What is AI-Timed Replenishment?

AI-Timed Replenishment is an automated reorder system that uses purchase history data to predict when an individual customer will need to repurchase a consumable product. Instead of sending reorder reminders on a fixed schedule (like every 30 days), the system learns each customer's unique consumption pattern per product and times the prompt accordingly.

For example, one customer might go through a bag of coffee every 12 days while another makes it last 3 weeks. AI-Timed Replenishment recognizes these different patterns and sends each customer a reorder text when they're actually running low — not on a generic schedule that misses the mark for most people.

This approach sits between one-time purchases (where you hope customers come back) and subscriptions (where you ship on a fixed schedule regardless of actual consumption). It combines the convenience of automated prompts with the flexibility of on-demand purchasing.

The system tracks each customer's purchase history at the product level. After a customer's initial purchases establish a baseline, the AI begins predicting their reorder window — the point at which they're likely to be running low based on their actual purchase cadence.

When the predicted reorder window arrives, the customer receives a personalized text prompting them to reorder. The message references their specific product — "Running low on Ethiopian Blend?" — and they can purchase by replying. If the timing is early or late, the system adjusts. Over time, predictions become more accurate as more purchase data accumulates.

Each product is tracked independently per customer. A customer who buys protein powder and vitamins gets separate reorder prompts for each, timed to their individual consumption of that specific product. This per-customer, per-SKU approach is what distinguishes AI-Timed Replenishment from generic fixed-schedule reminders.

The core problem with subscriptions is timing. Fixed delivery schedules don't match how people actually consume products. Product piles up on the counter, or customers run out between shipments. This mismatch is the primary driver of subscription churn — which hits 40%+ in the first 90 days for many DTC brands.

AI-Timed Replenishment solves this by replacing fixed schedules with intelligent timing. Customers reorder when they actually need to, not when a calendar says they should. This eliminates the frustration of too-early or too-late deliveries.

Many brands also use AI-Timed Replenishment as a bridge to subscriptions. After customers have established a natural reorder habit through text prompts, introducing a subscription is much easier — and churn drops because the consumption pattern is already proven.