Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! This week’s highlights showcase a payments evolution in motion. From BNPL expansions and dunning breakthroughs to loyalty gains and smarter engagement scoring, the tools driving long-term subscription growth are getting sharper.

Affirm brings BNPL to Costco’s online checkout

In early May, Affirm and Costco teamed up to offer “pay over time” options to U.S. shoppers. Qualified members can now split purchases into monthly payments, bringing flexible financing to one of America’s biggest retailers. Flexible payment choices are becoming table stakes for ecommerce, subscriptions included. Read more

The Economist redefines engagement to reduce churn

The Economist has launched a new engagement scoring model that prioritizes meaningful interactions like podcasts and subscriber-only webinars over basic actions, such as article views. Some actions are now weighted up to 100× more valuable in retention modeling than others. The goal? To identify and nurture behaviors that actually drive loyalty.

VP of Retention Tamsin Larcombe shared that engagement is now a KPI discussed daily across teams. Beyond clicks, the model acknowledges emotional connection and perceived value, informed by both data and subscriber surveys. The future of retention lies in understanding quality of engagement, not just quantity. Read the full story

INMA: Win-back campaigns turn churn into growth

New analysis from INMA shows that churn doesn’t have to be a dead end. Using subscriber data from 95 global news brands, their simulation revealed a dramatic finding: Brands without win-back campaigns reach only 1% of households over 10 years. With systematic win-back in place? That jumps to 15%.

It’s a transformational shift, not just incremental. The telecom-inspired model shows that even modest monthly reactivation rates (4.8%) can turn churn into a long-term growth engine.

 Lessons from streaming and telecom also apply:

  • Serial churners now make up 42% of cancellations — and 41% of new adds

  • Binge-worthy content drives spikes; habitual content builds stickiness

  • Bundling and pricing flexibility are key to retention

Publishers and subscription brands alike should rethink churn as an opportunity, not just a risk. Read the full INMA report 

Streaming is profitable, but retention is under pressure

A recent Wall Street Journal deep dive shows that streaming giants are finally profitable, but also fragmented. Password rules, ad tiers, and complex bundles are creating churn chaos for consumers. With churn rising and clarity dropping, brands that simplify value will stand out. Read more 

Work in the most exciting industry: Open roles in subscriptions

Looking for your next big challenge? These leading subscription companies are hiring. From engineering to design to partnerships, check out these open roles.

New from Recurly

🛠 Just launched: The ecommerce subscriptions playbook

Want to scale your subscription business in 2025? This is the playbook you’ve been waiting for. Built for ecommerce brands offering physical products, this new guide breaks down the real tactics that drive long-term growth — from pricing strategy to retention, fraud prevention, and loyalty. Backed by data from Recurly’s 2025 State of Subscriptions report, it’s a must-read for any brand serious about staying competitive in a saturated market.

Inside the guide:

  • Pause usage is up 54% (and keeps revenue alive)

  • Debit cards fail 48.2% of the time at sign-up

  • APM fraud rates? Just 1.4%

  • 70% of customers say loyalty perks influence cancellation decisions

If you're struggling with churn, payment drop-off, or subscription fatigue, this guide is your roadmap to stronger retention and smarter growth. Read the ecommerce playbook 

Recurly Release 

  • Recurly Commerce: Checkout that converts: From bundles to product swaps, power your Shopify brand with flexible checkouts built for recurring revenue. Conversion and retention both start with a frictionless checkout.  Explore Commerce

  • Recurly Engage: Personalized lifecycle journeys, no code needed: Trigger onboarding, renewal nudges, and win-back flows with personalized precision. Enjoy automated journeys help you retain more, with less manual lift. Explore Engage