Subscriptions enforce customer loyalty, but their perceived value has worn off:
Subscription payments are the best thing that ever happened to software companies. And they’re arguably the worst thing that ever happened to their customers.
The freedom of creation I once relished has been supplanted by nagging financial anxiety. I miss the days when the tools felt like mine, not someone else’s borrowed goods, and when I didn’t open up a tool and wonder how much longer I’d be able to keep using it.
Psychologically, subscriptions drive overconsumption. Our paychecks are eaten away in advance before we realize how many 30-day free trials and monthly tithes we’ve committed ourselves to. The proliferation of subscription services has led to increasing fragmentation of content. As platforms vie for customer attention, consumers confront myriad fragmented options, each requiring an individual subscription. This results in higher costs for accessing content and a disempowering user experience of juggling multiple platforms and subscriptions. The promised convenience of subscriptions is eroded, leaving customers questioning the true benefits.
Instead of using the foundation of a subscription to cultivate long-term relationships and capitalize on increased customer lifetime value, companies treat users like a Sure Thing, taking them for granted and adding little in terms of value to justify the monthly fee.
The ongoing commitment of subscriptions is a massive burden, limiting our flexibility to adapt our spending as needs change. This financial load becomes a significant barrier to achieving financial well-being. We’re stuck in a subscription payment hamster wheel. And something is going to have to give.
Companies recognizing the potential drawbacks of subscriptions have started innovating within the model. Some offer flexible subscription options, allowing customers to pay for services or products on a usage basis. Others are exploring bundled subscriptions, providing diverse content or services at a reduced cost.
But they’re still dodging around one simple fact. The best way for consumers to access software is to buy an app that does what they need and then choose whether or not to upgrade to the next version later. (Westenberg, 2023, paras. 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16-18)
To improve personal finance and wellness on a large scale will take a large solution. I do believe, however, there are portions of the problem we can break down and take on. Hearing the line from Westenberg (2023) “We’re stuck in a subscription payment hamster wheel” gave me that portion as a wheel to dismantle.
In another article, I was led to believe people were ready for more subscriptions and there was less of a care over ownership. Here, I get a perspective from an individual who misses the tools that they once called theirs. How can I balance the perception of those who are for subscriptions, and those who believe it’s the worst thing to happen to consumers?
Through the research behind these booming services, I also learned that subscriptions could possibly lead to a mega-platform. However, this article doesn’t see connections, only cracks. Content is being fragmented across services, where every platform has its own price.
The author feels taken for granted and trapped, which is the opposite of what my scope sets out to do. Here is an opportunity to create a system that allows people to maintain their resiliency over these services, but how is that done?
References
Westenberg, J. (2023, October 15). The Subscription Economy Sucks. Medium. https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/the-subscription-economy-sucks-5324f402491a
