Subscription Economy News: Week of 08/24/20

Every week, we bring you the top stories and analyses from the global Subscription Economy.

Audible launches a cheaper subscription plan for access to its exclusive podcasts and audio content
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Excerpt from an article by Ashley Carman on The Verge

Audible, an Amazon company, is separating its exclusive audio content out into its own plan with a cheaper subscription that doesn’t include credits to download audiobooks outside its catalog.

Audible Plus, for $7.95 a month, is the company’s cheapest plan, giving subscribers access to Audible’s collection of exclusive audio content, like podcasts.

In the coming weeks, Audible plans to launch more new, exclusive content.

“What makes us distinct or different is really our focus on expertly curated content, and then also that high quality and that bar of narrative storytelling — that stuff with a beginning, middle, and end,” she says.

Read the full article on The Verge The Verge

Porsche experiments with subscription pricing, expands to Los Angeles

Excerpt from an article by Kirsten Korosec on TechCrunch

Porsche is rolling out a less expensive subscription plan in four U.S. cities as the German automaker experiments with different pricing and products in an effort to expand its customer base.

Porsche now has three plans, or tiers, that are all housed under its newly rebranded Porsche Drive vehicle subscription program. This new plan, called Porsche Drive-single vehicle subscription, squeezes in between two other existing tiers.

“If California were a country, it would be our fifth-largest market in the world,” said Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO of PCNA.

Porsche contends that data shows the subscription program has been successful. The company said 80% of participants have been new to Porsche, many are younger than the average age for current Porsche buyers or lessees and more than one-third enroll for at least four months

Read the full article on TechCrunch

An Endless Stream of Games Is the Perfect Business Model for a Pandemic

Excerpt from an article by Dina Bass on Bloomberg Businessweek

[Microsoft’s] Xbox will arrive as scheduled in November, and Microsoft is bullish about its prospects. Central to Microsoft’s optimism is a [subscription] service called Game Pass, which offers a vast selection of titles for a flat monthly fee.

“We’re confident,” says Sarah Bond, the vice president who oversees relations with game creators. “We will launch with thousands of games.”

“Subscriptions will play a big role in driving engagement,” says George Jijiashvili, an analyst at researcher Omdia. Subscriptions can keep revenue flowing even when a company has no new console or blockbuster title.

A Game Pass subscription leads to about 20% more playing time. Users sample a wider variety of genres, and they generate 20% more in sales, both on titles not included in the plan and on extras such as downloadable content.

Read the full piece on Bloomberg Businessweek

Subscription services boom in lockdown with spending up 40 per cent

Excerpt from an article by Sam Meadows on The Telegraph

Subscription spending has risen by nearly 40% because of lockdown, as consumers broaden out to meal kits and wine deliveries, new data showed.

The study from Barclaycard Payments, which processes nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, revealed that almost two thirds of UK homes are signed up to a regular subscription service.

The firm said its research showed people and businesses had embraced subscriptions during the lockdown as millions of people were stuck at home and pubs and bars were closed.

Kirsty Morris, of Barclaycard Payments, said: “While lockdown certainly provided a catalyst for the growth in subscriptions, our data shows the popularity of direct-to-door and at-home products and services is only set to continue.”

Read the full piece on The Telegraph

 

Read the full article on CMSWire and understand the true opportunity of the Subscription Economy.

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