Online retailers could be losing customers due to poor payment infrastructures, with failed subscription charges pushing consumers towards cancellations, new analysis by global payments platform, Ecommpay, suggests.

Data in its new report, Four Pillars of Subscription Growth, shows that across recurring payment formats, 7% of charges fail on the first attempt, adding friction to the membership process and overall customer experience.

It also showed that subscription cancellations from failed payments can cost online retailers an estimated 9% of their revenues, suggesting friction within the payments layer could be undermining brand’s retention strategies and causing lost loyalty.

“Subscription businesses have spent years chasing acquisition, but many are failing to plug the quiet leak of failed payments,” explained Roy Blokker, Head of Strategic Sales at Ecommpay. “Many do not cancel because the product disappoints them – sometimes they leave because the payment layer gives them a reason to reconsider.”

“The next subscription growth advantage won’t come from another discount or win-back campaign. It will come from payment infrastructure that keeps customers connected when billing fails in the background. We call this invisible retention,” Blokker added.

Invisible retention ensures customers who intend to stay are not lost to avoidable payment failures, such as expired card details, temporary funding shortfalls or network timeouts.