Weekly News Roundup
1. Swedish startup offers leggings via subscription – Breakit
Den Lab, a Swedish startup, is betting on offering leggings via a subscription service. Caroline Hjelm, marketing manager at the electric scooter company Voi, is one of the founders.
“There is a fun reason why we’re so many founders. At first, we did not work together, but were two different teams that both worked on this type of subscription service in parallel. Then we were told by a mutual acquaintance that we had the same idea”
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2. Volvo Cars to start selling its first subscription-based autonomous vehicle this year – Subscribed
In collaboration with Luminar Technologies, Volvo Cars has announced an autonomous driving system called Ride Pilot. Volvo Cars customers in California will have access to Ride Pilot as a subscription service at some point after 2022.
“Volvo Cars’ CTO] told The Verge, “We will not require hands on the steering wheel and we will not require eyes on the road.” This would put the Swedish automaker’s autonomous system more than a step above Tesla’s Level 2 FSD Beta, which requires a driver to be prepared to take control of the vehicle at a moment’s notice.”
3. Forecast: Subscription economy market at $275bn in 2022 – Advanced Television
A study from Juniper Research predicts that the global market value of the subscription economy will grow to $275 billion in 2022; rising from $224 billion in 2021. The study finds that physical goods will generate the most revenue in 2022, followed by digital video.
“The report confirmed that physical goods subscriptions have seen increased user demand, with users keen to secure reliable sources of medicines and daily essentials in the face of the pandemic.”
4. D2C Is disrupting dentistry with subscription model – PYMNTS
The dental subscription platform Membersy is unveiling an online portal where individuals can subscribe and find dentists in their area that belong to the membersy network, enjoying free services and steep discounts.
“Noting that dental isn’t even covered by Medicare, Membersy Founder and CEO Eric Johnson recently told PYMNTS that “In dentistry, insurance is broken. It has been for a long time. That’s evident right with the 100 million-plus Americans that don’t have [dental] insurance and pay cash if and when they go to the dentist.””
5. FuboTV beats expectations with 1.1 million subs – DigitalTVEurope
The sports-oriented fuboTV serves as a competitor to the likes of Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, and provides subscribers with access to traditional broadcasters via an OTT delivery. In announcing its preliminary fourth quarter 2021 results, the company revealed that paid subscribers have increased more than 100% year-over-year.
“Commenting on the results, David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV, said: “fuboTV’s strong preliminary fourth quarter 2021 results close out a pivotal year where we made meaningful advancements against our mission to define a new category of interactive sports and entertainment television.””
6. Harlequin launches multimedia subscription service for romance readers – Subscription Insider
Romance publisher Harlequin is launching its new multimedia subscription service, Harlequin Plus. For $14.99 a month or $149.99 a year, after a free seven-day trial, subscribers get access to bundles of new Harlequin novels, and unlimited access to a regularly updated ebook library and romantic movies.
“Monthly book bundles will include titles from across the publisher’s content library, and subscribers can select instant electronic copies, or physical copies sent to their home, Good EReader reports. Book Bundle themes will be curated monthly, and subscribers will have the option to receive electronic or physical copies of their selected books.”
Weekly Analysis Roundup
1. Opinion: Why unsubscribing has never been so popular – Irish Times
Inflation and vast choice make hanging onto subscribers the media’s next big battle, writes Laura Slatterly in The Irish Times.
“Consumer choice is proliferating at a time when personal finances are in flux, markets such as subscription video-on-demand seem saturated and demand for some types of content – from home entertainment to hard news – is coming off a crisis-inspired spike. Add inflation to the mix and the media industry could be approaching the churn of the century.”
2. Why subscriptions are a major 2022 direct-to-consumer opportunity – Adage
Digital publishers that take a hybrid approach to underwriting content will unlock growth, writes Sheri Bachstein, general manager of IBM Watson Advertising, in an Op-ed in Adage.
“Subscriptions are very attractive because they help solve for three consumer and industry forces: consumer demand, revenue diversification and rising friction between walled gardens and the open web.”
3. What’s Next for the Subscription Economy? Zuora’s Jennifer Cooper Shares 2022 Predictions – Subscribed
IoT fuels growth in services for manufacturers, media focuses on their audience relationships while advertising takes a back seat, and retail perfects the subscription recipe, Jen Cooper, VP, Industry Strategy at Zuora, predicts for 2022.
“In 2022 more manufacturers (industrial, automotive, medical devices and smart factories) will launch and expand their subscription service offerings. This is part of a decade-long shift at the end of which, we can expect “Anything-as-a-Service” to be the dominant offering from all types of manufacturers.”
