Memberships in Okendo Loyalty lets you offer a paid, recurring subscription tier that unlocks exclusive benefits for your most valuable customers. Powered by Shopify's Recurring Billing, it handles billing automatically so you can focus on delivering a great member experience.
❗ Memberships is currently available in Early Access for eligible merchants. Contact your Okendo account manager to find out if your store qualifies.
In this article, you will learn about;
Before you begin
Before setting up a Membership program, make sure you have:
Okendo Loyalty enabled on your store. Memberships is an add-on feature within Okendo Loyalty and requires Loyalty to be active.
Access to your Shopify theme editor to add the required storefront extensions.
Step 1: Create the membership product in Shopify
The first step is to create a product in Shopify that represents the membership your customers will purchase.
In your Shopify Admin, go to Products > Add product.
Give the product a clear name, for example, "Gold Membership" or "Store Membership".
Note: The name of the product will be the name of your membership tier.
Set the product status to Active. Most merchants link to the membership product from a dedicated landing page rather than including it in a main collection.
Un-tick Shipping and Inventory as this is not a physical product, and has an infinite supply.
Save the product.
💡 You do not need to set a price directly on the product, the price will be defined in the subscription plan you create in the next step.
Step 2: Create a membership tier in Okendo Loyalty
With your Membership product in place, you can now create the corresponding membership tier in Okendo.
In your Okendo admin, go to Loyalty > Loyalty Rules > Tiers.
Click the + button under Membership Tiers to Create a Membership tier.
Select the Product we just setup in Shopify as your Membership Tier Product. This is what we'll tie the selling plans to.
Note: The name for the tier will be inherited from the Product.
Under Subscription Plans, press the + button to add a new plan. Each plan can be configured for a Billing Interval and Subscription Price.
The Interval can be set to: Day, Week, Month, Year
The Price's currency will default to the store's set currency.
If you'd like to offer multiple time periods for your Membership, such as Monthly and Yearly, this is where you would create two Subscription plans for each Billing Interval.
Configuration of earn rules can be done in the earn rules section. In which you can offer points, store credit, cashback, coupons.
If you would like to offer other benefits that might be set up outside of Okendo, such as free shipping, store wide discounts, priority customer service and/or early access, we recommend listing these as a custom perk and then configuring them accordingly in Shopify or a supporting app.
Optionally: You'll see the toggle for "Tier Available to Sell". This toggle determines whether the tier is visible on all storefront loyalty surfaces such as the Loyalty Landing Page, Floating Widget, Customer Account, etc.
Note: If you have paying customers on a tier, disabling the Tier Available to Sell will hide the tier for new customers wanting to purchase it, but existing customers will still be able to see their rewards and membership information.
Once you're happy with the billing configuration for the tier, save the tier.
💡 You can add multiple benefits to a single tier. Focus on perks that are genuinely valuable to your highest-spending customers.
Step 3: Customise your Loyalty Landing Page
Read our guide on setting up and configuring your Loyalty Landing Page for a more indepth guide. Here are some examples of how the Membership modules will display on different surfaces on the Loyalty Landing Page.
Tier Table
An example of the default template using a Tier table with an Earn Tier (Free Tier) and a Membership Tier. The benefits are listed along side each other, with the Memberships Tier featuring a CTA to allow the shopper to add to cart.
Membership Perks Module
An example of the default template using the Memberships perks module. This module lists all perks for the selected Membership Tier and has the optional choice to display a CTA to add to cart if the merchant wishes.
Step 4: Add the membership storefront extensions
We recommend adding three Shopify Theme extensions to give customers visibility into their membership and the ability to manage their subscription. These are all built natively into the Shopify Customer Accounts and Checkout extensions, and do not require any third-party customer portals.
Add the Checkout Membership Upsell block
This block prompts non-members to join your membership program at checkout.
In your Shopify Admin, go to Online Store > Themes and click Customize on your active theme.
Navigate to the Checkout section in the theme editor.
Click Add block and select Okendo Membership Upsell.
Click Save.
⚠️ US and California compliance: If your store sells to US customers, particularly those in California, you are required by law to give equal visual weight to both the subscription acceptance and decline options. This is done automatically via the Okendo extension. Displaying them unequally may breach California's Automatic Renewal Law or FTC regulations on negative option marketing.
Add the Shopify Thank You page Manage Subscription block
This block lets members manage their subscription directly from their Shopify Customer Account.
Still in the theme editor, navigate to the Thank you (order confirmation) page.
Click Add block and select Okendo Manage Subscription.
Position the block where you would like it to appear on the page.
Click Save.
Add the Shopify Customer Account Membership Status block
This block shows customers their current membership status, billing information and tier details in their account. It also allows them to update their payment method, cancel their subscription and review their order history.
In the theme editor, navigate to the Customer account (Profile or Orders) pages.
Click Add block and select Okendo Membership Status.
Position the block within the customer account layout.
Click Save.
⚠️ We strongly recommend including this block for all merchants selling memberships. This is the primary way a shopper can cancel or update payment methods for their membership.
For those selling in the US, the US federal law (FTC Click-to-Cancel) and California's Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) require that customers can cancel a subscription as easily as they signed up. The Membership Status block gives your shoppers a clear, self-serve way to manage or cancel their membership, helping you stay compliant and reducing support burden at the same time.
FAQs
What happens when a customer cancels their membership?
When a customer cancels, they keep access to their membership benefits until the end of their current billing period. Their membership is not cut off immediately. Okendo handles the cancellation and no further charges are made after the period ends.
Can customers update their payment method?
Yes. Shopify manages payment method updates as part of its subscription dunning process. Customers receive payment failure notifications from Shopify and can update their card details from their account or via a Shopify-managed link.
Can I offer more than one membership tier?
Yes, you can offer multiple membership tiers if you so wish. However please note in early access we recommend running a single membership tier to maximise the value proposition with your shoppers. Speak with your Okendo account manager if you need multi-tier support.
Do customers need an Okendo Loyalty account to access member benefits?
Yes. On purchase of a Membership, your customers will be enrolled into the Okendo Loyalty program to receive their benefits.
Where do customers manage their membership?
Customers can manage their subscription, including cancellation, from the Membership Status block on their customer account page, and review their benefits/perks within the Loyalty Landing Page.