With many admitting to not even utilising the services
• Amazon Prime, Graze and nextunlimited amongst the favourites
• Customer and retailer often benefit mutually from subscription services
• 1 in 10 now subscribe to a healthy snack service
• The international element is a huge factor when trying to build a global brand
• Further information and findings can be found here: whistl survey
British consumers are forking out approximately £2bn every year on delivery subscription services and it shows no signs of slowing as the type of subscriptions on offer continues to grow, alongside their popularity.
Whether it’s a discounted delivery service, healthy snacks that fit nicely through your letter box or even a carefully curated box of health and beauty products, it seems that nearly every industry is providing an offer of sorts when it comes to this popular service.
According to new research, the most popular subscription service was revealed to be Amazon Prime, with 61.4% of those who took part in the survey signed up to benefit from the service.
Other popular subscriptions were revealed to be: Graze (12.3%), nextunlimited (9.7%), ASOS Premier (8.8%), Pact Coffee (8.5%) and Glossybox (7.8%).
The survey, conducted by delivery management company Whistl, revealed that it isn’t just the retailer who benefits, the consumer can also make some huge savings. Amazon Prime alone can save those who subscribe up to £165 per year (on average) across the multiple platforms and offers they provide.
In regards to the reasons behind signups to subscription services, the study revealed that both convenience (45%) and value for money (60%) were they key drivers behind them.
Despite both of these elements, it does seem that 1 in 5 of those signed up to a subscription admitted to not making use of the benefits that come from the service.
In turn, loyalty to such subscription services and those offering them is high amongst some consumers, as the findings highlighted that one in five Brits refuse to shop with retailers who do not offer them and almost half (48.9%) admit to buying items they wouldn’t have otherwise bought if they hadn’t had the subscription service.
Carl Thompson of Hawkins & Shepherd, a British hand crafted shirt retailer who offer a monthly subscription service of a new shirt per month, said that:
“Since launching our subscription service in 2016, we have experienced steady growth in the UK around this model. Of our subscription customers around 37% have made additional purchases on the website outside of the subscription.
“Subscription services are becoming more and more part of the busy male lifestyle, so we wanted to offer our customers convenience. But more than this, some of our subscription options allow customers to split payments over months, making our handmade shirts more affordable.”
Melanie Darvall, Director of Marketing and Communications at Whistl, said:
“It’s great to see the popularity in monthly subscription services and how they are benefitting both businesses of all sizes and the consumers who sign up to them.
“It seems the key to making your subscription service a success is finding the balance and making your offering beneficial for both parties. Ensuring the quality of product or value of discount is high enough to make your customer base loyal and consider spending money outside of what is essentially a monthly “taster” service can certainly be a challenge, but once you’ve cracked that side of things, you’ll reap the rewards and hopefully retain a happy customer base.
“Of course, taking the leap and branching out to provide the subscription service to international customers has never been so easy and we are happy to work with customers to overcome the challenges associated with finding the right supplier. It’s all about building and maintaining that key relationship with a reliable business with seamless fulfilment and delivery – and luckily it doesn’t have to cost you or your customers a fortune.”
Full findings, graphics and methodology can be found here: https://www.whistl.co.uk/news/subscription-services-a-whistl-survey/
