How to create a fixed-price customizable bundle

Fixed-price customizable bundles let you offer a "build-a-box" experience on your storefront by using a single subscription product to bundle multiple Shopify products, allowing customers to select items for their bundle.

This guide explains how to create a fixed-price customizable bundle.

Before you start

• Merchants on Plus or Custom pricing plans can offer customers fixed-price customizable bundles.

Step 1 - Create the relevant collections in Shopify

Before creating the bundle in Recharge, you must create at least one Shopify collection that contains the products to be bundled.

For example, if you offer a meal box for different meals throughout the day, you would need to create Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner collections. For instructions on creating Shopify collections, see Create a collection.

There are a few things to consider when configuring your collection:

• Configure your collection as an automated collection in Shopify if you track inventory on products in a collection.
• Set the product to available as a one-time purchase if you use Product Subscription Plans.
• Set a condition for the collection that requires inventory to be greater than zero. With this condition in place, out-of-stock products are automatically removed from the bundle content options. Additionally, if products go out of stock, customers will be prompted to update their selections when they log into the customer portal.
• Bundles ignore the individual price of the product(s) in your collection(s) and use the parent bundle price.
• The same product cannot be in multiple collections configured to the same bundle. 
  • For example, if the bundle contains two collections, lunch and dinner, you cannot include the same chicken wrap product in both collections.

Product variants

If a product in a collection has multiple product variants in Shopify, note the following:

• You cannot split product variants into multiple collections
  • For example, if your product has multiple size options, you cannot separate the small variant into one collection and the medium variant into another
  • If you want to add two variants to different collections, you must create the variants as separate products in Shopify
• You can choose whether you want the first product variant to be automatically added to the bundle or you can allow customers to choose their variant option
  • See Products with multiple variants for more information

Step 2 - Configure your bundle in Recharge

Create the bundle product in Recharge. This is the product that customers eventually check out with to receive their bundle contents. 

While you can import a pre-configured parent bundle product from Shopify, Recharge recommends creating the parent bundle product directly in Recharge to prevent any issues.

1. Click Products in the merchant portal and select Bundles from the dropdown.
2. Click Add a bundle.
3. Select the Customizable bundle template and click Get started.
4. Name the bundle. If you are importing a pre-configured parent bundle product from Shopify, click "Already have a product you want to use?" and select the product to import. Using this method, you cannot change the bundle price in Recharge; instead, you must edit it directly in Shopify. Recharge recommends creating the parent bundle product directly in Recharge.
5. Optional: Add a product image that displays on product listing pages and in search results.
6. Select Fixed: The price is always the same under the What type of pricing should your bundle have? option. 
7. Select Save and continue.

Step 3 - Configure price and contents

You can offer different versions of your bundle, including whether you want to offer multiple bundle options, how many products customers can add, and which collections they can choose from. 

Bundle options

Choose whether your bundle has one version or multiple versions:

• There's only one version of my bundle: Set one size, one price, and one set of allowed products. Every customer builds their own bundle from the same rules.
• My bundle has multiple options: Offer different sizes or tiers at  different price points. Each version has it's own rules and product options.

Price and contents 

If there is one version of your bundle, configure how many products customers can add and which collections they can choose from:

1. Set the number of products included in the bundle in the Number of products field. Determine if it should be A flexible amount or a Fixed amount.
2. Input the number of products a customer must add.
3. Input the cost amount.
4. Optional: Set the maximum number of products a customer can add to their bundle.
5.  Click Select Shopify collections to choose which products to include in the bundle. Select your collections and click Apply. 
6. Optional: Input How many of a single product can be added.
7. Click Save and continue.

Add bundle options

If your bundle has multiple options you can set up the options you'll offer customers.

1. Click Add bundle options.
2. Enter a name to describe the options.
3. Add What options customers can pick from.
4. Click Apply and then Save and continue.

Note: Products in a collection must be active on the Online Store sales channel in Shopify.

Optional - Set up a default selection

Default selections are the default products sent to customers if they don't make their own selections before their charge date. Configure a default selection ensures all subscribers receive products in their bundle even if they haven't customized it.

1. Under What happens if a customer doesn't add any contents to their bundle?, select one of the following:
   • Recommended: Send a default selection: Recharge updates the bundle price based on default selections. Customers still receive their subscribe and save discount and can update contents before their bundle is processed.
   • Nothing: don't send any products: Customers who don't make selections won't receive any products, but might still be charged with taxes and shipping. 
2. If you selected Send a default selection, click the edit icon next to Select products for default selection to add your default selection products. Click Apply.
3. Click Save and continue. 

