Arctic Bioscience has multiplied its conversion rate with
a smoother
subscription solution

A smooth subscription experience is a must in B2C

Arctic Bioscience has a strong product range in marine supplements. The company offers its different Omega-3 products under the Romega brand as subscriptions, but also sells them as one-off purchases if customers prefer. Even though the products are high quality, it has been a challenge to get customers onto recurring subscriptions and direct debit. The main reason was that the previous e-commerce solution did not support the subscription model well enough. Steffen Eidal, Commercial Director B2C at Arctic Bioscience, describes the situation like this:

”The challenge was that we were running a CMS on the solution we used for our B2C initiative, but it became too limited. The next solution, in turn, had no subscription functionality. We added it as an add-on, but that add-on required BankID and didn’t support direct card payments. The process of starting a subscription became too complicated for customers, and that resulted in a conversion rate that was far too low. We needed a simpler process and better conversion. That’s why we chose to implement Viskan, because subscriptions are one of their strengths.”

Faster, simpler conversion through a form

In September 2022, Arctic Bioscience switched its e-commerce solution to the Viskan E-commerce Platform. The customer journey now runs through Viskan Subscription, a service that lets the customer easily create landing pages for its products and makes it easy for customers to sign up for a subscription. Making it simple for customers to sign up for a subscription contributes to a fast and easy purchase. The landing pages are preconfigured in Viskan Backoffice and submitted to the service together with customer information to create a purchase. The order is received, checked and a payment basis is created once everything is approved. The entire process is automated and creates a much simpler flow both for the customer and for Arctic Bioscience.

”Now the customer just fills in a form on a landing page. The most important requirement for us when we changed systems was that it actually works. The solution needed to be smartly built to handle orders and subscriptions. It had to be easy to tie everything to the subscription itself and simple to measure things like balance and outcomes. The single most important specific requirement, though, was faster and simpler conversion. With Viskan’s solution making the subscription process easier, we can see that we’ve significantly increased digital conversion. We’re talking about roughly ten times more conversions now that it’s become easier for the customer.” says Steffen.

Why e-commerce understanding matters

For Steffen, who has long experience in subscription commerce, a strong conversion rate is not the only thing that matters. As a customer, he wants to work with a partner that understands the challenges in e-commerce, and specifically in subscriptions. That’s something he believes he gets from Viskan.

”For me on the customer side, it’s important to meet someone who not only knows their own system, but also understands the industry and the needs that exist in the subscription space. There are many companies in the e-commerce solutions industry that only understand their own system, but can’t connect that knowledge to the actual business of their customer. Viskan has long experience in the industry and people who genuinely understand e-commerce, its background and its challenges. They’re strong in subscriptions, but they also have a strategy for understanding their customers. It’s also a very personal company to work with. The closest you get with many of the bigger players in the industry is contact by email, but with Viskan it’s easy to get more personal contact and explain your actual needs.”

Today, Arctic Bioscience has a simpler subscription process for its direct-to-consumer sales. It’s an initiative that has quickly delivered results in B2C sales. Overall, B2C accounted for 13% of Arctic Bioscience’s total revenue in 2023, and also showed very positive momentum with annual revenue growth of 22%. Arctic Bioscience’s strong growth led the Norwegian newspaper Finansavisen to call the company “One of the best buys on the stock market”. With high-quality products and a smooth subscription solution that supports their sale, the business is well positioned to keep growing.