| Weekly News Roundup |
| 1. Synsam’s eyewear subscription service receives criticism – Dagens Nyheter Synsam’s eyewear subscription plan, Lifestyle, has become a great success since it launched in 2016 with over 600 000 customers in the Nordics. But now the company is criticized for unclear terms, which means that customers may end up paying more than they believed they needed to pay. “The number of complaints against Synsam has increased both at the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) and the General Complaints Board (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden). Last year, there were 46 complaints to the Consumer Agency compared to 30 the previous year.” Read more 2. Stockholm-based Younium secures €2.7 million to solidify subscription management across Europe – EU Startups Younium, a fast-growing provider of SaaS solutions for advanced subscription management, billing, and pricing, has announced the closure of an additional €2.7 million in funding. “Last year saw significant growth and the acquisition of new clients in 15 countries, accompanied by substantial internal expansion. With the latest financing, we envision the chance to strengthen our position as a global leader, expanding our presence in both Europe and North America and achieving positive cash flow.” Read more 3. Meta offers to lower ad-free subscription fee amid EU scrutiny – Politico Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has confirmed it will slash the price of its ad-free subscription model in a bid to end European Union scrutiny of how it uses users’ personal data. “[The] company has offered to lower its subscription price — assuring subscribers see no targeted advertisements — to €5.99 per month for a single account, with a €4 fee for each additional account. That’s down from the original cost of nearly €13…[…]” Read more 4. Spotify complains that Apple hasn’t approved update with subscription pricing and links in EU – Macrumours Apple has not approved a Spotify app update that adds information on subscription pricing and links its website, Spotify complained this week in an email to the European Commission. Spotify says that Apple has not “acknowledged nor responded” to its App Store submission. “The European Commission on March 4 fined Apple almost $2 billion and said that Apple abused its dominant position in the market by preventing music streaming services from telling users about more affordable subscription prices outside of their iOS apps.” Read more 5. Mastercard introduces white-label subscription management solution for financial institutions – PYMNTS Mastercard is piloting a subscription management solution that financial institutions can add to their consumer banking offerings. The new “Smart Subscriptions” solution enables consumers to cancel, pause and resume their subscriptions, the company said. “No matter how many services you pay for, managing those recurring subscriptions should be simple and seamless,” Raj Seshadri, president of data and services at Mastercard, said in the release. “Smart Subscriptions acts on that insight, meeting the standards for effortless engagement that both banks and consumers demand.” Read more Weekly Analysis Roundup 1. Most subscription mobile apps don’t make money, new report shows – Techcrunch According to a new analysis of the subscription app economy from mobile subscription toolkit provider RevenueCat, the top 5% of apps generate 200 times the revenue of the bottom quartile after their first year, while the median monthly revenue an app generates after 12 months is less than $50 USD. “After crunching its data, the company found that only 17.2% of apps will reach even $1,000 in monthly revenue, but after they hit that point, the odds of them growing further increase.” Read more 2. Tien Tzuo: Subscriber fatigue and what it means for modern business – Zuora News sites are dropping their paywalls, streaming services are turning to ads, and there’s even noise of SaaS companies abandoning the model. What’s happening is that the subscription economy is entering a new phase, and with it comes new challenges – and new ideas, writes Zuora’s CEO Tien Tzuo. “Today, simply having a subscription model or any other single static model, is no longer enough. It’s not enough to guarantee market share, growth, brand loyalty, or sustained competitive advantage. But there’s a better path forward. When you look at The New York Times, Zoom, HubSpot, and GoPro, there’s a new strategy emerging.” Read more Image source |
