Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! Where all Fridays feel like a lucky day. Start the day with the latest subscription industry news. In this edition, we review Amazon’s Buy with Prime benefits for customers, HBO Max’s new prices for its ad-free plan in the U.S., and the Twitter blue launch in Japan. We also invite you to join our upcoming webinar: The 2023 State of Subscriptions–see the details below. 

Amazon’s opening up Buy with Prime in the U.S.

Amazon’s expanding the availability of its “Buy with Prime” button. Starting January 31st, more online stores can start offering free shipping and next-day deliveries, plus add product reviews and ratings from Amazon. Customers will have to pay for a $139 yearly Prime membership to enjoy the benefits. Learn more on The Verge.

HBO Max raises ad-free subscription fees in the U.S.

The streaming platform is increasing the price of its popular ad-free plan from $14.99 to $15.99 monthly. This is the first time HBO Max has increased its prices since launching–coming ahead of the company's launch of “Max,” a service that combines HBO Max and Discovery+ programs. Read more on CNBC

Twitter launches Blue subscription service in Japan

After launching its Blue subscription in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand; Twitter noted that Japanese users would be able to subscribe for ¥980/month (around $7.40) on the web and ¥1,380/month ($10.42) on iOS. Continue reading on TechCrunch.

The 2023 State of Subscriptions

As 2022 ends, subscription businesses continue to plan and project growth for 2023. To set new goals, it's key to understand the preferences and behaviors of subscribers last year. At a glance:

  • The average overall churn rate was 6.9%, where:

    • Voluntary churn comes in at 4.7%

    • Involuntary churn at 2.2%

What’s driving this outcome, and how can you set yourself up for success amid challenging economic times? Let’s talk about it in our upcoming webinar: The 2023 State of Subscriptions.

Get the insights you need to reach your full growth potential this year. The team at Recurly–Dan Burkhart, Chief Executive Officer, Brian Geier, Director, Business Intelligence, and Theresa McEndree, Chief Marketing Officer–share their insights on churn, acquisition, growth, and payments in subscriptions.

Join Recurly at these exciting events

The 2023 State of Subscriptions LinkedIn Live: Get a sneak peek of the upcoming demands and expectations for subscriptions in 2023! Join Theresa McEndree, Recurly CMO, on January 19th to get new insights to help you keep a good thing growing. Register now.

Recurly platform demo and Q&A. See first-hand how you can reduce churn, maximize revenue, boost growth, and improve payments. Come armed with your subscription questions! We'll be happy to answer them. Save your spot here.

Get ready for 2023

From the Recurly blog