Weekly News Roundup
1. Finnish food delivery company takes a note from Amazon Prime – Dagens Industri
As many deliveries as you like, for SEK 99 a month. That’s Wolt’s way of stirring up the food delivery market. The company will be the first among its peers in Sweden with a subscription service.
“This cost does not mean that the couriers receive less compensation. It’s a cost that we mainly take, but also an investment from the restaurants and shops that want to be included in the subscription service. At the same time, it is an opportunity for all parties to attract new customers.”
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2. Peloton’s new CEO sees overhauled subscription model in its future – The Verge
Barry McCarthy, Peloton’s new CEO and former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix, weighs an app store and new subscription model as potential ways to kickstart the company’s stagnant sales.
“Instead of selling Peloton’s equipment for upwards of $1,000, McCarthy envisions a “dramatically lower” upfront cost and a higher subscription fee of “maybe $70 or $80.” Peloton currently offers its subscription for $39 / month.”
3. Tesla’s subscription gets cheaper with a new yearly option – Review Geek
After toying with the idea late last year, Tesla has launched its yearly Premium Connectivity subscription in the U.S. for a discounted price of $99 per year. Until now, the service ran Tesla owners $9.99 per month. Tesla’s Premium Connectivity includes Navigation, Live Traffic Visualization, Satellite-View Maps, Video Streaming, Caraoke, Music Streaming and Internet Browser access.
“While this isn’t a considerable discount by any means, being able to sign up for a yearly subscription is easier than monthly payments, plus it’s saving owners $20 per year.”
4. Alaska Airlines debuts unique monthly subscription option for travelers – Travel Awaits
Alaska Airlines is breaking ground with a new program allowing passengers to enroll in a subscription-based travel offering for West Coast destinations.
“Flight Pass will pay a set monthly fee that allows them to fly up to 24 roundtrip flights per year to destinations in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Plans start as low as $49 per month for the service, that allows participants to lock in main cabin deals for a full year.”
5. Top subscription app revenue grew 41% in 2021 to reach $18.3 billion – Techcrunch
A new report from the analysis firm Sensor Tower indicates the top 100 non-game, subscription-based apps on App Store and Google Play saw their consumer spend increase 41% in 2021 to $18.3 billion, up from $13 billion in 2020.
“And this represents just a small portion (14%) of the overall revenue from in-app purchases across both apps and games, which totaled $131.6 billion in 2021, according to this latest data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower.”
6. Taco Bell sees more traffic after betting on the power of a subscription model – Franchise Times
The Taco Lover’s Pass launched in January this year on Taco Bell’s app and allows pass holders to choose a taco a day from seven options each month for $10. 30 days after launching, Taco Bell saw customers who purchased the pass visit three times more per month. The promotion has also resulted in a 20 percent uptick in new members of its app rewards program.
“Based on its success so far, there may be implications on the rest of the QSR industry and franchise brands looking to try out similar programs, especially as companies continue to search for new ways to capture a younger and always-online audience.”
Weekly Analysis Roundup
1. Are subscriptions the way to hang onto your customers? – Inc
Subscription management platform Zuora released a new report that shows that customers at subscription-facing businesses are sticking around. Zuora’s report highlights that churn rates (or the rate of customer attrition), among hundreds of companies in industries from media to business services and beyond, dropped from 6.3 percent in 2020 to 5.4 percent in 2021.
“Konary tells Inc. that the churn rate is “a sign that the subscription economy is maturing to the point that companies are getting really good at giving customers things that they want to continue to subscribe to.”
2. Five things every CEO needs to know about subscription billing – Forbes
Adopting subscription revenue is not a set-it-and-forget-it strategy, writes James Messer, CEO of a global enterprise software company, outlining five considerations that go into building a successful subscription business.
“While subscription revenue models aren’t set-it-and-forget-it for business owners, they should be for customers. One of the advantages of subscription billing is that it increases customer lifetime value by keeping customers coming back to buy goods and services with minimal effort or overhead. When the renewal process becomes too difficult or complex, you will lose customers.”
3. Airline subscription plans could be blueprint for travel industry recovery – PYMNTS
At a time when consumer demand for subscription-based products is high, and companies are eager to tap fresh sources of recurring revenue, Alaska Airlines’ new Flight Pass offering would appear to address both needs, managing director of products Alex Corey tells PYMNTS.
“Noting that Flight Pass is responding to travel trends particularly in western U.S. markets served by Alaska Airlines, Corey said, “We’ve seen demand from our leisure travel guests in California and developed Flight Pass to meet their needs. As the only West Coast-based airline, California remains one of our priority markets.””
