Holiday Season Boosts Subscription Commerce Momentum

Subscription Commerce Holidays

Not only can the holiday shopping season bring increased sales and traffic to traditional merchants, but new data revealed that subscription commerce also has the opportunity to benefit during the holidays.

According to an analysis of subscription business activity during the start of the 2016 holiday period, Recurly found that the total payment volume (TPV) of same-store sales increased by 17 percent on Black Friday and 16 percent on Cyber Monday, compared to 2015 data.

In fact, the same-store sales for top performing subscription businesses jumped significantly, with TPV surging 131 percent on Cyber Monday and 126 percent on Black Friday this year.

“As subscription models continue to proliferate across categories of commerce, consumer behavior demonstrates that compelling offerings delivered over time provide more delight than one-time purchases,” Dan Burkhart, CEO of Recurly, said in a statement. “In addition to the subscription ‘box-of-the-month’ category, we saw noteworthy growth in companies specializing in digital goods and services, shining a spotlight on how subscription businesses are propelling the growth of the digital economy.”

When looking at TPV growth overall, Recurly found that the four-day period between Black Friday to Cyber Monday 2016 saw top performing subscription businesses experiencing a growth rate of 115 percent compared to the same holiday weekend period in 2015.

“These findings show that subscription commerce continues to demonstrate strong results throughout the customer lifecycle, as consumers increasingly embrace the convenience, efficiency, and sometimes sheer delight that subscriptions deliver,” Marilyn Latham explained in a Recurly blog post. “Whether it’s a monthly box of curated items or necessary commodities, a digital service, or any of the myriad of other kinds of subscription business being offered today, the subscription model is propelling the market forward in a resounding way.”