Subscriptions / replenishment auto-ship, ReCharge / Bold / Skio?
Skincare routines are 60-day buys, serum lasts 30-60 days, moisturizer 60-90, cleanser 90-120. Subscription auto-ship is 60%+ of mature DTC skincare revenue. Without it the CAC math doesn’t close.
The three subscription managers:
- ReCharge, $99, $499/mo. Industry default. Best Magento integration (official extension, well-maintained). Native Klaviyo + Loop Returns integration. Pattern I default to.
- Bold Subscriptions, $49, $300/mo. Cheaper, lighter UX. Best for stores under $2M GMV where the budget is tight. Magento integration via Bold Commerce module.
- Skio, newer (2021), passwordless mobile checkout, fastest growing. Best for mobile-first DTC where ~75% of subs originate on phone. Magento support via custom API integration (~$4k build cost).
The retention tooling on top of the subscription manager matters as much as the manager itself:
- Smartrr, surveys at cancel + win-back automation. ~$199, $500/mo. Cuts churn 1.5-3 percentage points.
- Stay AI, AI-powered cancel-flow optimisation. Newer, expensive ($299, $999/mo), but the case studies on churn reduction are real.
- Subscription-specific Klaviyo flows, pre-ship reminder (-3 days), post-charge thank you, day-30 routine check-in, day-50 replenishment heads-up. These four flows alone increase subscriber LTV 15-25%.
Target churn: under 6%/month for an established skincare DTC. Above 8% means the product fit is wrong or the routine reco from the quiz is off.