Subscribers greeted inflation with a slight yawn in the second quarter as consumers adjusted their mix but keep subscribing in droves despite storm clouds over the economy.
In the latest Subscription Commerce Conversion Index, a PYMNTS and sticky.io collaboration, based on a survey of over 2,140 U.S. consumers, found many consumers talking about saving money but responding to subscription plans that give them more control of their plans.
Consider that 60% of consumers cited cost-related elements as a subscription driver, yet only 20% said they subscribed primarily for the savings.
“Subscription service providers are taking notice of the shift in consumer sentiment and giving consumers more control over their subscriptions, adding options that allow subscribers to mull over their cancellation decisions for a few weeks or even months before cutting ties,” the study states, adding that “60% of merchants allow subscribers to pause enrollment rather than cancel if they choose,” an 8% increase since March 2022, and a 40% increase over May 2021.
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Showing the new flexibility among subscription providers, the latest Index found a notable swing in how merchants positioned offerings for consumers given current economics.
“Merchants have meaningfully shifted away from offering consumers discounts as an enticement to enroll: Though 70% of merchants offered subscribe and save discounts in March, this share dropped to barely 40% in May. Instead, merchants are favoring ‘pay ahead and save’ discounts this quarter, with 65% offering this feature, up from 53% in March,” per the study.
Savings were very much on the minds of subscribers and merchants during the quarter, but using a broader definition of saving time, effort and such personally costly intangibles.
As applied to issues of price and cost, the study notes that “cost-driven subscribers are likely to consider convenience-related features to be important, and vice versa. For example, 87% of cost-driven subscribers consider free shipping and 80% consider coupons to be very or extremely valuable features,” and we observe more subscription merchants obliging.
Read it now: The Subscription Commerce Conversion Index
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