A Guide to MLM Autoship: All You Need to Know

In multi-level marketing, consistency beats intensity, and one of the ways to gain consistent profit is autoship, also known as subscribe-and-save or smartship.

As per a study by Nancy Tobler, a direct sales researcher, nearly 57% percent of companies have autoship in MLM. The study also suggests 90% of these companies use an autoship program for multiple products.

So, if you are interested in introducing this option for your MLM business, data shows that it’s a big “YES.”

To know more about how autoship MLM works, the exact benefits you and your distributors will get, and the challenges you’ll face, scroll down and read our article.

What is Autoship in MLM?

Before getting into the details, let’s get the basics clear.

MLM Autoship or “subscribe and save” is an ordering program where your customers provide consent to be billed on a set schedule in exchange for the chosen products or combos. The schedule depends on the customer’s selection, whether they want the product/set every month, every forty-five days, quarterly, or other options that are provided by the MLM company.

However, customers must be provided with complete control over the payment, allowing them to end the autoship, skip a payment, or pause the charges.

Some MLM companies also provide the option to make the payment annually and receive the product for the chosen interval. Customers get the benefit of a discounted price whereas companies get a long-term commitment from the customer end.

Example: Plexus Worldwide is one such MLM company that has an autoship program for its combo products. In the autoshop program, they offer a monthly subscription option. So, once the customer makes the purchase, they will be charged and receive the combo every month.

How does it benefit the customers?

For the first three autoship payments, the amount remains the same as a one-time purchase. From the fourth month, they get the benefit of a 10% discount on the subscribed amount.

Similarly, it also helps the business get more loyal and committed customers. If the purchase is made through distributors, they also earn recurring income through regular commission.

How is MLM Autoship different from a one-time payment?

Autoship in MLM means the customer only needs to add the card details and make the purchase once. After that, the system automatically charges the customer as per the selected payment cycle. In a one-time payment, the customer needs to manually approve the payment every time they want to purchase the product. To know more about the difference between MLM autoship and one-time payment, check out the infographic added below:

How does MLM Autoship Work?

MLM autoship has a simple, repeatable flow, which is easy to implement in your system if you have the correct understanding. From enrollment to analytics, this section covers the complete process.

1) Enrollment

Either customer can directly purchase the product from the website or through a distributor. Distributors usually share an affiliate link to customers that will lead to the product page on the website as well.

Customers can check the one-time price and the discounted price with different autoship options (every month/quarterly/annually). They can select the autoship option that fits their needs and move to checkout.

2) Consent Capture

During the enrollment stage, the MLM company must show:

• The exact billing amount and date

• The next billing amount and date

• Shipping cost

• Estimated tax

• Process to cancel the subscription

Providing clear information allows customers to make the decision mindfully and saves your MLM business from disputes.

For the same reason, it is essential to take the customer’s consent before charging the amount. The checkout process must produce auditable records with the checkbox text to which the customer agreed, a timestamp, and the device IP.

It must be followed by an email or SMS confirming the next run date. It must also contain the “Manage Autoship” link, from where customers can easily pause, cancel, or edit the subscription.

3) Pre-Billing Window

Once the network marketing autoship payment is done, you are all set for the first cycle. However, three days before the billing date, you must send a reminder to the customer with prominent options:

• Edit autoship options

• Skip this month/payment cycle

• Pause subscription

• Cancel subscription

If you set this step correctly, you’ll save 15% of your customers. That’s what the research “Thinking inside the subscription box: New research on e-commerce consumers” suggests.

Another thing to note. Although you should not store card details for optimal data security in MLM and choose tokenized payment, it is advisable to set a system that informs you when a card is going to expire, which you can share with your customers as a reminder. It will help you rescue your revenue while customers maintain continuity.

4) Product Editing Window

Besides the payment attributes, you can also provide additional flexibility, allowing customers to change flavors, size, color, or any other product characteristic that keeps the pricing the same, and only changes the variation.

No need to speak with customer care, no emails, direct changes from the app itself.

