This document contains all the information related to the final retry notification for failed subscription payments, email customization, and activation.
Note:
In Sublium subscriptions, you can set up multiple automatic payment retries up to 6 attempts in your
Payment Recovery settings.
For each retry attempt:
- All retries except the final attempt use the “Renewal Payment Failed: Retries Left” template.
- The final retry uses this (Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry) template.
Overview
“Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry” is the email notification sent automatically to customers when a subscription renewal payment fails, and this is the final retry attempt.
This notification informs the customer that no further automatic attempts will be made, and their subscription may be canceled if the payment is not resolved. It creates urgency, reduces confusion, and encourages immediate action to prevent service interruption.
Usually, the email includes
- Customer first name
- Clear message that this is the final attempt to keep the subscription active
- Subscription start date
- Subscription ID
- Payment method
- Product details (title, variation, quantity, and price)
- Subtotal, shipping, taxes, discounts, and total amount
- Instructions or links for the customer to update their payment information
Pre-requisites: Before enabling email notifications, ensure your WordPress site is configured to send emails:
- SMTP plugin required: WordPress doesn’t reliably send emails by default. Install and configure an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP.
- Email service provider: Connect your SMTP plugin to a transactional email service (Brevo, Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, or your hosting provider’s SMTP).
- Match sender details: Ensure that the From Email and From Name values configured in Sublium Subscriptions email notifications exactly match the sender details set in your SMTP plugin.
- Test your setup: Send a test email from your SMTP plugin to confirm emails are delivering before enabling Sublium notifications.
Without proper email configuration, notifications will fail silently.
For more details, refer to our doc on how to set up WP SMTP.
Access “Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry” Email Notification
Navigate to Sublium Subscriptions ⇒ Retain ⇒ Payment Recovery.
Under the Email Notifications, you can find the Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry email notification.
When It Is Sent
This email is sent when:
- A subscription renewal payment fails. This is the final retry attempt configured in the payment recovery schedule
Recipient
By default, this email is sent to the customer.
Email Customization
You can customize this notification using:
- Rich Text editor
- Visual Editor
A prebuilt Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry template is available in both editors and can be modified or rebuilt as needed.
Guide:For more details, check our documentation on email customization.
Personalization
Sublium Subscriptions offers merge tags to personalize the subject line, preview text, and email body.
Simply copy and paste the tags into your desired section.
Here are the merge tags used in the prebuilt template:
- {{subscriber_first_name}} – Customer’s first name
- {{subscription_id}} – Unique subscription ID
- {{subscription_item}} – Product linked to the subscription
- {{subscription_total}} – Payment amount
- {{subscription_next_payment_date}} – Next scheduled payment date
- {{sublium_my_account_url}} – Link to subscription management
Guide: For more details, check our documentation on Merge Tags
How To Activate
To activate the Renewal Payment Failed: Last Retry email, turn ON the toggle next to the notification inside Sublium Subscriptions.
This setup ensures customers are informed that their final retry attempt is in progress, understand the consequences of non-payment, and can take prompt action to prevent subscription cancellation.
Troubleshooting
Emails not sending
- Confirm your SMTP plugin is configured and sending test emails successfully
- Check your SMTP plugin’s email logs for failed delivery attempts
- Verify the notification toggle is enabled
- Ensure the customer has a valid email address on their order
Merge tags showing as plain text
- Confirm you copied the full merge tag, including the curly braces, e.g., {{subscriber_first_name}}
- Check for extra spaces inside the merge tag
- Use only merge tags from the official list; custom tags won’t work
Email is going to spam
- Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain
- Avoid spam trigger words in your subject line
- Use a reputable transactional email service
Email looks broken or unstyled
- Test across multiple email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail)
- Avoid complex CSS, as email clients have limited style support
- Use the Visual Editor’s built-in templates for better compatibility
