Weekly News Roundup |
1. Swedish fashion-as-a-service company files for bankruptcy – Dagens industri Routine, a Swedish company offering designer clothing via a subscription, has filed for bankruptcy. Last year, Hack your closet and Released, two Swedish companies with similiar business ideas, also filed for bankruptcy. “Routine, which rented out three branded garments per month for SEK 775, has not been able to pay its debts, according to documents from the Stockholm District Court. The company had three employees.” Read more 2. Shopify launches new subscription product to lure big retail clients – Reuters Shopify Technologies has launched a new service aimed at big retailers that will allow them to select tools and services the Canadian tech giant offers and integrate it with their own online platform. “Shopify, which helps businesses set up their online store and website for a subscription fee, will allow retailers to pick and choose components, such as checkout and other back-office services, for their existing online businesses. The pricing for the service, called Commerce Components, will depend on the retailer’s customization and components they choose to use.” Read more 3. Netflix is ‘pleased with the growth’ of its ad tier so far – Variety Netflix is “pleased with the growth that we’re seeing” in its ad-supported tier since its launch nine weeks ago, said Jeremi Gorman, president of worldwide advertising, but he declined to break out subscriber numbers (Netflix reports fourth-quarter 2022 earnings on Jan. 19). “Early data from research firm Antenna, published last month, indicated that Netflix’s ad-supported tier is seeing a relatively slow uptake. Netflix has disputed the accuracy of Antenna’s data.” Read more 4. Stellantis’ Free2move expands car-sharing and subscriptions in U.S. – Techcrunch Free2move, the mobility service brand under automaker Stellantis, plans to expand its car sharing, rental and subscription services in the U.S. in 2023, with the ultimate goal of adding 200 new mobility markets globally by 2030. “Free2move has had an established presence in Europe since 2019, which was recently bolstered by its acquisition of Share Now, a free-floating car-sharing service. The company says it has more than 450,000 rental cars available throughout Europe and that its ability to grow so much in such a short timeframe proves the demand for new vehicle access options is high.” Read more 5. Study: Amazon Prime and Spotify set to be worst hit by Brits cancelling subscriptions – City AM British households are cancelling online subscriptions as the cost of living soars, with Amazon Prime and Spotify among the most-searched subscriptions to be cancelled, according to a new study by VPN Online. “This follows a rough season for streaming services. Between July and September, video streaming services were cancelled by 234,000 British households, while the number of UK homes with at least one paid-for video subscription dropped by almost one million (937,000) between January and September, according to London analytics firm Kantar.” Read more 6. Sketchy ChatGPT app soars up App Store charts, charges $7.99 weekly subscription – Macrumours A sketchy app claiming to be the bot ChatGPT has soared up App Store charts, charging users a $7.99 weekly subscription to use a service that is entirely free to use on the web and seemingly has no affiliation to the actual bot. “ChatGPT is free to use on the web for anyone with an OpenAI account, but it has inspired scammers and sketchy developers to take advantage of its popularity for ill-gained profit. One app in particular, named “ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3,” gives the impression it is the official app for the ChatGPT bot, but appears to have no affiliation to Open AI, the creators of ChatGPT, or the bot itself.” Read more 7. Volvo seeks new subscription revenues by adding computing power to their cars – Automotive News Europe Computing power delivered by chip supplier Qualcomm will help Volvo create new revenue streams, from features such as audio content, navigation content and digital services, in an era when cars last longer, the automaker said at the CES technology show here. “The automotive industry is reaching the same tipping point as smartphones did when they became updateable with new apps and features, Mark Granger, head of Qualcomm’s Digital Cockpit automotive product, said. “We can do so much more in the cockpit. We can innovate and bring new features over the lifetime of the vehicle,” he added.” Read more Weekly Analysis Roundup 1. MeWe’s CEO: Elon Musk’s Twitter subscriptions are missing the point – Gizmodo Jeffrey Scott Edell, CEO of the social network MeWe and former chairman of MySpace’s parent company, argues that it’s hard to put your paying subscribers first when you don’t respect their privacy and keep serving them content geared towards stirring up conflict. “When platforms embrace a subscription model, they are no longer incentivized to function as purveyors of conflict and merchants of controversy. […] Many of us remember a time when we went online to explore our interests with a community of like-minded people. This is an experience that companies can offer when the interests of subscribers, rather than those of advertisers, are the focal point of product design.” Read more 2. The Atlantic introduces dynamic paywall with varying prices as it hopes to attract 1 million subscribers – Digiday The American magazine will roll out a new dynamic paywall in January, that offers varying subscription prices as it hopes to meet its next benchmark to attract 1 million print and digital subscribers by the end of 2024. “The new paywall, which was built in-house and tested on The Atlantic’s site since the summer, will hit readers based on how likely they are to subscribe, determined by their behavior on the site. The variable pricing model means different cohorts of readers will see different prices, ranging from $60-$100.” Read more |