Once the changes are made, show them the preview and get confirmation.

5) Billing Day

As we mentioned in the previous section, charges must run against a tokenized payment method. You must share the invoice for every MLM autoship payment separately.

In cases where the subscribed item is unavailable in the inventory, inform the customer about the delay and obtain separate approval on whether they wish to be charged now and receive the item as it becomes available, or later when the item is present in the inventory.

Do not charge the customer if no action is taken, and email them, informing the reason for the interruption of the service.

6) If the Payment Fails

When a card gets declined, you can set a retry ladder to recover orders without nagging. Try charging the MLM autoship payment again in 6 hours, 48 hours, and 5 days.

You can also allow customers to make payments through other methods, such as PayPal or wallets. This will allow you to keep up with the expected revenue.

7) Fulfillment and PV Posting

Similar to any order, when the payment is made, share the shipping details, tracking ID, and PV/QV earned by the customer.

If items are split into partial shipments or go on backorder, the system should prorate PV and show what is posted now versus later, to maintain transparency.

Also, if you have any loyalty points attached to the MLM autoship options, the system must immediately reflect them into the system.

8) Analytics and Improvement

Treat MLM autoship KPIs as separate metrics leading to changes in how subscription functions based on insights.

Some of the insights that you can track are:

• When the maximum number of customers drops out of the autoship payment

• Percentage of payment failures

• Support tickets per 1000 autoship payments

• How many customers used the “managed subscription” option to edit the payment cycle?

Take all these metrics into consideration and change your autoship features accordingly.

The Benefits of Autoship for MLM Distributors

Autoship (automatic monthly shipments) helps multi-level marketing (MLM) distributors create steady momentum without constant follow-ups. When customers can set a schedule, get a reminder, and edit or skip in seconds, repeat orders feel natural, not forced. For distributors, that means more time selling and supporting, fewer end-of-month rushes, and clearer goals.

• 1) Steadier Personal Volume (PV): Predictable PV makes rank maintenance and bonus timing easier.

• 2) Higher Lifetime Value and Average Revenue per User: A core kit plus complementary add-ons lifts average order value and keeps customers engaged beyond initial purchase.

• 3) More selling time, less admin work: Automated reorders cut the need for reminder calls and manual checkouts, so distributors can focus on prospecting and service.

• 4) Better commission forecasting: Scheduled orders make income more predictable and help distributors plan promotions and events.

• 5) Simple duplication for new teammates: Initiating MLM autoship becomes the primary target, and one single process is replicated across the team.

• 6) Strengthen Brand trust: Optional, easy-to-cancel autoship with clear rules prevents “pay-to-qualify” concerns, and allows customers to stick for a longer period.

• 7) Cleaner operations and fewer support tickets: As the brand trust improves and client purchases get automated, the number of satisfied customers increases, causing a decrease in support tickets.

• 8) Early save signals to reduce churn: Skips, cadence changes, and failed payments alert distributors to check in if the customer is losing interest before a customer quits.

• 9) Natural, friendly cross-sell moments: Monthly touchpoints introduce seasonal flavors, travel sizes, or related products without feeling pushy.

• 10) Happier customers lead to more referrals: Pre-bill reminders, real-time price and points previews, and two-click cancel reduce surprises and complaints. If a customer sticks for a long time, that indicates satisfaction, encouraging them to introduce your products to others.

The Benefits of MLM Autoship for Customers

MLM Autoship is meant to make life easier for customers and not to lock them in. When customers choose a cadence and they have the option to manage the autoship at their fingertips, reordering becomes simple and time-efficient. There will be no last-minute “I ran out of the product moments.”

• 1) Better pricing and benefits: When customers go for MLM autoship, companies usually incentivize it with better pricing or exclusive perks that are only provided in exchange of long-term commitment towards products.

• 2) Supports their goal: In many industries, such as wellness, beauty, etc., customers only get visible results when they regularly use it without any break. MLM autoship maintains the continuity and even helps the business achieve better product success rate.

