Product Detail Pages: 4 Tips to Optimize Your PDPs For Better Subscription Acquisition

One of the most critical places for customers to learn about your subscription offering is on your product pages. Our UI/UX experts put together these four PDP best practices to nudge customers toward subscription. 

1. Default Your Buy Box to The Subscription Offer

When customers visit your product pages, they should immediately see the option to subscribe prominently highlighted as the default. Default options are known to have a strong influence on decision making. When faced with multiple choices, people tend to prefer the default because it requires less cognitive effort. 

Obvi does a great job of educating their customers on the value of taking their product every day, and defaulting to the subscription offer on the buy box serves as another simple nudge toward subscription over one-off purchases. 

Why It Works

In addition, this tactic uses the anchoring effect to your advantage. The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where people rely heavily on the first piece of information they receive when making decisions. When customers see the subscription offer as the starting point, they are more likely to perceive it as the standard or baseline, making it easier for them to accept it as the most reasonable option. 

2. Show the Price Incentive Side-By-Side

Highlighting the price difference between the one-time purchase and subscribe-and-save is an important way to emphasize the long-term value and cost effectiveness of a subscription. Graphic representations or eye-catching labels like “Save 20% with a Subscription” can effectively draw attention to the value of the subscription model.

This screenshot from Medterra is a great example because of the significant cost savings offered with subscribe-and-save. If a shopper is already convinced that CBD oil is going to improve their lives if taken regularly, taking advantage of this reduced price is a no-brainer.

Why It Works

Similar to the anchoring effect discussed above, displaying the subscription price as the anchor or reference point influences the shopper’s perception of value. If the first price you see is $62.99, but then see that a one-time purchase is nearly $90, that “sticker shock” could drive a customer to subscription. 

Loss aversion is another reason this works. When customers see the savings associated with subscribing, they may perceive it as an opportunity to avoid losing out on cost-effective deals in the long run. This sense of potential loss can be a powerful motivator.

3. Call Out the Most Popular Delivery Cadence

Streamline the decision-making process for potential subscribers by highlighting the most popular delivery cycle for each product. Presenting the preferred frequency — Every two weeks? Every month? Quarterly? — guides customers toward the option that has resonated best with other subscribers. 

In this example, Lifeboost selects by default the most popular delivery cadence, helping other shoppers to understand the typical length of time other customers take to finish that particular item quantity.

Why It Works

It also adds an element of social proof, strengthening your subs program’s credibility. People are naturally influenced by the actions and choices of others. In this case, shoppers may perceive the popular choice as the “right” or “preferred” option, assuming that other customers have already done their research and found it to be the best choice.

4. Highlight Your Subscription Value Options

Make sure your product pages have a place to display the value props of being a subscriber. Outline the exclusive benefits that subscribers receive, such as early access to new products, free shipping, special discounts, or personalized recommendations. These value propositions should demonstrate why becoming a subscriber is better than just making one-off purchases.

Men’s skincare line Disco does a great job of displaying their subscription value props on every product page, driving home the value and exclusivity of being a part of their subscription program.

Why It Works

Highlighting the value propositions elevates the perceived value of the products or services included in the subscription. Customers may feel that they’re getting more for their money, making the subscription appear like a super and more cost-effective choice. In addition, these perks can create a sense of exclusivity and VIP treatment for subscribers, appealing to customers’ desire to feel special and unique.

Leverage all the research done on consumer decision making and UX to help promote your subscription program on your product display pages.