Sign Me Up, Scotty!

When I was a child, the only subscription one had was for a magazine.  For me, it was the Donald Duck. A weekly magazine that has been around for 65 years; and a few years ago I subscribed my kids to it. Not that many alternatives in the 70s!

Nowadays there are few things you can’t subscribe to. We’re a bit boring in our family, we just have a veg box.  But now I have subscribed to something I never thought I would … loo paper[1]! What is more interesting, is all the retail stores diversifying and introducing subscription models. The latest one is Pret-a-Manger, for £20 month you can get your caffeine fix from them every day[2].

A BarclayCard survey[3] released in August 2020 highlights that subscriptions are on the rise and now even more so with lockdown. In the UK 65% of households are signed up to regular subscriptions spending an average £46 monthly. Year-on-year growth is 39%[4], but I would expect part of the boost to be temporary.

I wonder what subscription model will be next. There is entertainment, food, drink, loo paper … Hairdresser? Massage? Or now that the ‘Eat out to help out’ scheme has come to an end, our local restaurant should introduce a subscription. I’d sign up for that!

What subscription would you sign up for?

By: Michiel Lely

Director, Professional Services

[1] https://eu.whogivesacrap.org

[2] The Pret-a-Manger subscription gives you 5 coffees per day

[3] “Lockdown fuels ‘Subscription Society’ as Brits spend £552 a year on sign-up services”, August 24, 2020

[4] July 2020