Subscription Pricing and Discounts: How Much to Offer

What the Discount Has to Do

A subscribe-and-save discount does two jobs. It gives a shopper a reason to pick a subscription over a one-time order. Then it has to pay for itself, through the extra deliveries a subscriber takes that a one-time buyer wouldn't.

So start with one question. How many deliveries does a subscriber need to take for this discount to beat a one-time buyer? The worked example below answers it in ₹.

What Indian Brands Actually Offer

Results measured on StackBack.

These discounts are deep. They work because each brand has the margin to carry them, and subscribers who stay for many deliveries. Don't copy the number. Copy the method: check the deliveries you need, then set the discount.

Discount by Model

• Prepaid usually gets the biggest discount. You hold the cash upfront, the deliveries are committed, and there's nothing to collect later. A 3-delivery plan and a 6-delivery plan can carry two steps of saving.
• AutoPay on UPI and cards keeps deliveries going without the customer acting each time. Each delivery goes ahead unless they skip, pause or cancel. A strong discount here helps keep a subscription running for months.
• Pay-as-you-go asks the customer to pay a link before each delivery, so each one is a fresh decision. A clear discount is what gets cautious first-time buyers to start. You can set it a step below AutoPay, to nudge people towards approving once.

Prepaid discounts do one more job in India. Unicommerce's India D2C report (April 2026) found 58% of COD orders came back in the festive quarter, against under 15% of prepaid. A prepaid incentive cuts returns as well as lifting cash flow.

Show each model's discount on the product page, so customers see what each choice saves. Our first 100 subscribers playbook shows how to lay it out. For how the models compare beyond price, see AutoPay vs prepaid vs pay-as-you-go.

Tiered Discounts

Tiers reward a bigger commitment with a bigger saving. Three kinds work well. The numbers are examples.

• By plan length. 10% off monthly AutoPay, 15% off a 3-delivery prepaid plan, 20% off a 6-delivery prepaid plan.
• By box size. In a build-your-own box: 15% off three items, 20% off four, 30% off six or more. It lifts order value without a code.
• By time subscribed. A discount that steps up at delivery 3 and again at delivery 6 rewards staying. StackBack can raise the discount by delivery number.

Keep it to two or three steps. A shopper should understand the whole ladder at a glance.

Gifts on a Later Delivery vs More Percentage Off

A percentage discount is paid on every delivery, including the first delivery of subscribers who leave straight after. A gift on a later delivery is paid only by subscribers who stay that long.

Compare two offers on a ₹1,000 plan over six deliveries:

• 10% off every delivery: ₹100 × 6 = ₹600 given away.
• 5% off plus two gifts: ₹50 × 6 = ₹300, plus a ₹120 sample at delivery 2 and a ₹180 accessory at delivery 6. Also ₹600.

For a subscriber who stays all six deliveries, the cost is the same. A subscriber who leaves after delivery 1 costs you ₹100 on the first offer, and ₹50 on the second. And the gifts give everyone a reason to reach delivery 2 and delivery 6.

Gifts that work:

• A sample of a product they haven't tried, so the gift doubles as a cross-sell.
• Something that makes the product better: a shaker, a scoop, a coffee filter or a storage tin.
• A surprise announced in advance: "Something special in your 6th box."

Show the gifts on the product page before people subscribe. That's when they persuade.

GST treats free goods in its own way. CBIC's Circular No. 92/11/2019-GST (7 March 2019) says input tax credit isn't available on goods given away free. A "buy one, get one free" offer, by contrast, counts as two goods sold for one price. Ask your CA how to bill a gift in a subscription.

A Worked Margin Example in ₹

Sample numbers for a product sold at ₹1,000 a delivery, before GST:

• Product cost: ₹300
• Pick, pack and ship: ₹100
• Payment fees: 3% of the amount charged

A one-time order leaves ₹570 (₹1,000 − ₹300 − ₹100 − ₹30). Say a typical one-time buyer orders 1.5 times a year. That buyer leaves you ₹855 over 12 months.

What it tells you:

• Every step deeper needs more deliveries. At 35% off, a subscriber must take four deliveries just to match a one-time buyer.
• Product cost sets the floor. At a ₹500 product cost, 35% off leaves about ₹30 a delivery. That discount can't pay for itself.
• Prepaid changes the timing. A 3-delivery prepaid plan at 20% off collects ₹2,400 on day one and leaves ₹1,128 across the three deliveries. That's more than the one-time buyer's whole year, banked upfront.
• CAC changes the bar. If a subscriber costs ₹500 to win, the 20% plan pays that back at delivery 2 (₹752).

Run the same table with your own costs before you set any discount. Then check it against real subscriber retention after three deliveries, using a cohort table.

Protect Your Margin

• Raise the order value. Bundles and build-your-own boxes on subscription lift AOV, so the discount comes off a bigger basket. The Stack's AOV rose 26%.
• Keep sitewide codes off subscription prices. Decide upfront whether discount codes can stack on a subscription. Usually they shouldn't.
• Sell inside the subscription. Products added to an upcoming delivery ship in the same box, at no extra shipping cost to you.
• Make free shipping part of the offer, if your box can carry it. It's a known cost, and shoppers value it.
• Test, then settle. Run one discount long enough to read a cohort, then change one thing at a time.
• Tell subscribers before any price change. Never change a subscription price silently.

Festive Pricing Without Training Customers to Wait

Festivals bring sales, and a sale can teach subscribers to wait for the next one. Keep the two apart.

• Put the festive saving on bundles and gift boxes, not on a deeper subscription discount. Combos, hampers and buy X get Y carry it well.
• Look after subscribers first. A festive gift in their next box, or early access to a limited drop, says thank you without cutting the price.
• Lock the festive price for new subscribers. Someone who subscribes during the festival keeps that price for their next few deliveries. A one-off festive buyer becomes deliveries in November and December.
• Make every countdown real. False urgency and drip pricing are two of the 13 dark patterns the CCPA banned in 2023. Show the full price upfront, and end the offer when you said you would.
• Give each festive offer its own landing page, so ads and WhatsApp messages land on the offer, not your home page.

How StackBack Handles This

On StackBack, each model carries its own discount, on single products, bundles and build-your-own boxes. Prepaid, pay-as-you-go and AutoPay on UPI and cards sit side by side on the product page. You can add gifts on chosen deliveries, such as a sample on the 2nd and a gift on the 7th. Every subscription, bundle and festive offer gets a one-click landing page.

Pricing is where our team starts with brands in the Ignition Program. In weeks 1–4, we test how much to give on each model, so every plan pays for itself. Our team sets up your plans and takes you live in 2 days. See pricing and the Ignition Program.

Sources: CBIC, Circular No. 92/11/2019-GST on sales promotion schemes, 7 Mar 2019 · PIB, CCPA issues Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, 8 Dec 2023 · Unicommerce, India D2C Report, April 2026 (cited by name)