What is Memberships in Okendo Loyalty?
Memberships lets you create a paid, recurring subscription tier directly within Okendo Loyalty. Customers pay a set amount on a regular billing interval (for example, monthly or annually) and in return receive exclusive member benefits, such as discounts, free shipping, or bonus points. Billing is handled by Okendo and orchestrated via Shopify payments. Okendo manages the connection between Shopify and Okendo Loyalty to ensure members receive their benefits, account access, and customer account visibility.

How is Memberships different from a standard loyalty program?
A standard Okendo Loyalty program is free to join, customers earn points, store credit, or coupons through purchases and actions, and use them for rewards. Memberships adds a paid tier on top: customers pay a recurring fee and immediately receive exclusive benefits. The two can coexist, or Memberships can be run as a standalone program.

Does Memberships replace my points-based loyalty program?
No. Memberships is a separate tier type within Okendo Loyalty. Some merchants run Memberships as their entire loyalty strategy; others run it alongside a points program. Speak with your account manager about the right setup for your store.

How is Memberships different from tools like Recharge or Skio?
Recharge and Skio are purpose-built subscription platforms primarily designed for product subscriptions and subscription boxes. Memberships in Okendo is built specifically for loyalty, it's about rewarding your best customers with exclusive access and benefits, not managing product replenishment. Because it lives inside Okendo Loyalty, member data, benefits, and customer profiles are all in one place alongside your reviews and referrals data.

Who is Memberships available to?
Memberships is currently in Early Access and is available to a limited set of eligible merchants. Contact your Okendo account manager to find out if your store qualifies.

Do I need Okendo Loyalty to use Memberships?
Yes. Memberships is a feature within Okendo Loyalty and requires Loyalty to be active on your store.

What Shopify plan do I need?
Merchants are encouraged to be on Shopify Plus to make the most of the customer account extensions, but it is not a hard requirement.

Can I run Memberships and a points-based loyalty program at the same time?
Yes. Speak with your account manager about the right configuration for your store.

What do I need to set up before creating a membership tier in Okendo?
Before creating a membership tier, you will need to:

For a full walkthrough, see our setup guide.

What Shopify extensions do I need to add to my storefront?
We recommend adding three Shopify theme extensions:

Can I offer more than one membership tier?
Yes, you can create multiple membership tiers. However, in Early Access we recommend starting with a single tier to keep things simple. If a customer wants to switch between tiers, they will need to cancel their existing membership and purchase the new one, as each tier is a separate subscription contract. If multi-tier support is something you need, speak with your account manager.

Can I offer different billing intervals:for example, monthly and annual?
Yes. You can create multiple Subscription Plans within a single Membership tier in Okendo, each with its own billing interval and price. This lets you offer both monthly and annual options for the same membership.

How long does setup typically take?
Most merchants can complete the full setup: Shopify product, subscription plans, Okendo tier, and storefront extensions, within a few hours. From setup to first enrolled member, the typical target is within one week, depending on your marketing activity.

How does billing work?
Billing is managed by Okendo and handled entirely via Shopify's payment system. When a customer purchases the membership product, Shopify creates a subscription contract and charges the customer on the interval you have set (for example, every month). Okendo reads the subscription status from Shopify to determine whether a customer is an active member and awards their loyalty benefits accordingly.

What happens if a customer's payment fails?
Okendo manages payment failure and dunning (retry logic) automatically, and depending on the error type (e.g. Insufficient Funds) will try to recharge the customer 3 times. If the customer is needed to take action, such as updating payment details, you can use Okendo's Membership Emails for "Billing Failed (Action Required)" or the associated ESP event. The customer is then prompted to update their payment method via Shopify and the billing will be re-attempted on successful completion. Okendo follows the subscription status, if the subscription lapses, the customer's membership status in Okendo will reflect that and their member benefits will no longer apply.

Can customers update their payment method?
Yes. Customers can update their payment method through the Customer Account Membership Status block on their account page, or via the link provided in Shopify's payment failure notification. Shopify handles all payment method updates.

Can I offer a free trial period on my Membership?
Free trials are not currently supported in Early Access. Please reach out to your Okendo account manager if this is something you need.

Can I offer a discounted first billing period: for example, first month free or 50% off?
Introductory pricing is not currently available as an automated feature in Early Access. Please reach out to your Okendo account manager if this is of interest to you.

What benefits can I offer members?
You can configure a wide range of benefits, including existing Okendo Loyalty earn rules such as points, store credit, cashback, and coupons. You can also offer custom perks configured outside of Okendo, such as free shipping, store-wide discounts, early access, or priority customer support.