• 3) Saves time in ordering: Even when the customers are committed to the product, they need to reorder the product every time. Sometimes, they may miss out ordering or the product is unavailable, which can lead to a frustrating experience. Autoship in MLM counters these issues and makes the process efficient and the experience better.

The Common Challenges of Autoship in MLM and How to Overcome Them

MLM Autoship is helpful. No doubt. But it does come with some challenges, and when these challenges are not addressed properly, the feature can have a negative impact. What are those challenges, and how to solve them? Let’s find out.

1) Unexpected Charges

Sometimes, MLM autoship is not intended, and customers approve it by mistake. One tick mark and the subscription begins. If they don’t even know about it, and they get charged in the next cycle, a negative impact is obvious. 31% customers cancel their subscription only because they believe they will be charged without prior approval.

The best solution is to share an email or SMS, requesting the autoship confirmation. If the customer is genuinely interested, they will confirm it and willingly take the subscription.

2) No Proof of Consent

What if they initially agree to network marketing autoship but then realize that they don’t need the product after they get charged for the second time?

A legitimate MLM business must provide a refund under its 30-day money-back guarantee. However, if it leads to any dispute, businesses must keep immutable proof of consent. It includes the copy of the text to which the customer agreed, the timestamp, and the device IP address. It is also essential for MLM compliance.

3) When Autoship Becomes Compulsion

Intentional or not, if you make the MLM autoship option compulsory, that will even reduce the sales that were there without autoship.

Provide customers with the option to either make a one-time payment or allow autoship. Moreover, you must offer multiple cadences. This will allow customers the flexibility to choose when they want to make the next payment.

4) Card Failure and Expiry

Not all transactions will happen as expected. There can be several reasons why card failures can happen: insufficient balance, bank restrictions, expiry, etc.

In some cases, such as when the card’s expiry date is approaching, you can send a reminder to the customer for card renewal or changing the payment method.

If the payment failure occurs, you can immediately share the option to make payment via wallets.

5) Out-of-Stock Items

Sometimes, when items get out of stock but autoship is ON, the system charges the customer but doesn’t provide the shipping details, as there’s no product to ship.

In such cases, even though the customer gets charged, they will not receive the product before the expected delivery date.

The MLM autoship system must be integrated with the inventory management system. When inventory runs out of the product, the autoship system should automatically detect it and should not charge the customer till the stock is back. The second option is to prioritize autoship customers and maintain a separate stock for them in advance.

6) No Flexibility

It’s common for several industries to offer multiple variants of a product, such as wellness, food items, beauty, etc. When the customer initiates an autoship, it should not be necessary for them to stick with one variant. If that’s the case, they may get bored with the product soon and cancel the subscription.

The best option is to provide the option to change the variants under the “Manage Autoship” feature. It will allow them to try out different alternatives and select the best one without putting effort into reordering.

7) Change in Tax and Shipping Rates

When taxes and shipping rates change, you need to change your chargers too. If you charge your customers without their prior knowledge regarding the changes, it will come as a surprise to them.

Therefore, if there’s any change in the final pricing, take the customer’s consent again, and then only, continue the autoship.

8) Autoship Abuse

Many of the MLM companies offer autoship benefits, such as discounted price, from the start. However, what if the customer takes the benefit and cancels the subscription?

To avoid that, it’s advisable to start providing benefits after a certain period. For instance, Plexus Worldwide only provides the benefits from the 4th payment cycle onwards. This saves them from offering discounted prices to one-time or short-time customers.

Another option is to give a discounted price if the customer makes the upfront payment for six or twelve payment cycles. This will allow you to get the amount in advance and save your business from exploitation.

Key Takeaways

We learnt about Autoship in the MLM industry and how it works. We also checked how it’s different from one-time payment, what are its benefits for customers and distributors, and finally, the challenges that come along with autoship and their solution.

Overall, MLM autoship is a must-have feature that your business should introduce. It will empower you to have predictable earnings and customers’ long term commitment.

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