Average Subscriber Has Canceled 1 of 5 Subscriptions Since October

The average subscriber has dropped one of their five retail subscriptions since October, according to “Subscription Commerce Conversion,” a PYMNTS and sticky.io collaboration based on a survey of 1,919 U.S. consumers.

Get the report: Subscription Commerce Conversion

The average subscriber had four retail subscriptions in March 2022 — one fewer than they had in October 2021, the survey found.

The most common reason that consumers gave for canceling subscriptions in March was to reduce expenses. Sixty-five percent of consumers cited that as a reason, and 55% said it was the most important reason.

The next most common reasons were that subscribers no longer needed the products, the product cost increased and the subscription was intended to be temporary. Those reasons were cited by 29%, 29% and 24% of consumers respectively.

Smaller shares of consumers said they cancelled retail subscriptions over the last 12 months because they were receiving more of the product than they were using, the delivery of the products became erratic, the quality of the product declined and the products they wanted were no longer in stock. Those reasons were cited by 17%, 15%, 13% and 6% of consumers respectively.

As analysts hint at a possible recession in 2023, current inflation rates are causing consumers to rethink their long-term spending plans. For some consumers, this means halting or abandoning their subscription services.

The economic climate is pressuring both subscribers and providers to tighten their belts and focus on the fundamentals.

For providers, earning consumer loyalty means managing the components that can be controlled — such as customer service and user experience — to minimize key customer pain points that can damage customer relations.

Providers that can see past simple sticker prices and deliver the reliability that reinforces loyalty will be most able to mitigate churn and be rewarded with a reliable subscriber base.