The Best Way to Keep Subscribers Loyal May Be to Set Them Free

Consumers have started to rethink their finances, and subscriptions may be the first to go as they decide which to keep and which to quit. Many have grown accustomed to the convenience of subscriptions, however, and are willing to keep their subscriptions active if providers deliver value and make it easy to maintain. To keep subscribers from going to competitors or simply canceling for good, providers must be creative in providing valuable services and checkout experiences for their customers.

In the May edition of the Subscription Commerce Tracker®, PYMNTS explores how the problem of customer churn affects the subscription market and how providers are working to customize their operations and offerings in ways that can help their customers remain loyal subscribers for years to come.

Around the Subscription Commerce Space

As a consequence of several market factors including increased competition and the war in Ukraine, subscription giant Netflix reported a decrease of 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022, according to a recent report. The decline marks the first time in 10 years that the service has lost subscribers, and the company warned shareholders that the trend is likely to continue.

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. consumers paying for traditional TV services is dropping, while the number of those opting for streaming services continues to increase. A new study found that the segment of U.S. consumers who chose to pay for either cable or satellite TV service dropped from 81% in 2020 to 63% in 2021.

For more on these stories, visit the Tracker’s News and Trends section.

Wantabl e on Driving Subscriber Loyalty With the Power to Cancel

Consumers have endless options when it comes to how they stock up their wardrobes, and growing in popularity are subscription services that allow customers to have clothes mailed to them with the caveat that they only pay for what they want and can return the rest. Much like an indecisive in-store shopper who can’t decide what size or color they like, the success of these services relies on the ability to allow shoppers to change their minds and put something back on the rack.

In this month’s Feature Story, Jalem Getz, CEO and president of Wantable, a try-before-you-buy online retailer, talks about how subscription providers need to adapt to the changing needs of customers and earn their trust and loyalty through frictionless checkout experience, including making it easy to leave and come back later.

PYMNTS Intelligence: How Subscription Providers Can Prevent Churn With Positive Experiences

Subscription-based businesses that flourished during the pandemic are looking for ways to retain their members as consumers reassess their monthly spending, either canceling subscriptions they no longer need or switching to new providers that offer tempting trials or better deals, a phenomenon known as customer churn. Providers must become creative to not only foster customer trust and loyalty, but to also attract new customers, as projections show that the global subscriptions and billing management market will almost double in size to $7.4 billion by 2027, up from just under $4 billion in 2020.

This month, PYMNTS Intelligence takes a closer look at the problem of subscriber churn and what subscription companies need to do better to provide a frictionless checkout experience that creates loyal customers and revenue.

About the Tracker

The Subscription Commerce Tracker®, a PYMNTS and Vindicia collaboration, examines the effects of customer churn on the subscription market, as well as how subscription providers will need to tailor operations and offerings in ways that can help their customers remain loyal for years to come.