Consumers’ use of subscriptions continued to grow in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a report published by PYMNTS. [1] What does the report show regarding the latest trends in subscription use? What is helping to drive this growth?
Increased Use of Subscriptions
Consumers, on average, subscribed to more services, spent more on subscriptions, and intend to keep them longer. During the fourth quarter of 2021:
Why Are Consumers Using More Subscriptions?
Consumers cited access to high-quality products as the number one reason for using subscriptions, supplanting convenience. The PYMNTS report also found that retail subscription commerce products could lose as much as $2.2 billion by failing to offer better subscription experiences.
Pandemic-Related Increase
A lot of individuals signed up for free trials during the pandemic. More than half of those people intend to keep those subscriptions.
The Free Trial
The report also highlighted that free trials were an effective marketing strategy–resulting in subscriber increases. Nearly 80% of retail subscribers have one subscription that began as a free trial. Overall, 54% of individuals who received free trials ended up keeping it.
Going Straight to the Brand
Nearly two-thirds of all retail subscribers purchased products directly from the brand itself. Why? Reasons driving this trend, according to the PYMNTS report, include:
Subscriptions: A Potentially Effective Marketing Strategy
The increased use of subscriptions during the fourth quarter of 2021, coupled with an increase in money spent on subscriptions, underscores the potential advantages of the subscription model. Consumers appear to be drawn to the subscription model by its advantages and by the benefits provided that consumers might not be able to realize in a brick-and-mortar retail setting.
Companies that embrace the subscription model and offer consumers a favorable experience may prosper from these shifting preferences.
1All data sourced from: Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, PYMNTS, November 2021
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