Article · Pet food

How does a pet food store handle failed subscription payments on Shopify?

By Super Simple Co · Updated 2026-10-30

A pet food store handles failed payments under Settings > Dunning: set Number of billing attempts to 3 and Time to wait between billing attempts to 5 days, so retries spread over about 10 days, then choose what happens after the last one in When all payment attempts fail. Each failed attempt emails the customer a renewal failed message, and the final status is Failed by default, or Paused if you prefer to keep the subscription.

Who this is for: For pet food and other repeat-delivery stores that want failed card payments retried and recovered, with the right emails.

What the app does by default

When a renewal cannot be charged, no order is created and the subscription shows a red Billing error banner. The app then retries on its own. By default that is 3 attempts, 1 day apart, and the subscription is marked Failed if the last one also fails. A pet owner whose bag of food is due in a week needs longer than 3 days to sort out an expired card, so a longer gap is worth considering.

Set a 3 retry, 10 day schedule

Open Supr Bundle & Subscription App > Settings > Dunning and find the Failing payments card.
Set Number of billing attempts to 3 attempts.
Set Time to wait between billing attempts to 5 days. The choices run from 1 hour to 2 weeks.
Under When all payment attempts fail, choose the final status (see the table below).
Leave Charge again when the payment method is updated on. It is on by default.
Click Save.

The help center says retries are spaced by your chosen wait, but does not state whether the first charge counts as one of the attempts. Place a failing test renewal and read the subscription's Timeline, which logs every attempt, to see your real dates before you tell customers.

What happens after the last retry

There is no automatic cancel option here. Retries stop as soon as a payment succeeds.

Setting	Result	Use it when
Fail subscription contract (default)	Marked Failed, stops renewing until you click Activate subscription	A failed card means the customer has gone
Pause subscription contract	Marked Paused, can be resumed with Activate subscription	You want to keep the subscription and win it back
Attempt again at next renewal date	This cycle is skipped, the subscription stays active	Your delivery gap is long and one missed bag is acceptable

The emails the customer gets

Edit, reword or turn off any of them under Settings > Notifications. Say what the dog or cat will miss in your own words, and keep the update link in the first line.

After each failed attempt that will be retried: one email to the customer and one staff notification to you.
If the customer can fix it (an expired card, insufficient funds, a declined card), they get Subscription renewal failed (customer issue) with the subject "Action Required: Issue renewing your subscription", and a link to update their payment method.
Any other error sends Subscription renewal failed (merchant issue).
When all attempts fail: Subscription failed, Subscription paused, or Next billing date changed, depending on your setting. You also get the staff Failed subscription email.

Getting the customer's card fixed

On the subscription, click Update payment method. You can pick another saved card, or click Send email so Shopify sends the customer a secure link. You cannot type card details for them.
With Charge again when the payment method is updated on, the renewal is charged as soon as the card changes, including subscriptions already marked Failed. Paused ones are left alone.
Otherwise click Renew immediately on an active subscription, or Activate subscription on a failed or paused one.

Do not press Renew immediately on a card the bank keeps refusing. Each refused attempt sends the customer another failure email.

Catch problems before they happen

On the Subscriptions list, filter Payment method status by Expires soon and message those customers before the next bag ships. Filter Last payment error to see which failures are card problems, and use the Has failed subscription customer tag to reach affected customers across the store. A stock problem is handled separately, by your Out of stock settings.

Questions

Can I retry more than 3 times?

Yes. Number of billing attempts goes from 1 to 10, and the wait between attempts from 1 hour to 2 weeks.

Does every retry email the customer?

Yes, each failed attempt that will be retried sends a renewal failed email, unless you turn that email off under Settings > Notifications.

Should I fail or pause after the last retry?

Pause keeps the subscription so it can be resumed with Activate subscription. Fail stops it. Choose pause if you want to win customers back.

Do I have to wait for the next retry after the customer updates the card?

No. With Charge again when the payment method is updated on, the renewal is charged as soon as the card changes.

Every setting is covered in the help center: Dunning Settings.

Choosing an app for a supplement store? See the best Shopify subscription app for a supplement store.

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