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Glossary

Gift Subscription

Also known as: Gifted subscription, Subscription gift

A gift subscription is a subscription one person buys for another, in which the recipient receives the deliveries and the giver pays every charge.

Gift subscriptions come in two main shapes. A fixed-length gift covers a set run of deliveries, such as three, six or twelve months, and then ends on its own. It is often sold as a prepaid term paid in one charge at checkout, though some stores bill it on each delivery with a set end. A renewing gift charges the giver's card every cycle until the giver cancels. It suits a standing arrangement, such as a parent sending coffee to a student, and the giver should be told plainly at checkout that it renews and that they pay.

On Shopify, the customer who checks out owns the Subscription Contract, so the giver holds the subscription and the recipient is its shipping address. Every charge goes to the giver, and the emails about those charges normally do too. Skips, address changes and cancellation go through the giver or the merchant unless the app gives the recipient a view of their own. Shopify's documented contract edits don't include changing the customer, so a recipient who wants to continue after the gift ends starts a subscription of their own. Shopify also creates the first order at checkout, so a gift meant to arrive later needs its first shipment held and the rest of the schedule moved to match.

A gift subscription is different from a gift card and from a one-time gift box. A gift card gives the recipient a balance to spend. On Shopify it pays only the first payment of a subscription, and the recipient's own payment method covers every charge after that, so the recipient owns that subscription. A one-time gift box ships once, with no contract and no renewal. Each covers a case the others miss: a gift card still works for buyers who order after the last date for holiday delivery, and a one-time box suits a giver who wants a single present with no commitment.

Curobi includes gift subscriptions on its Business plan and up. A shopper can buy a subscription for someone else, and the recipient gets a claim page in the store's own theme.

Related terms

  • Prepaid Subscription — A prepaid subscription is a recurring plan where the customer pays upfront for a fixed number of deliveries — such as a 3-month or 6-month term billed in one charge — instead of being billed each cycle as products ship.
  • One-Time Box — A one-time box is a box sold as a single purchase rather than a recurring subscription — bought once, shipped once, with no contract and no renewal — typically used for gifting, seasonal editions, and letting a hesitant customer try the box before committing to a subscription.
  • Subscription Contract — A Subscription Contract is Shopify's native record of a recurring agreement between a store and a customer — it stores what is being sold, how often it renews, the price, and the vaulted payment method, and every renewal charge is keyed to it and its due date.
  • Selling Plan — A selling plan is Shopify's definition of how a product can be purchased on a recurring basis — the frequency, any subscription discount, and billing terms — and a selling plan group bundles related plans and attaches them to specific products, variants, or collections.

← All subscription commerce terms

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