Scaling subscriptions: Payments and compliance best practices

The digital subscription economy is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025. Both digital and traditional businesses like hotels and automotive companies are shifting to a recurring business model to improve customer loyalty. As the industry matures, consumers have higher expectations when choosing subscription services, demanding smooth, predictable, convenient...

Continue reading

Brands offer subscriptions, users love them: News from X, Snapchat & Disney

Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! This time, we review the potential X subscription service, Disney+’s subscriber shortfall, Roblox's new in-experience subscriptions, Snapchat+’s user growth, and Revel’s successful fundraising for car subscription expansion.  Twitter, now X, is moving to a small monthly subscription Elon Musk discussed his plans for X–he said...

Continue reading

Holiday shopping 2023: Consumers want to gift & receive subscriptions

The holiday season is near, and both businesses and consumers are preparing for the upcoming festivities. While economic conditions may affect spending, 53% of consumers are interested in giving gift subscriptions this year, according to our recent survey for 2023 holiday shopping trends. We asked 2,000 consumers in the...

Continue reading

Subscriptions everywhere: News from The Economist, Deezer, Dancer & Caravelo

Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! This is a very international edition–we’ll review The Economist’s new subscription tier, Deezer and Universal’s artist-centric streaming model, Dance’s e-bike subscriber growth, Caravelo’s funding to expand all-you-can-fly subscriptions, and a special invite to Subscription Sessions–the industry event of the year.  You're invited to Subscription Sessions:...

Continue reading

What you should know about subscription payments processing

Subscription model businesses of all shapes and sizes are taking steps to optimize online payment processing to provide a seamless customer experience, as well as make internal processes more efficient. New state-of-the-art payment processing models are replacing old point-of-sale merchant PCI systems, with more versatility and features, as well as...

Continue reading

Give subscribers what they want: News from Disney+, BMW, Spotify & Patreon

Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly–the newsletter that keeps you on top of subscription content. In this issue, we review Disney+ price cuts, BMW’s refocus on subscription services, Spotify’s premium content testing, and Patreon’s new features for creators.  Disney+ cuts price to $2 in limited-time offer For the next two weeks,...

Continue reading

What is Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)?

Whether you offer short-term contracts or multi-year contracts, ARR  is a key metric for businesses running a subscription model. Like every other company, subscription brands like BarkBox, Twitch, FabFitFun, Sling, Blue Apron, and Dollar Shave Club were shocked when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. However, rather than shrinking, the...

Continue reading

Key subscription business metrics

Subscription-based services are experiencing monumental growth as more consumers seek more convenient ways to shop. With the rising demands for exclusive content, freemium plans, promotions, and personalized experiences, companies need to know what's driving the most success. Understanding and monitoring acquisition, revenue, and retention metrics are vital to your...

Continue reading

A definitive guide to recurring billing and subscription commerce

Recurring billing powers many of the services that both businesses and consumers use, rely on, even love every day. These automatic payments handle all the payment details on a regular schedule without each person (from customer to payment processor to business owner) having to manage these transactions. Can you imagine...

Continue reading

How to calculate Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Consumers love their subscriptions, but a subscription business model also offers significant advantages for a company's financial health. Namely, monthly subscriptions mean predictable monthly revenue. Knowing your future revenue on a monthly basis makes it easier to hire more staff, invest in new product development, or sign a lease for...

Continue reading