Subscriptions have been around for a long time, but the rise of turning everything into a subscription makes renters out of would-be owners.
Subscribing to services has always been a great way to receive access to information and services you choose. As early as the 1850s, milkmen were the original subscription service, delivering milk to customers who paid for their services on a weekly or monthly basis. Magazines and newspapers have operated on subscriptions for more than a century as well, but today, there’s a subscription for nearly everything.
Netflix is a starting point
We can blame Netflix for a lot of things, from the end of video rental stores like Blockbuster to shared subscriptions and now to unshared versions. Netflix began with shipped DVDs that make it easy to have the movie you wanted to watch on the weekend right in your mailbox. It was easy to select a few movies and wait a couple of days for them to arrive. Today, Netflix is one of the largest subscription streaming services available and has even become part of regular slang vernacular with the term “Netflix and chill,” which means something different to various crowds.
There’s a subscription for that
The typical saying is “there’s an app for that,” which indicates there’s a phone app that can be used for nearly everything, but that’s not always the case. When it comes to subscription services, that seems to be much more relevant. Today, we can have groceries delivered to our homes via a subscription service and enjoy various forms of entertainment through streaming services and various local subscriptions. Some of these services are offered when several businesses get together to provide such a service. In London, several bars have gotten together to offer up to four free drinks for members, and in the Myrtle Beach area, golf courses have created membership cards with discounted rates for members.
Lack of ownership feeds into the subscription lifestyle
Younger generations are growing up with subscription and membership programs that don’t offer ownership, which they seem to be fine with. Instead of dealing with the upkeep and maintenance required when owning something, these generations have monthly upgrades, regularly scheduled services, and new products that replace the old. With less ability to own things, subscriptions have become an important part of modern culture, and many people take full advantage of paying a little each month for a service rather than buying things outright.
Are responsibilities being shuttered?
Does the lack of ownership mean that younger generations won’t have the same attachment to items that their parents and grandparents have? Does it also mean they will treat items that shouldn’t be disposable as disposable? That certainly could be the case for some. Instead of fixing an item that’s part of a monthly subscription, such as a cell phone or clothing, many people will simply swap out the damaged item for the next best thing. This creates a lack of ownership responsibility that has been shuttered, but it doesn’t mean that younger generations don’t value ownership when they do own items.
More subscriptions means more choices
The most common subscription services we use are entertainment streaming services. Before cable television, there were only a few channels that could be obtained through an antenna, and you were stuck with whatever was playing on those stations. As cable and satellite television became available, more channels were offered, which meant more choices, but when subscribing to these services, there might be several channels that you didn’t watch. Streaming services allow you to pick and choose the packages you want and avoid what you don’t. This gives you more control over what’s part of your subscription.
The personalization and customization aspects of current subscription services has led to an uptick in their use. Its predict that up to 75% of direct-to-consumer brands will have a subscription-based model by 2030. The variety of products and services coupled with the customization options makes it easy to see why many consumers will continue to use these services regularly.
Challenges of these services
With more services that allow customers membership options, the value perception becomes much less in saturated markets. This means gaining customers becomes more difficult, and retention might not be possible in some cases. As customer expectations grow, the same needs to happen for these services, making it more important for services to be offered that make sense and add value for customers.
Which subscription services do you have? Have you become a renter of things and services that your parents used to own?
