plan, select your source product, then select the products you wish to enable with the fixed pricing build a box and set a min and max quantity of products.

Subscription Bundle Link: To generate the subscription link, click save and re-open the subscription plan. A subscription bundle link will be automatically generated. You can click on the highlighted 'document' icon to copy the subscription bundle link.

Build-a-box menu: To make the build-a-box, a part of your product page and Shopify admin page, go to Shopify Admin - Online Store - Navigations. Click on open Main Menu
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Click on Add Menu Item. The 'menu item' here refers to the bundle subscription you just created.
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Name the 'Menu item' and Paste the Subscription Bundle Link that you copied in Step 4.
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Click on save. When you go to your online store, you will see the Build-a-Box Menu.

Here are examples of how both types of build-a-boxes will look like:
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Dynamically Pricing:

Customers will be directed to a page where they can immediately choose products to add to their carts to purchase.
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​Fixed Pricing:

Customers will first see a page where they can choose the build-a-box plan that they would like to purchase from. The products they will see here are the source products you chose when configuring, and the price they will see is the price of the source product you set when creating your subscription plan.

Once selected, they can click Next Step to be taken to the product selection page:
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Customization: You can customize the build-a-box page to best suit your store, theme, and industry, by using our Subscription Bundling CSS)

If you want to learn more about strategizing the build-a-box model, please visit our blog article.

Don't hesitate to reach out to us

Irrespective of whether you are someone who already has a box subscription business, or are exploring the option, we hope this process explanation was useful to you. If you have any questions on build-a-box or need any help, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at subscription-support@appstle.com. Our 24x7x365 available experts will be happy to assist you further.