What is the Cancellation Intercept?
The Cancellation Intercept is an optional first step in your subscription cancellation flow, part of Retention. It appears the moment a customer clicks Cancel, before they ever see your list of cancellation reasons — giving you one more chance to remind them why they subscribed in the first place.
Unlike your per-reason retention actions (which are text-only), the Cancellation Intercept lets you add a photo or video, a custom headline, and persuasive body copy alongside two simple choices: keep the subscription or continue canceling.
How it works
The Cancellation Intercept is a single, global popup — you configure it once at the program level, and it applies across your cancellation flow (it isn't set per cancellation reason).
Here's where it fits into the full cancellation experience:
Customer clicks Cancel in their account portal
Cancellation Intercept appears — your image/video, headline, body copy, and two CTAs
If the customer clicks Continue with cancellation → they see your Cancellation reasons list
Customer selects a reason → your existing retention action appears (see Cancel Reasons & Actions)
Customer accepts the retention offer or confirms the cancellation
💡 The Cancellation Intercept and your per-reason retention actions work independently. You can turn the Intercept on or off without affecting your existing reason-based actions, and vice versa.
If you turn the Cancellation Intercept off, your cancellation flow behaves exactly as it does today — the customer goes straight to the cancellation reasons list when they click Cancel.
Setting up the Cancellation Intercept
In your Smartrr Admin Portal, go to Retention
Find the Cancellation Intercept section and toggle it On
Add your content:
Headline — a short, attention-grabbing title
Body copy — your persuasive message (explain value, address a concern, or remind them what they'd be giving up)
Media URL — a link to an image or video you'd like to display
Choose your CTA behavior:
Keep my subscription — returns the customer to their account; cancellation is stopped
Continue with cancellation — sends the customer to your existing cancellation reasons flow
Click Save
Choosing what to show
Some ideas for what to feature in your Cancellation Intercept, based on why customers tend to cancel:
A short founder video to build a personal connection
A product education image or guide if customers may be underusing the product
A comparison chart highlighting value vs. alternatives
Social proof (reviews, testimonials, UGC) to rebuild confidence
A branded lifestyle image reinforcing the product's benefit
Media requirements
Images: JPG, PNG, GIF and WebP are supported
Videos: MP4 and MOV as well as externally hosted video URLs are supported where technically feasible
Recommended Sizes:
Width: 433px
Height: 287px
You'll need to provide a direct URL to your image or video — Smartrr validates this before you can save
If you enter a URL that isn't valid, you'll see the following message:
File must be a JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, MP4, or MOV
If for any reason your media doesn't load in the customer's account portal, the rest of the Cancellation Intercept (headline, body copy, and both buttons) will still display and function normally — customers will never get stuck.
FAQ
Does the Cancellation Intercept replace my existing retention actions? No. It's an additional step that happens before the cancellation reasons list. Your existing per-reason retention actions still work the same way after a customer continues past the Intercept.
Can I use a different image for each cancellation reason? Not for the Intercept itself — it's a single, global message shown to every customer who clicks Cancel. If you want reason-specific messaging, that's still handled by Cancel Reasons & Actions.
What happens if I don't add any media? The Intercept will still display your headline, body copy, and both CTA buttons — media is optional.
Can I turn this off at any time? Yes. Toggling the Cancellation Intercept off immediately returns your cancellation flow to today's default behavior — customers who click Cancel go straight to your cancellation reasons list.
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