Handling SKU swap and gifting with Workflows

SKU swap and free gift with Workflows allows merchants to seamlessly swap products and add a free gift without using a third party integration or a complex legacy workflow configuration. This guide covers how each automation works, limitations, and common questions. 

Before you start

• The trigger product refers to the initial product that initiates a workflow.
  • Avoid using the trigger product in multiple workflows. This can cause errors in the workflow. 
• The customer’s subscription history will display the workflow name anytime the trigger product is purchased by the customer.
• One-off SKU swap is compatible with prepaid products and will swap to the next full charge order.
• Only active listed products will display in the workflow and you must search products using the product variant title. 

One-off SKU swap

One-off SKU swaps can be used on checkout or a specific recurring order with stores who sell a primary product variant which swaps to another variant. To automatically trigger a product swap when a customer purchased a specific subscription product previously, you needed to integrate with a third party integration or manually set up a workflow.

To set up your one-off workflow: 

1. Locate the Workflows by Recharge integration by navigating to Apps then selecting Installed.
2. Scroll down to the One-Off SKU Swap section on your Workflows page and select View to start your configuration.
   
3. Name the workflow and add an optional description.
4. Search and select the initial product variant as the trigger of the workflow. This product will trigger the SKU swap to the next product selected.
   
5. Select the product variant the initial product will be swapped to. Once you select this product variant, you can optionally set the recurring price of the swapped product with the default price, custom price, or don't change options.
   
6. Click Confirm Selection and Save the workflow.
7. Return to the Workflows page and enable your new workflow.

Limitations

There are some limitations to consider: 

• Charge_interval cannot be changed from the initial products interval.

• Customizable bundles are currently unsupported but preset bundles will work as expected.

Monthly SKU swap

The monthly SKU swap is best utilized for stores who sell a monthly, curated subscription experience that rotates through new products every month. This workflow will be initiated by the selected trigger product, swapping to the next month's product monthly. Any product that is swapped in the new monthly SKU swap workflow template must have a subscription frequency of 1 month. 

For example, if a customer bought the trigger product today, after a month the initial product would swap to the next months chosen product. 

To set up your monthly SKU swap: 

1. Locate the Workflows by Recharge integration by navigating to Apps then selecting Installed.
2. Scroll down to the Monthly SKU Swap section on your Workflows page and select View to start your configuration.
3. Name the workflow and add an optional description.
4. Search and select the initial product variant as the trigger of the workflow.
    
5. Search and select products to be assigned for the following months. Optionally, update the product price for each product. 
   
6. Click Confirm Selection and Save the workflow.
7. Return to the Workflows page and enable your new workflow.

Order sequence SKU swap

Use the order sequence SKU swap to configure a string of product swaps across multiple orders for your customers. This automation is perfect for curating a subscription experience with various products such as various coffee blends, t-shirts, or consumables with different flavors. This can easily be configured for a quarterly subscription experience.

To set up your order sequence SKU swap: 

1. Locate the Workflows by Recharge integration by navigating to Apps then selecting Installed.
2. Scroll down to the Order Sequence SKU Swap section on your Workflows page and select View to start your configuration.
3. Name the workflow and add an optional description.
4. Search and select the initial product variant as the trigger of the workflow.
    
5. Choose the order number for the swap to occur, then select Swap to new product.
   
6. Search for and select a product or gift the initial product will be swapped to. Once you select the product variant, optionally set the recurring price of the swapped product with the default price, custom price, or don't change options.
   
7. Optionally, select And... to add additional order sequence swaps. 
   

Order sequence SKU swap with gifting

This template allows you to pre-select a product to add as a free gift to a specific order number. Customers can receive one gift per order as a one-time product and this product does not need to be added to Recharge prior to being added as a gift.

To add a free gift: 

1. Locate the Workflows by Recharge integration by navigating to Apps and then selecting Installed.
2. Scroll down to the Order Sequence Gift section on your Workflows page and select View to start your configuration.
   
3. Name the workflow and add an optional description.
4. Search and select the initial product variant as the trigger of the workflow by clicking Search product variants.
   
5. Choose the order number to add a free gift to, and ensure Include gift with order is the specified order action. Note that order number 1 will target the customer's first recurring order after initial checkout.
    
6. Specify the gift product your customer will receive during this order by clicking Search product variants. 
   

Limitations

There are some limitations to consider: 

• Prepaid subscriptions are currently not compatible.

Operational analytics

Operational analytics provides key analytics that help you understand the data behind your workflows. Get insight for how much a workflow is used, which products trigger the workflows, and event outputs from orders.

To access your data: 

1. Navigate to the Apps tab from the merchant portal and select Workflows by Recharge listed under the Installed page.
2. Select an enabled workflow.
3. Click the bar chart to see your analytics.