Monthly Subscription Models Aren’t Just For Streaming Services Anymore

While niche products like the Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club have been utilizing the monthly subscription model for decades, it wasn’t until the rise of streaming platforms that most consumers became used to signing up for a service that takes money out of their account automatically each month.

It’s extremely lucrative for companies that offer such plans, and it’s spreading to a variety of other industries.

Convenience vs. choice

Whether you love them or hate them, it’s hard to deny that monthly subscriptions are pretty convenient. You just sign up and then the charges continue until you forget all about them until you finally get around to balancing your bank account.

Here are some of the most common types of subscriptions currently available:

• Pet food, toys, and other supplies
• Meal plans and food delivery
• Car washes
• Grooming and hygiene products

You can even subscribe to Taco Bell and get up to a taco per day for a flat monthly rate … you know, if you really wanted to.

But it’s important to understand what you’re trading away in the name of convenience.

Your subscription can result in the release of personal data to various companies that will use it to enhance your loyalty to their brand and increase their profits in the meantime. In the end, that means less consumer choice since you’ve already made a commitment to one company at the exclusion of other options.

If you choose not to subscribe to a brand’s services, you could be in store for higher prices and/or worse customer service. But this appears to be the direction our economy is headed — and from a corporate perspective, it all makes sense.

Americans spend on average $219/month on subscriptions but are only aware of a little over half of that amount.

Chris Agee November 25th, 2023

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