Welcome back to Subscriptions Weekly! In this edition, we review how subscription business models help prepare DTC brands for a recession. We check Harvard Business Review’s latest survey on social media subscription sentiment, Twitter Blue’s recent feature release, and Kobo’s new subscription plan in the U.S.

How subscription models help prepare DTC brands for a recession

Many businesses are beginning to rethink their current strategies to ensure success during challenging economic times. With acquisition costs skyrocketing and repeat sales increasing, companies find growth opportunities in subscriptions. Learn more on Total Retail.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription businesses are in the midst of transformation. Macroeconomic pressures create an environment where consumers make more intentional decisions about their spending.

Subscriptions persevere as a resilient solution, helping businesses stabilize revenue streams and develop long-term customer relationships. Download The State of Subscriptions report to find actionable insights to recession-proof your business with the right strategy across the subscriber lifecycle.

Research: How people feel about paying for social media

Users are now faced with subscription fees to social media apps that they have become accustomed to using for free. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have implemented subscription-based services, and the buzz is passionate and increasing.

A Harvard Business Review survey reveals what users expect from the newly reconstructed social media ecosystem, anchored by subscription fees:

  • Instagram is the social media service with the highest expectations, accompanying high perceived quality and high user satisfaction.

  • Twitter and Snapchat lead in the perceived value their subscription services offer at this early stage of rolling them out in the marketplace.

  • Snapchat has the most loyal potential pay-for-service users most likely to adopt the service.

Twitter’s new feature will show half of ads to Blue subscribers

Twitter is rolling out additional features for Blue subscribers, including showing 50% of ads in their timeline. This feature doesn’t apply to ads on the profile or in replies, promoted accounts, and events on the Explore page. However, it’s hard to prove if users actually see fewer ads. Read more on TechCrunch.

Kobo Plus subscription plans are now available in the U.S.

Kobo launched its Kobo Plus subscription tier starting at $7.99/month, giving users access to 1.3 million books from Kobo’s library. This new subscription will compete with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited plan ($9.99/month). Learn more on TechCrunch.

Join Recurly at these exciting events

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On-demand: The 2023 State of Subscriptions webinar. Set your team up for success with insights from more than 2,200 global brands. Learn the upcoming industry trends and consumer demands. Watch now.

From the Recurly blog

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