Products change. You rebrand, swap SKUs, discontinue a flavor, or replace a seasonal item with a new version. Product substitutions let you tell Easy Reorder: "When a customer would have been reminded about Product A, show them Product B instead."
This works in both reminder emails and on the reorder page.
🛠️ How to set up a substitution
In Easy Reorder, click Products in the sidebar
Tick the checkbox next to the original product (the one being replaced). Substitutions are set one product at a time
In the bar that appears, click Substitute product
In the Set product substitution window, search under REPLACE WITH (type at least 2 letters) and pick the replacement product
Click Save substitution
That's it. From now on:
Customers who previously bought the original product will see the replacement on their reorder page
Reminder emails will show the replacement product instead of the discontinued one
The substitution also appears under the original product's name on the Products page, with change and remove links.
💡 When to use substitutions
🔄 Rebrand: you renamed a product but it's essentially the same
📦 SKU change: the new SKU replaces the old one
🍂 Seasonal swap: you only sell the winter version of a product right now
🛑 Discontinued: you've stopped selling the original (archive it, don't delete it) and have a replacement
🆕 New version: a v2 product replaces the v1
✨ Example
You used to sell "Vanilla Protein 16oz" but now you sell "Vanilla Protein 20oz" (with a different SKU). Without a substitution, anyone who bought the old version would see a product they can't buy on their reorder page, or get a reminder for it.
With a substitution mapped, those customers instead see the new 20oz version, and the reorder flow just works.
⚠️ Important notes
Pick an active product as the replacement. Archived and draft products don't show on your customers' reorder page, and the window warns you if you pick one
Only one substitution per original product. If a product has been replaced multiple times, point all the old products to the current one
Substitutions apply to all customers. There's no per-customer override
Archive the original product, don't delete it. Once a product is deleted in Shopify, the substitution can't show on the reorder page
In "Your previous order", the replacement starts on its first variant. Customers can pick another option before adding it to the cart
If the customer is already on a subscription for the replacement product, they won't get a reminder for it. Subscriptions always win
🔍 How to remove a substitution
If you want to remove a substitution (e.g., the original product is back in stock):
Find the original product on the Products page
Click remove under its name (or change to pick a different replacement)
The original product will start appearing in reminders and on the reorder page again.
💡 Pro Tip
Set up substitutions before discontinuing a product. If you wait until the old product is gone, you'll have a window where customers see broken reorder links. Map the substitution first, then archive the original.
Still have questions? Get in touch and we'll help.