Cancel Flow Showdown: Hims vs Happy Head
A real head-to-head match up
The battle to keep the hair on your head is real!
But this article isn't about that battle - it's about the epic battle between two popular men's health brands - Hims and Happy Head.
I've tried both brands as a way to maintain my own illustrious plumage, and today I'm here to bring you my feedback on their cancellation experiences.
Which of these men's health brands has the best cancel experience?
Hims: It's almost like they make it too easy
From a customer’s perspective, the Hims cancel flow experience was a breeze. They have adopted many pro-customer UI elements that should be applauded:
- It’s easy to find the cancel link:
Upon login, a click on “subscriptions” in the customer menu takes the consumer straight to a page with a clear “cancel subscription” link. They do not hide the cancel button or attempt to frustrate the consumer into abandoning their cancellation.
This is a best practice! Brightback's own research shows that customers are more likely to recommend a company with an easy cancel experience.
The best way to save customers is with offers in the cancel flow, not by making it hard to cancel!
- The Cancel Flow Only Takes 1 "Confirmation" Click:
At this point, the user clicks and they have cancelled the subscription. All the other steps of the cancel flow are optional. Hims makes it extremely easy to cancel their product
As a customer, this is great - they are getting me to cancellation quickly and easily! However, as a growth person, I view this as a missed opportunity. Showing an offer at cancellation can double or triple your save and deflection rates!
Hims is missing an opportunity here to keep customers with basic offers such as pause, skip, or cancel.
- Hims asks for feedback with a 2-question survey
These types of surveys provide valuable information that will help product and growth team improve their product and marketing. At the same time, the survey is short enough that customers will likely provide feedback without too much frustration.
- Hims makes reactivation easy with action items
After you cancel, the website reminds you to reativate with "action items" that allow for easy reordering. This type of simple UX treatment will increase the number of customers who decide to return to subscription. It's also useful for the user - allowing for reactivation in a single click saves time shopping for that next product.
Happy Head: A bad taste for the departing customer
Happy head is very nearly the polar opposite of hims. In fact, their cancel experience is difficult enough that it requires leaving their website to complete cancellation. Upon login, the customer sees a statement, in small lettering instructing them to email or call to cancel!
I personally sent an email to help@happyhead.com to cancel my subscription, and it took over 24 hours to receive a reply:
What's wrong with this approach?
Really two things - it's a poor Customer Experience (CX) and it's likely not legal in some states (CA & NY).
Customers who buy subscriptions online prefer to cancel them online as well. By making the customer send you an email, you are forcing them to cancel through a channel that is different than what they prefer. In fact, the Brightback 2021 State of Industry report found that 80% of customers prefer to were more likely to purchase from companies that made it easy to cancel.
Happy Head is really playing with fire with this cancellation experience.
Not only is it likely to anger/frustrate customers, but it’s also likely a violation of NY State and California laws regulating subscription businesses who sell online! Guy does a really good job explaining these laws -- read our blog post about California or New York State.
Two players, one clear winner - Hims
Although Hims cancel flow could be improved by consumer-friendly offers presented in the cancellation flow, it is clearly the superior flow for the consumer. It’s straightforward, gathers information that can be used for targeting reengagement emails/content, and is likely to leave the customer happy with their overall experience.
For more tips on how to build a deflection funnel and improve your retention, see our post about deflection.
