1. What a cancellation flow is
When a subscriber clicks cancel, that click is the most honest feedback your store will ever get — and the last chance to keep the revenue. A cancellation flow intercepts the moment: it asks why they're leaving, then counters with the offer most likely to change their mind. A price objection gets a discount. "I have more than I need" gets a delay, not a discount you never needed to give.
Every attempt is recorded with its reason and outcome, saved or not — which makes even the cancellations you lose the most useful churn data you collect all week.
2. How the flow works for subscribers
1 In the customer portal, the subscriber expands Cancel under a subscription.
2 They're asked to pick a reason — the reasons you configured.
3 Sublyra shows the save offer mapped to that reason, with your exact message.
4 Accept the offer and the subscription stays active with the offer applied — a discount attaches to upcoming orders, a delay or pause moves the next billing date. Decline and the cancellation completes normally.
5 Either way, the attempt is logged with the reason and whether it was saved. Nothing falls through the cracks.
3. Set up your reasons and offers
Go to Retention → Cancellation flow. The stats hero at the top shows cancel attempts, saves and save rate across the whole flow; below it is the builder, one card per cancel reason.
1 Edit the If the subscriber says field to match how your customers actually talk (up to 120 characters).
2 Under Respond with, click the offer type — the cards update instantly so the type-specific fields appear without saving first.
3 Fill in the offer's numbers (discount size, delay days) where the type asks for them.
4 Write the Message shown to the subscriber — this is the exact copy they read in the flow (up to 240 characters).
5 Click Save cancellation flow. Changes apply to the next cancel attempt immediately.
The defaults you'll start with
| Reason | Default counter-offer |
|---|---|
| "It's too expensive" | 20% off the next 2 orders |
| "I already have more than I need" | Delay the next order by 30 days |
| "I no longer use this product" | Offer a product swap |
| "I want to try something different" | Offer a product swap |
| "Quality was not what I expected" | Route to support |
4. The five offer types
| Offer type | What happens when accepted | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Offer a discount | A percentage discount attaches to the subscription for a set number of upcoming orders; the subscription stays active. | Discount 1–60%, for 1–12 orders |
| Delay the next order | The next billing date is pushed out by the number of days you set. Ideal for "I have too much product". | 1–365 days |
| Offer a product swap | The subscriber is invited to swap to something that fits better, keeping the subscription relationship alive. | Message only |
| Offer a pause | The subscription pauses for a set period instead of cancelling — the door stays open. | 1–365 days |
| Route to support | The subscriber is pointed at your support team so a human can make it right. Best for quality complaints. | Message only |
5. Writing offers that save
- Speak to the reason. The subscriber just told you what's wrong — the message should answer it in one sentence. "Here's 20% off your next 2 orders" beats any clever headline.
- Keep discounts bounded. A discount with a fixed number of orders (e.g. 20% off 2 orders) saves the relationship without resetting what the subscriber expects to pay forever.
- Use delay before discount. "More than I need" is an inventory problem, not a price problem. Pushing the next order out 30 days costs you nothing.
- Take quality issues offline. "Quality was not what I expected" deserves a person, not a coupon — route it to support and let your team make it right.
6. Measure and test
Read the results
- Retention → Cancellation flow — attempts, saves and save rate at the top of the page. The Retention hub shows the same strip across the whole retention toolkit.
- Analytics → Churn tab — cancel reasons with their deflection rate. A high save rate on a reason means your offer is working; a low one means the offer or the message needs work.
Test the flow before subscribers do
1 Open the Customer portal preview in the Sublyra admin.
2 Pick a subscriber with an active subscription using View as.
3 Expand Cancel under the subscription, pick a reason, and walk both paths — accept the offer and cancel anyway.
4 Check the result: accepting keeps the subscription active with the discount attached; declining cancels it and records the reason. Both attempts appear in the stats.
7. FAQ
Does accepting a save offer change the subscription permanently?
No. A discount applies only to the number of orders you set (1–12), then normal pricing resumes. A delay or pause moves the next billing date by the configured days — nothing else about the subscription changes.
Can a subscriber bypass the flow and just cancel?
Yes — the flow is an offer, not a wall. After seeing the save offer, "cancel anyway" completes the cancellation normally. Subscriptions must stay easy to leave; the goal is to give subscribers a reason to stay, not to trap them.
What data do I get from cancellations that aren't saved?
Every attempt is recorded with its reason and outcome. The Churn tab in Analytics aggregates reasons and deflection rates over time, so lost cancellations still tell you what to fix.
Can I add my own cancel reasons?
The flow ships with five reason cards covering the reasons subscribers give most often. Each card's reason text is fully editable, so you can rename them to match your store's voice and products.
Which plan do I need?
Starter ($29/mo) and above include cancellation flows. On Launch Free, they're a $9.99/mo add-on. Paid plans start with a 30-day free trial.
Related guides
- Smart retries & dunning — recover the revenue failed payments leave behind.
- Win-back campaigns — re-engage subscribers after they've cancelled.
- Loyalty rewards & store credit — give subscribers a reason to never reach the cancel button.
- Plans & pricing — what's included on each plan.