Skip to main content
Replacement upsells allow you to replace a one-time product purchase with a subscription version of the same product during the post-purchase experience. This lets customers start a subscription after checkout without re-entering payment or shipping details. You can configure subscription upgrades in three ways:
  • Frequency only – Update the billing and delivery frequency of an existing subscription
  • Replacement only – Swap to a different product while keeping the same frequency
  • Both – Change the frequency and replace the product in a single action

​
Prerequisites

Before setting up a replacement upsell, ensure:
  • Your product has selling plans configured in Shopify
  • Your subscription app uses Shopify’s Subscription API (e.g., ReCharge, Appstle, Smartrr, Skio)
  • The product you want to replace is available as both a one-time purchase and subscription
⚠️ Important: Due to Shopify limitations, you cannot add a subscription to an order that already contains a subscription. Replacement upsells only work when the original order contains no subscription items.

​
Step 1: Identify the product to replace

Determine which one-time purchase product you want to offer as a subscription replacement. This should be a product that:
  • Customers frequently purchase as a one-time item
  • Makes sense as a recurring subscription (e.g., supplements, coffee, pet food)
  • Has selling plans already configured in Shopify

​
Step 2: Create a new post-purchase funnel

  1. Open the Aftersell app from your Shopify Admin
  2. Navigate to Post-Purchase in the left sidebar
  3. Click Create Funnel or select an existing funnel to edit

​
Step 3: Configure your trigger

Set up a trigger that fires when the one-time purchase product is in the order:
  1. Click Add Trigger or edit an existing trigger
  2. Select Product as the trigger type
  3. Choose Contains as the condition
  4. Select the one-time purchase product you want to replace
  5. Click Save
💡 Tip: You can also use other trigger conditions like cart value, customer tags, or order properties to target specific customers for subscription replacement offers.

​
Step 4: Create the replacement offer

  1. Click Add Offer or edit an existing offer in your funnel
  2. In the offer editor, click Upsell Products
  3. Search for and select the same product that was purchased as a one-time item
  4. Configure the subscription settings:
    • Select Subscription Only to force the replacement to be a subscription
    • Choose the selling plan you want to offer (e.g., “Deliver every 30 days”)
    • The subscription pricing and cadence will be pulled from your Shopify selling plans

​
Subscription upgrade types

When configuring subscription upgrades in your post-purchase offers, you can choose from three upgrade types:

​
Frequency only

Updates the billing and delivery frequency of an existing subscription without changing the product. Use this when customers want to receive their subscription more or less frequently. Configuration:
  • Select Frequency only as the upgrade type
  • Set the Time unit (day, week, month, or year)
  • Set the Delivery frequency (how often the product is delivered)
  • Set the Billing frequency (how often the customer is charged)
💡 Tip: Billing frequency must be equal to or greater than delivery frequency. For example, you can deliver every 2 months and bill every 6 months (prepaid), but you cannot deliver every 6 months and bill every 2 months.

​
Replacement only

Swaps the subscription to a different product while keeping the same billing and delivery frequency. Use this when customers want to switch to a different product variant or a completely different product. Configuration:
  • Select Replacement only as the upgrade type
  • Click Select replacement product and choose the product to swap to
  • The new product will use the same frequency settings as the original subscription

​
Both – change frequency and replace product

Changes both the product and the billing/delivery frequencies in a single action. Use this when customers want to switch to a different product AND adjust how often they receive it. Configuration:
  • Select Both – change frequency and replace product as the upgrade type
  • Set the frequency settings (time unit, delivery frequency, billing frequency)
  • Click Select replacement product and choose the product to swap to
⚠️ Important: When using the “Both” option, you must configure both frequency settings and select a replacement product. The offer will not work if either is missing.

​
Step 5: Customize your offer messaging

Make it clear to customers that they’re replacing their one-time purchase with a subscription:
  1. Edit the offer title to something like: “Switch to subscription and save”
  2. Update the description to highlight benefits:
    • “Never run out - get automatic deliveries”
    • “Save 15% on every order”
    • “Cancel anytime, no commitment”
  3. Customize the accept button text (e.g., “Switch to Subscription”)

​
Step 6: Configure funnel settings

⚠️ Critical: To avoid issues with multiple subscription offers:
  1. Ensure only one subscription replacement offer can trigger per order
  2. If you have multiple offers in your funnel, place the subscription replacement offer first
  3. Consider using conditional logic to prevent other subscription offers from showing after a replacement is accepted

​
Step 7: Test your replacement upsell

Before going live, test the replacement flow:
  1. Enable Preview Mode in the Aftersell app
  2. Place a test order with the one-time purchase product
  3. Complete checkout and verify the replacement offer appears
  4. Accept the offer and confirm:
    • The one-time product is replaced with the subscription
    • The subscription is created in your subscription app
    • The order reflects the subscription item

​
Step 8: Activate your funnel

Once testing is complete:
  1. Disable Preview Mode
  2. Set your funnel status to Active
  3. Monitor performance in the Analytics tab

​
How replacement upsells work

When a customer accepts a replacement upsell:
  • The original one-time purchase product is removed from the order
  • The subscription version of the product is added to the order
  • A subscription is created using the selected selling plan
  • The customer is charged for the first subscription cycle
  • Future recurring orders are created automatically by your subscription app

​
Important notes

  • One subscription per order: If a customer accepts a subscription replacement, subsequent offers in the funnel will no longer include subscription options
  • First cycle discounts: If you apply a discount to the replacement offer, it only applies to the first subscription cycle. Recurring orders will not include the discount
  • Fulfillment: The subscription item follows your standard fulfillment process for the first order
  • Subscription management: Customers can manage their subscription (pause, skip, cancel) through your subscription app’s customer portal

​
Troubleshooting

​
Replacement offer not showing

  • Verify the trigger is configured correctly
  • Ensure the original order contains no subscription items
  • Check that the product has selling plans enabled in Shopify

​
Subscription not created after acceptance

  • Confirm your subscription app uses Shopify’s Subscription API
  • Check that the selling plan is active and properly configured
  • Review the order in Shopify Admin to verify the subscription item was added

​
Customer charged incorrectly

  • Verify the selling plan pricing in Shopify matches your expectations
  • Check if any discounts are applied and understand they only affect the first cycle
  • Review the “Recurring subtotal” shown in the offer to see future charges