Study on subscription services: Large majority of German consumers pay up to EUR 100 a month
70% of subscribers cancel as soon as subscription benefits are no longer apparent
Munich, June 9th, 2022 - A new survey by the subscription management platform Recurly shows: 67% of Germans are using at least one subscription service. On average, German consumers have three subscriptions.
Cancellation when subscription benefit is no longer apparent
At the same time, a large majority (70%) tend to cancel subscriptions immediately if the benefit may no longer be apparent to subscribers. This sets German consumers apart from consumers in other countries such as the USA, where pricing is the top cancellation criterion (comparison: Germany 63%). If a competitor offers a better deal, 39% of the surveyed Germans decide to cancel their subscription.
Exclusivity is the trump card
To retain subscribers for the long term and discourage them from canceling, services should offer their customers exclusive content. Accordingly, 45% of German citizens state that exclusive access to content is a main reason for signing up to subscription services. Over the past two COVID-19 years the largest subscriber base and growth has been achieved unsurprisingly through content-rich video streaming (49%), audio streaming (25%) and gaming offerings (21%). Today, these subscription segments still represent those categories that German consumers use most frequently. For millennials (49%), Generation X (51%), but also for best agers (41%) ¬ and with some reservations even for seniors (35%) ¬ having access to exclusive and attractive content is the decisive criterion for taking out a subscription. However, it is also clear that most cancellations occur in these three categories, too.
"We want to understand why and how subscriptions are bought. Providing exclusivity and offering consumption-based pricing models are important factors for subscription services to successfully retain customers and grow," explains Oscar Wall, General Manager - EMEA at Recurly.
Majority pays up to EUR 100 for subscriptions per month
A remarkable 82% of German consumers pay up to EUR 100 per month for traditional subscription services such as video streaming, audio streaming or gaming. The greatest growth potential is promised by 18- to 29-year-olds. After all, 20% of them said they would even spend EUR 100 to 200 on subscriptions.
And yet, high inflation is clouding this positive prospect. 84% of German consumers are currently concerned about the effects of inflation. 24% of the respondents said they planned to cancel some subscription services this year. 41% of German consumers have already canceled a subscription in the past year due to price increases.
Future perspectives: Innovative subscription concepts
"Simultaneously, we perceive innovative subscription concepts and models. They range from trampoline parks to car washes and restaurants. For these companies, subscriptions are already generating regular recurring revenues in the U.S. and offer great growth potential in Germany," says Wall.
About Recurly
Thousands of innovative companies across digital media, streaming, publishing, SaaS, education, consumer goods, and professional services industries rely on Recurly to unlock transformational growth using subscriptions. Recurly’s all-in-one, integrated platform removes the complexities of automating subscriptions at scale by enabling teams to manage and optimize their subscriber lifecycles with ease. Category-defining companies including Sling, Twitch, BarkBox, FabFitFun, Paramount, Lucid, and Sprout Social have chosen Recurly to manage billions of dollars in recurring revenues, future-proof their recurring billing and payment operations, and recover millions in lost revenue due to churn. Founded in 2010, Recurly is based in San Francisco, with offices in Boulder, New Orleans and London. For more information, visit Recurly.com.
About the “Pandemic vs. Endemic Impacts and Trends on Subscription Services” Survey
The “Pandemic vs. Endemic Impacts and Trends on Subscription Services” survey is based on findings of an internet-based survey conducted by Recurly via Survey Monkey in March 2022. The sample size included 2,612 respondents 18+ that currently subscribe to one or more subscription services.
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