Use the Fixed sequence Automate template to offer a unique product series, where you set a sequence of variants for customers to progress through. The series automatically ends after a customer receives all the products in the series.

This guide explains how to set up a Fixed sequence automated experience to create a one-time sequence, allowing you to promote an exclusive series to your customers.

Before you start

• Automate is available to merchants on Recharge Pro or Custom plans. To learn more about eligibility and pricing, visit the Recharge Pricing page or contact a Recharge sales representative.

How it works

Use the Fixed sequence automated experience to design a tailored shopping journey and create a sequence of unique products for customers to receive with each order. Once a customer completes the sequence, it automatically ends, letting you create a predictable and automated shopping experience.

The Fixed sequence automated experience uses the conditional branch node to create different branches depending on the line items on a customer’s order. You must create separate branches for each product in your sequence.

For example, if you have a three-sequence automated experience, you need four branches, three for each product in the sequence, and one for orders that do not contain any selected products.

Each branch is assigned a Subscription node, which defines the action to be executed on the customer’s next order. Use the Subscription node to swap the existing product to the next item in the sequence.

In the three-sequence example above, Branch A corresponds to the first product in the sequence. When configuring the Subscription node for Branch A, you must select the product assigned to Branch B as the next item in the sequence. This ensures the customer progresses smoothly to the next product after receiving the previous one.

Example

A coffee company offers a limited-edition coffee subscription, only available to purchase in January, where customers receive a curated selection of rare coffee blends from different countries monthly for six months.

When the customer completes the six-month series, the shopping experience ends, and the coffee blends are unavailable on the storefront for purchase, ensuring a unique and exclusive experience for customers.

Step 1 - Create your products in Shopify and add subscription plans

Make sure all products in the sequence exist in Shopify and are added to Recharge before building the Fixed sequence automated experience:

1. Review your existing products in your Shopify admin, or add a new product.
2. Navigate to your Recharge merchant admin and select Products from the Products menu.
3. Confirm that you have assigned subscription plans to the products, or add a subscription plan if necessary.

Step 2 - Create the automated experience

Create the Fixed sequence automated experience in your Recharge merchant portal:

1. From the merchant portal, click Products and select Automate.
2. Select Create from template under Fixed sequence, and click Get started!
3. Select Manage settings to add a title and a description.

You can now access the flow canvas and build the automated experience. This experience uses a standard template designed by Recharge. By default, you cannot change the Trigger and Smart loop nodes. See Flow nodes for more information on each node.

Step 3 - Configure the Conditional Branch node

Use the Conditional Branch node to create multiple branches within the automation. This node assigns customers to specific branches, customizing the action based on the products customers received in their previous order.

The default template has three branches, Branch 1, Branch 2, and Else:

• Branch 1: Targets orders that contain the initial product that starts the automated looping experience. Use the Line item condition to determine if the customer’s order contains a specific product. If the customer is subscribed to the specified product, they enter this branch, and the experience is automatically applied.
• Branch 2: Targets orders that contain the next product in the sequence.
• Else: If the customer’s order does not contain the specified products, they enter the Else branch, and the experience is not applied.

You can use the default template and only configure Branch 1, and Branch 2 or add additional branches to include more products in your sequence:

1. Select the Conditional Branch node on the flow canvas.
2. Click on the pencil icon next to Branch 1 to edit the branch.
3. Add a Branch name.
4. Select Line Item from the object dropdown menu.
5. Select Variant from the attribute dropdown menu.
6. Select Equals, Doesn’t equal, or Only equals from the operator dropdown menu.
7. Click + Add product to select the product that Recharge needs to look for when processing the order. This is the product that starts the sequence. Search for the product, select it, and click Apply.
8. Repeat these steps for Branch 2, selecting the next product in the sequence as the order condition.
9. Click +Add branch and repeat the steps to add additional branches, or click Apply to save your configuration.

You should now have at least three branches configured on the template:

• One branch for orders containing the initial product in the sequence
• One branch for orders containing the second product in the sequence
• One branch for orders that do not contain either product

Step 4 - Configure the Subscription node

The Fixed sequence automated experience needs at least two nodes to execute correctly:

• Subscription node: Automatically swaps the product a customer is subscribed to for their next upcoming order.
• Cancel subscription node: Automatically cancels the subscription when a customer receives the final product in the sequence.

Step 1 - Review the Cancel subscription node

Make sure that you assign the Cancel subscription node to the last branch so that the sequence ends when the customer receives the final product in the subscription. If you add additional branches, you must review the template and confirm that each branch has the correct Subscription or Cancellation nodes assigned.

Update the nodes if necessary:

1. Click the three vertical dot menu and select Delete to remove the Cancel subscription node node from a branch.
2. Click Show next to Canvas actions to add the Cancel subscription node to the final branch in the experience.
3. Drag and drop the Cancel subscription node to the final branch.
4. Enter a cancellation reason and click Apply.

Step 2 - Update the Subscription nodes

Update the Subscription node to set the automated actions:

1. Select the Subscription node on the flow canvas.
2. Choose the Swap action to swap to the next product in the sequence.
3. Click +Add product to select the new subscription product.
4. Set the subscription properties, such as the order frequency, product price, quantity, and product and variant title. You can also add a frequency, order, or date-based delay to delay the charge date for the next recurring order, where the customer receives the new product for the first time.
5. Repeat these steps for all but your last branch, which should have the Cancel subscription node assigned. 
6. Click Apply to save your node setup.

Configuring multiple Subscription nodes ensures that customers enter a successful sequence. When customers purchase the first product in the series, the automated experience begins, delivering each product in order. Once they reach the end of the sequence, it automatically ends, and customers don't receive any additional products.

Optional - Add additional actions to the canvas

Review the list of additional nodes under Canvas actions to see how you can further customize the experience. For example, you can use the A/B test node to compare different products and determine which is most effective in reducing customer churn.

While these actions are not required, they can be beneficial. For example, using the Segment node and segmenting customers who enter a specific branch can help you monitor customer behavior and determine the effectiveness of the automated experience.

Step 5 - Set your products to active in Shopify

Make sure your products are available for purchase:

1. Set the product status to Active for all products available in the sequence.
2. Set the initial product in the sequence to be available on your online store. Make sure to keep all other products set to unavailable on your storefront to prevent customers from entering the sequence midway.

Step 6 - Save and test the automated experience

You can test the automated experience before activating it to ensure it works as intended:

1. Click Save in the top-right corner.
2. Click the three vertical dot menu and select Test flow.
3. Select your test customer from the Target customer menu. This customer must already be subscribed to the initial kit.
4. Click Run flow and confirm that the flow performs as expected.

Step 7 - Activate the experience

Select Activate in the top right corner to enable the experience.

Once you activate the experience, Recharge will review all orders and apply the automated experience to eligible orders.

Considerations

Consider the following when using Automate:

Resources

Getting started

• Getting started with Automate

Additional template set-up instructions

• How to set up a Kit unpacking automated experience
• How to set up a Starter pack to refill swap automated experience
• How to set up an Ongoing sequence automated experience
• How to set up a Trial to subscription automated experience
• How to set up a Welcome offer automated experience
• How to set up a Scheduled quarterly shipments experience