Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! In this edition, we dive deeper into subscriber preferences and digital payments. 

Americans put streaming over groceries on spending, will they flock to Netflix’s new ad-supported tier? Morgan Stanley has valued Walmart+ membership at $45 billion–savings on fuel contribute to this. FTX, Visa, Coinbase, and Google continue to expand crypto payments globally. 

Americans cut back on food first, streaming last

According to the National Research Group, 44% of U.S. consumers have tried to cut back on groceries amid ongoing high inflation, while only 18% did so with their streaming subscriptions. Amazon Prime is among the least likely to be canceled, trailing cloud storage and music streaming services. Learn more on The Hustle.

Will users flock to Netflix’s ad-backed service?

The biggest question about the ad-supported tier is one Netflix can’t answer yet: whether it will help stem the slow leak of subscribers amid challenges from other streamers. The streaming service has released the details of its new tier, and the experts have spoken. This option will likely be more of a band-aid than a long-term answer–however, initial plans for adding ads look promising. Read more on Forbes. 

Subscriber growth and retention keeping you up at night? You’re not alone. Join us on November 3rd to discover upcoming industry predictions and actionable insights to stay competitive.

Walmart+ membership plan valued at $45 billion 

A new note from Morgan Stanley suggested that Walmart+ could be worth $45 billion. The retail giant launched its membership program in 2020 to compete with Amazon Prime. Costs are similar–both offer free shipping and delivery; however, Walmart continues to gain popularity thanks to its savings on fuel. Learn more on Yahoo! Finance. 

FTX & Visa partner to permit crypto payments in 40 countries

Spending cryptocurrency just became a lot easier. FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has partnered with payments giant Visa to roll out debit cards in 40 countries worldwide–allowing FTX users to pay for goods and services with “zero fees.” Read more on Cointelegraph. 

Google & Coinbase to bring crypto payments to cloud services

Effective next year, Google announced a new deal with Coinbase to allow a select set of customers to pay for its cloud services using digital currencies. The tech giant also plans to explore using Coinbase Prime, a custodial service for storing and trading cryptocurrencies. Continue reading on Cointelegraph. 

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