Build-a-box
‘Build-a-box’, also known as box or box subscriptions, is a subset of subscription or recurring revenue-based business models. Build a box is a bundling feature that enables your customers to group several products together and create a personalized subscription box. As opposed to a bundle preselected by the business, Build-a-box provides customers the flexibility to select the products they prefer in their bundle.
Why should Build-a-box be offered in your subscription store?
Personalization: Build-a-box is an attractive model where a customer is given the option to build an individually customized box that can be applied to any category of products or services. This build-a-box bundle can then be checked out in one step. This personalized bundle is then delivered on either a recurring or single basis to the customer. Customers like it because they can create their own “virtual box” for subscriptions, containing personally selected contents and products.To add an additional level of personalization, Appstle’s build-a-box feature can be configured with either dynamic pricing or fixed pricing. The build-a-box page can also be created to best suit your store, theme, and industry, by using Appstle’s Subscription Bundling CSS for added customization.
Customer Retention: Providing customers with a customized experience and the flexibility to modify their subscription build-a-box for subscriptions can increase their likelihood of returning and maximize the overall levels of customer satisfaction.
Customer Engagement: Build-a-box enables customers to be closely involved with your store as well gain exposure to a variety of products and services offered. This presents an opportunity to increase overall customer engagement.
Up-selling With Appstle, merchants have the option to offer an additional build-a-box discount to entice customers to purchase in bulk, including a tiered discount. Furthermore, by using the build-a-box feature, customers may be more likely to encounter new products that can be added to their build-a-box bundle, leading to increased revenue.
Inventory Management: In build-a-box, a customer is typically allowed to select a wide range of product or service SKU combinations to create their unique box. Recurring orders bring a greater level of predictability to managing inventory, particularly if orders contain a diverse selection of products, as is the case with build-a-box. A store offering a build-a-box subscription can act as a stepping stone towards the store or business becoming the one-stop-shop for a variety of customer needs.
Value proposition: Build-a-box began as an innovative business model idea to grow customer loyalty and lasting relationships. Since then, build-a-box has grown at a stellar rate across the E-Commerce industry, with the IMARC group estimating that the worldwide size of the subscription box market is approximately $18.8B (as of 2020), with a 20% YoY CAGR. As a result, this business model has become more prevalent, with some of the well-known and successful examples of build-a-box models including Stich Fix and Hello Fresh. The prevalence and growth of build-a-box is due to its value in offering flexibility and customization to customers.
How to create a build a box with Appstle?
In this help document, we will be walking you through the steps to set up a build-a-box, or bundling model in your store using Appstle Subscriptions.
The first step involves creating a build-a-box plan and selecting either a regular or traditional subscription plan. To learn more about creating regular subscription plans, please click on this link.
Next, in your dashboard, navigate to More > All/Revenue boosters > Build-A-Box. Next, go to "Create Build-A-Box" and then select the "Enable" box for enabling the Build-a-box.
To create your Build-A-Box, choose from either dynamically or fixed pricing. Then configure any discounts for your Build-A-Box.
Generate a subscription bundle link.
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. Select the Add Menu Item. The 'menu item' here refers to the bundle subscription you just created. Select save and you will see your Build-A-Box menu show.
Detailed Steps for Creating a build-a-box subscription using Appstle
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, navigate to More > All/Revenue boosters > Build-A-Box.
Go to "Create Build-A-Box" and then select the "Enable" box for enabling the Build-a-box.
Choose from one of two types of Build-a-box, dynamically pricing or fixed pricing.
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.
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).
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.
Then configure the discounts so that the more customers purchase, the greater discount they will receive.
Then there’s the fixed pricing type. Like with dynamic pricing, select a subscription plan you have created to tie the box to. You will need to select a source for products, which will act as poster products for every build-a-box option you want to provide to your customers. Click Add Settings in fixed pricing Build-A-Box Settings if you intend to provide more than one option. Select the products you wish to enable with the fixed pricing build a box in Basic Settings.
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
Select the Add Menu Item. The 'menu item' here refers to the bundle subscription you just created.
Name the 'Menu item' and Paste the Subscription Bundle Link you copied in Step 4.
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:
Dynamic Pricing:
Customers will be directed to a page where they can immediately choose products to add to their carts to purchase.
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 choose 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:
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.
How to offer build-a-box for one-time purchases?
Under normal circumstances, Build-a-box does not function with one-time purchases and only operates with proper subscription plans. However, if you are interested in offering a Build-a-box as one-time purchases, there is a configuration option that we will show here.
To begin to enable one-time purchases for Build-A-Box, make sure the subscription plan type for your store is set to Pay As You Go.
Then click reveal Advanced Options. The field of interest here is Maximum Number of Orders, which should be set as 1.
As a result, when the Build-a-box subscription is created, only the first order of the subscription will be placed. Immediately after, that same subscription will be put into a Paused state, preventing any further billings, and effectively acting as a one-time purchase. Click to Save the plan when you are done. Now when you configure this subscription plan to your build-a-box, it should work as a one-time purchase!