From Transactional to Relational: Developing Subscriptions Customers Actually Love

The opportunity isn’t in fixing what’s broken, but in designing experiences that people actually want to stay part of. That only happens when strategy and design move in sync. Strategy sets the vision; design makes it real.

Get both right, and subscriptions stop being a transaction. They become a relationship.

Here are four principles that make that happen.

1. Control Creates Confidence

Why this matters: Retention starts with reassurance. Customers renew when they feel in control.

Suzie: When someone opens their subscription dashboard, they should see clarity, not confusion - what’s next, and how to change it. Control builds trust, and trust builds loyalty.

Ganella: That means interfaces that respect real life. Big buttons, clear labels, no guesswork. A parent managing nappies at 2am or a carer checking deliveries between shifts doesn’t have time to play UI hide-and-seek. 

Case in point: For Vivactive, we ensured usability was front and centre, offering customers the ability to change delivery dates, skip the delivery entirely, “send it now” or cancel the subscription. Simple, clear and where the user expects it to be - not hidden away. Support tickets dropped, churn reduced, and customers started to treat subscriptions as something useful, not something to escape.

2. Messaging Shapes the Relationship

Why this matters: Words shape relationships. The wrong tone makes a customer feel punished; the right tone makes them feel supported.

Suzie: Language can either reinforce the relationship or reduce it to a transaction. A subscription message should sound like it’s written by a human, not a system. “Card failed” is cold. “Your subscription has been cancelled” is hostile. Neither keeps the customer. 

Ganella: Instead, use words that signal calm and partnership. An email that says “No stress - we’ll retry Thursday at 9am. Update your details here to keep this order moving” changes the dynamic. The customer feels reassured, not reprimanded.

Suzie: Relational messaging acknowledges that life happens. Cards expire, paydays shift. Subscriptions shouldn’t punish that, they should adapt to it. This isn’t soft language; it’s smart empathy. It signals reliability without losing respect.

3. Flexibility Drives Retention

Why this matters: No two lives run on the same cadence. Rigid cycles force churn; flexible ones earn loyalty. And when people's needs evolve, the best subscriptions evolve with them.

Suzie: The biggest reason people leave a subscription isn’t usually cost - it’s misfit. A one-size-fits-all cycle doesn’t reflect how households actually live, especially when you take into account most households consume at different rates. Forcing everyone into the same “monthly” box ignores reality.

Ganella: Flexibility is a design challenge too. Dropdowns from 2005 don’t cut it. Interfaces need to flex without breaking: sliders to change delivery frequency, toggles to adjust product mixes, intuitive date pickers that actually work on mobile.

Case in point: With Tommee Tippee, we allowed parents to align deliveries with their baby’s growth stages. They could build bundles that changed with them and retention grew because the subscription felt personal, not imposed.

4. Design for Calm and Clarity

Why this matters: Subscriptions succeed when customers feel safe in the routine. Predictability isn’t dull; it’s desirable.

Suzie: Subscriptions should remove anxiety, not add to it. Parents want nappies before they run out. Pet owners want food before the bag is empty. Predictability is part of the product.

Ganella: Reassurance is visual and design sets the tone. Mobile-first layouts, thumb-reachable buttons, calm colours. Every element either reinforces or undermines trust.

Case in point: For Incontinence Choice’s subscription flow, designed by parent company Vivactive, we advised on the strategic approach and handled the development. Together, we helped create confirmations and reminders that felt less like invoices and more like care notes - consistent, kind, and unambiguous. The result was a calmer, more trusted customer experience.

Why Relational Subscriptions Win

Customers no longer tolerate friction or indifference. They stay with brands that understand them and make their lives easier.

Suzie:  Loyalty doesn’t come from discounts or gimmicks. It comes from connection - a sense that this service fits seamlessly into their world. And subscription fatigue is real. Customers are ruthless about cancelling what doesn’t add value. That’s why the old playbook of discounts and free gifts doesn’t cut it.

Ganella: Empathy is what keeps them. The best subscription journeys feel intuitive, almost invisible. Every touchpoint - strategy, design, message, motion - says we’ve thought about you. That’s how transactions turn into trust, and trust into advocacy.

Suzie: At that point, subscriptions aren’t a retention tactic. They’re a loyalty engine. They create consistency for the business and confidence for the customer.

Closing Thought

Strategy without design is theory.
Design without strategy is decoration.
Subscriptions need both.

Ganella: The best subscription experiences aren’t built in silos. They’re built where strategy and design meet - engineered to be intuitive, human, and enduring.

Suzie: Subscriptions aren’t a dashboard problem. They’re a human problem. Get them right, and you don’t just extend lifetime value - you build lifetime loyalty.

Ready to turn subscriptions into loyalty engines?
We design and build subscription experiences that feel human, intuitive, and trustworthy, combining strategy and design to reduce churn and grow lifetime value. If your current setup feels more like a transaction than a relationship, it’s time to talk.

Let’s make your subscriptions service sublime.