Auto-Fill Subscribers Likely to Cancel if Given Misleading Information

Consumers who subscribe to scheduled delivery or auto-fill services are uniquely ready to cancel their memberships if they find that the crowd-sourced information they have received is not reliable, PYMNTS Intelligence reveals.

By the Numbers

The new PYMNTS Intelligence study “The Replenish Economy: A Household Supply Deep Dive,” created in collaboration with sticky.io, draws from a September survey of more than 2,000 U.S. consumers and of 188 subscription merchants to understand various subscriber habits and motivating factors.

The results reveal that scheduled delivery and auto-fill subscribers are 9 percentage points more likely to cancel their subscriptions if there are inaccurate or deceptive product reviews and ratings than other kinds of subscribers.

As such, to retain subscribers and ensure the success of retail subscription services, merchants must prioritize accurate and transparent product reviews and ratings. Building trust and credibility is crucial in this competitive landscape.

A Deeper Dive

Indeed, these kinds of product subscriptions are among the most popular. For instance, the PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io study last year, “The Subscription Commerce Conversion Index: Subscribers Seek Affordability and Convenience,” which drew from a survey of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers, found that 42% of those with product subscriptions participate in the Amazon Subscribe & Save program.

Plus, once consumers grow accustomed to these kinds of subscriptions, many want more. PYMNTS Intelligence and sticky.io’s “The Impact of Subscription Models on Consumer Choice” reveals that 47% of those with discount refill subscriptions who planned to add more subscriptions said they would be likely to subscribe to another discount refill program, while their cross-subscription-category average was only 22%.

These kinds of subscriptions work best for consumable products that are part of consumers’ day-to-day routines.

“Subscribe & Save doesn’t work with a lot of items because people don’t consume them on a day-to-day basis,” Brett Cramer, owner of seasonings brand The Spice Lab — which abandoned the model — told PYMNTS in an interview earlier this year. “It has to be a product that people consume in less than 30 days.”