What Auto Product Swap does
Auto Product Swap is a no-code flow builder inside Subi that automatically replaces a product in a subscriber’s contract with a different product, based on rules you define. It runs every time a subscription order is created — including the first checkout order and every successful renewal — so you can move customers from a starter product to a follow-up product, replace an out-of-stock item, or rotate products in a story-style subscription box without touching each subscription by hand.
Where to find it
From your Subi admin, open Retention from the left side menu. The Retention page shows your active churn and lifecycle tools — Payment recovery, Cancellation flow, Auto product swap, and Loyalty. Find the Auto product swap card and click Set up to open the flow builder.
What the flow builder looks like
When you open Auto Product Swap, you’ll see a ready-to-use template on the canvas. The template includes a Trigger (which you can’t remove), two example Conditions, and two example Actions. You can delete any node except the Trigger, add new ones from the left side menu, and edit each one to match your needs.
The Trigger: when the flow runs
The Trigger is Subscription order created. The flow runs every time a new subscription order is created for a contract — including the checkout order on day one and every recurring order after that. Clicking the Trigger node opens a details panel that explains exactly when the flow fires.
Setting up conditions
Conditions decide whether the actions should run for a given subscription. All conditions must pass for the actions to fire — they’re combined with AND. You can use a single condition or layer multiple. The builder supports two condition types:
Order number
Matches when the subscription has reached a specific order number. For example, set Order number equals 1 to run the actions on the very first order, or Order number equals 3 to run after two renewals.
Product title
Matches when the subscription contains a product whose title is in the list you provide. Use this to scope a flow to specific products. You can add multiple titles — the match succeeds if any contract line has one of them.
Setting up actions
Actions are what the flow does once all conditions pass. Actions run in the order shown on the canvas. Two action types are available:
Swap product
Replaces the source product on the contract with a target product variant you choose. Pick the product currently in the contract under Product to swap, then pick the replacement under New product. Every matching contract line is updated and the change is logged in the contract’s change history.
Send email
Sends a notification email to the subscriber so they know what changed. You write the subject and body, and Subi fills in the variables for each customer:
{{customer_first_name}}— the customer’s first name{{old_product_name}}— the product that was swapped out{{new_product_name}}— the product they’re getting now{{brand_name}}— your shop name{{manage_subscription_link}}— link to the customer’s portal{{support_email}}— your support email
Turning the flow on
While you’re configuring, the flow stays in Draft — nothing happens to real subscriptions until you turn it on. When you’re ready, click Turn on flow in the top right. The badge next to the flow name flips from Draft to Active, and Subi starts evaluating the flow on every new subscription order.
Already turned it on? The button changes to Save changes for edits and a separate Pause button appears so you can stop the flow without deleting it. Renaming or deleting the whole flow lives in More actions in the top right.
How a swap looks to your customer
If you don’t include a Send email action, the swap happens silently — the customer simply receives the new product in their next order. If you add the Send email action, they get a notification email at the moment the swap runs (which is when the next subscription order is being created). Either way, the swap is recorded on the contract’s change log inside Subi, so both you and the customer can see the history.
Common use cases
Out-of-stock substitution — when a product runs out, set up a flow that swaps it for a similar in-stock item until you replenish.
Story boxes — subscription boxes that rotate products over time. Use Order number equals 1 for the welcome box, Order number equals 2 for box two, and so on.
Starter to follow-up — start subscribers on an introductory product and automatically move them to a full-size product after the first or second order.
Discontinued products — when you retire a product, swap existing subscribers to its successor.
Next steps
Open Retention, click Set up on the Auto product swap card, and start with the included template. Change the example conditions and actions to match your products, then click Turn on flow. If anything’s unclear or you’d like help mapping a swap rule to your catalog, reply to this article or contact our support team.