Fallback rules: what to do when subscribers don't pick

The default in most meal apps is "skip the week." It is the worst possible rule.

Skipping a non-responder for a week trains them to treat your service as optional. A few weeks of skips, and they cancel. We see 4× higher churn for skip-fallback kitchens vs. auto-fill kitchens.

Best default: repeat last week's selection. It's predictable, requires no decision from the customer, and matches what most subscribers actually want (their favorite meals).

Better: chef's choice from this week's menu. A bit of novelty, no decision fatigue. Works well when your menu rotates aggressively.

Reserve "skip" for explicit pauses only. Customers who want to skip a week should hit a "Skip" button, not silently drift.

Tell them the rule. Inside the storefront, show "If you don't pick, we'll send last week's order." Removes anxiety, increases retention.

MealDispatch lets you set fallback rules per-plan. We strongly recommend repeat-last-week as your default, then offer chef's choice as an opt-in for adventurous subscribers.