Are member benefits applied automatically?
Yes, for earn rules configured within Okendo. Once a customer is enrolled as an active member, their Okendo benefits are applied automatically. For custom perks configured outside of Okendo — for example, free shipping applied via a metafield — the benefit applies based on how you have set it up in Shopify or your supporting apps.

How do customers join the membership?
The primary entry point is the Checkout Membership Upsell block, which prompts non-members to join at checkout. Customers can also purchase the membership product directly from your Loyalty Landing Page or any other location where you choose to feature it.

Do customers need an Okendo Loyalty account to become a member?
Yes. On purchase of a membership, customers are automatically enrolled into your Okendo Loyalty program.

Where do customers see their membership status?
Customers can view their membership status, billing information, tier details, and subscription management options in the Customer Account Membership Status block on their Shopify customer account page.

Can customers pause their membership instead of cancelling?
Pause functionality is not currently supported in Early Access.

How do customers cancel their membership?

Customers can cancel through the Customer Account Membership Status block on their account page. This gives them a clear, self-serve path to manage or cancel their subscription at any time.

Can I cancel a customer's membership on their behalf?

Yes. You or your support team can cancel a membership directly in Okendo:

This is useful when a customer contacts your support team to cancel, so you can resolve the request in one step. The customer receives your Membership Cancelled email, and the matching event is sent to your ESP, so they're notified automatically.

What happens to member benefits when a membership is cancelled?

Whether the customer cancels or you cancel on their behalf, they keep their membership benefits until the end of their current billing period and are not charged again. Okendo does not issue a refund or proration for the remaining period.

Which tier does a customer move to after their membership ends?

At the end of the billing period, Okendo places the customer in the Earn Tier their spend qualifies for. If they don't qualify for an Earn Tier, they move to your Base Tier.

Can I move a member to a different tier instead of cancelling?

Yes. You can manually change a customer's tier from the same Loyalty section of their customer profile. This lets you offer an alternative before cancelling.

Can a cancelled member re-subscribe?

Yes. A customer who has previously cancelled can purchase the membership product again to re-subscribe. Their membership tier in Okendo will be reactivated once the new subscription is confirmed by Shopify.

Are there legal requirements I need to be aware of when running a paid membership?
Yes, particularly if you sell to customers in the United States or California. US federal law (FTC Click-to-Cancel rule) and California's Automatic Renewal Law (ARL) require that customers can cancel a subscription as easily as they signed up, and that membership acceptance and decline options are presented with equal visual weight. You are responsible for ensuring your store's membership setup meets these requirements.

Do I need to show a "No Thanks" option at checkout alongside "Add Membership"?
If you sell to US customers, particularly those in California, yes. Under the FTC Click-to-Cancel rule and California's ARL, you must give equal visual weight to both the option to accept and the option to decline a subscription offer. Neither "Add Membership" nor "No Thanks" can be styled to appear more prominent than the other. The Okendo Checkout Upsell block is built to meet this requirement automatically.

Is providing a cancellation mechanism a legal requirement?
Yes, for merchants selling to US customers. The FTC Click-to-Cancel rule requires that customers can cancel a subscription through the same medium they used to sign up. Because customers sign up online, they must be able to cancel online too. This is why we strongly recommend adding the Customer Account Membership Status block — it gives customers a clear, self-serve path to cancel and helps you stay compliant while also reducing support requests.

What is a Subscription Plan?
A Subscription Plan is the Okendo term for a recurring billing configuration. It defines how often a customer is charged (the billing interval, for example, monthly or annually) and at what price. You set these up when configuring a Membership tier in Okendo.

What is a Billing Interval?
The billing interval is the unit of time that determines how often a customer is charged, for example, every month, every 3 months, or every year. You set the billing interval when creating a Subscription Plan in Okendo.

What is a Subscription Contract?
A subscription contract is the Shopify record created when a customer purchases a membership. It tracks their billing history, next billing date, payment method, and current status (active, cancelled, etc.). Okendo reads this contract to confirm whether a customer is an active member and to apply their benefits accordingly.

What is the Customer Account Membership Status block?
This is an Okendo-built extension that appears on your customer's Shopify account page. It shows their current membership status, renewal date, and lets them update their payment method or cancel their subscription. We strongly recommend adding this block, it is the primary self-serve tool for customers to manage their membership.

What is the Checkout Membership Upsell block?
This is an Okendo-built extension that appears during checkout. It offers non-members the option to join your membership program as part of their purchase, without leaving the checkout flow. It is the primary way customers discover and sign up for your membership.