Step 4 - Add subscription options

Set a subscription type for your bundle from the following options:

• One-time purchase only: Customers only receive the bundle one-time
• One-time and subscription: Customers can receive the bundle only once, or they have the option to subscribe to the bundle and receive it on a recurring basis
• Subscription only: Customers subscribe to the bundle and receive it regularly

Depending on the subscription type you select, you may need to configure frequencies. 

1. Click Add a frequency option. 
2. Enter in the frequency and plan name.
3. Optional: Select if the subscriptions should expire automatically or not.
4. Optional: Choose Where is this frequency available. 
   • When people buy from my store
   • When people buy through my customer portal
   • When I edit orders here in the merchant portal
   • Via the API
5. Click Apply and then Save and continue.

Optional - Enable cross-sells

Allow subscribers to add extra items to their bundle, as one-offs or with every delivery.

See How to configure bundles add-ons and extras for additional details.

Step 5 - Install the bundles widget

The first time you create a bundle, you must install the bundles product template in your store to display the bundles widget:

1. Click Products, then select Bundles to open the Your bundles page.
2. Click Storefront settings and select Install theme files.
3. Click Done after the installation.

Step 6 - Publish the bundle

After configuring the bundle product, you can publish it, which automatically makes the bundle available on the Online Store sales channel in Shopify. 

1. Review the Bundle summary to ensure that the bundle is configured as expected.
2. Click Activate bundle when you are ready for customers to purchase the bundle on your storefront.

Tip: You can publish your bundle to test the bundle experience, then unpublish it if you are not ready for customers to purchase the bundle product.

When published, Recharge applies the recharge-bundle template to the bundle product in Shopify to display the bundle widget on the product page. This guarantees that the bundle contents are included in both the customer's checkout and future orders. Processed orders for bundle products:

• List the contents of the bundle as separate line items on the Shopify order
• Include the Bundle tag to easily identify orders that contain a bundled product

Click Preview bundle on the bundle's settings page to view it. 

Expected outcome

After configuring and publishing the bundle, customers can purchase it directly on your storefront.

Subscribers-only fixed price customizable bundle

Use the Customizable after first order to have customers receive preset products on their first order, while giving them the flexibility to build their bundles for recurring orders if they subscribe.

Subscriber-only bundles incentivize subscription purchases and boost retention by keeping customers engaged.

1. When configuring your bundle, select Customizable after first order to set up a subscribers-only bundle option.
2. Name the bundle. If you are importing a pre-configured parent bundle product from Shopify, click "Already have a product you want to use?" and select the product to import. Using this method, you cannot change the bundle price in Recharge; instead you must edit it directly in Shopify. Recharge recommends creating the parent bundle product directly in Recharge.
3. Select Save and continue.
4. Configure the Price and contents. See Step 3 - Configure price and contents.
5. Set up the Contents in later deliveries to allow subscribers to choose products from the collection you choose:
   • Click Edit in the Contents collections section.
   • Add the Shopify collection and click Apply.
6. Click Save and continue.
7. Add your subscription options. For Subscriber-only bundles select Subscriber only. See Step 4 - Add subscription options.
8. Click Save and continue.

While you configure a subscribers-only bundle the same way you configure a fixed-price bundle, customers initially purchase it the same way they do a preset bundle. As such, a subscribers-only bundle does not use the fixed-price bundle widget. Instead, it uses the standard Shopify product template, which you can customize using the Shopify theme editor. See update the Shopify product details for more information.

Inventory handling

The following table outlines how Recharge processes orders based on the available inventory settings.

Considerations

Consider the following when creating a fixed-price customizable bundle:

Product compatibility 

Bundle logic and behavior

Resources

There are a variety of Bundles resources to help you get started, or to troubleshoot common issues. See the following resources below for additional information:

Getting started guides

• Getting started with Bundles
• Getting started with fixed-price customizable bundles

Using bundles guides

• How to test and publish a bundle
• How to use the Bundles widget layout
• How to configure bundles add-ons and extras
• How to discontinue or disable bundles
• How to manage customer bundle content with bulk swaps
• How to manage existing bundles in Recharge
• How to create an automatic reset for customizable bundles

Troubleshooting and FAQs

• Bundles troubleshooting
• Bundles FAQs

Developer documentation

• Curating the Bundles experience