Cadence — how often a subscription ships — is one of the highest-leverage decisions you make on each product. Here is how to think about it.
Match the cadence to the consumption rate
The default mistake is to ship every four weeks because four weeks is a round number. The right answer is to ship at the rate the client actually uses the product.
If a one-month supply is genuinely one month, four-week cadence works. If a one-month supply lasts six weeks because clients dose every other day, four-week cadence will pile up product in their bathroom and they will pause within three months.
For each product, calculate "days of supply at the typical dose" and pick the cadence that gets the client a reorder 7-10 days before they would otherwise run out.
Offer a small range, not a long list
Three cadence options is the sweet spot. We see drop-off rates rise sharply when clients are presented with five or more cadence choices. Pick:
- A "comfortable" cadence (slightly more product than they need)
- A "tight" cadence (matches consumption exactly)
- A "stockpile" cadence (much more, with a per-unit discount)
Discount the longer cadence
The "stockpile" option should be 10-20% cheaper per unit than the "tight" option. This nudges the clients who are stable on a protocol toward longer commitments, which improves retention dramatically — clients who choose 12-week cadence churn at less than half the rate of 4-week clients.
Allow easy switching
Clients should be able to change cadence in their account in one tap. The fewer steps between "I noticed I have too much" and "I switched cadence", the fewer "I cancelled" emails you will get.
Watch the pause-to-cancel funnel
Pauses are not bad. Pauses turn into cancels when nobody reaches out. Set up a "pausing too long" workflow that sends a check-in at week 6 of a pause asking if there is anything you can help with. About 30% of long-pausers will reactivate after a touch.