Asia Pacific – Around 81% of Asian consumers think there are too many subscription services to choose from now, and 93% are seeking a single hub to manage all this, a report from Bango revealed.
According to the data gathered, over three-quarters, or 81%, of subscription users believe there are now “too many” subscription services available, and 93% are demanding a unified platform to administer all of their subscriptions.
The boom in the subscription economy is threatening to overwhelm consumers across India and Southeast Asia. But even with many feeling subscription fatigue, 81% would consider signing up for more subscriptions if they were consolidated through a centralised content hub.
The latest report also revealed that there is a subscription overload happening, with 86% of consumers having more than two subscriptions and 15% having more than six. These include services ranging from streaming to food delivery, music to sports, and more.
Many consumers are having a tough time tracking their current subscriptions on separate platforms, resulting in unnecessary costs. According to the data, nearly half, or 44%, say they’ve kept paying for subscriptions they forgot were still active, while 32% are currently paying for subscription services that they never use.
However, despite the overwhelming number of subscription services, the study also showed that consumers are not looking for fewer choices. Rather, they are simply looking for a more seamless experience.
The majority of consumers (93%) want all their subscriptions to be managed through a ‘Super Bundling’ content hub, where there is a single payment to a service aggregator for multiple subscriptions like streaming services in a single hub.
Bango’s research report revealed that subscribers in Asia consider an ideal content hub to provide discounts in subscription prices (58%), access to a variety of services in one place (56%), and the ability to pay multiple subscriptions at once (51%).
Furthermore, a majority of consumers (89%) would spend more time using their subscription services if a content hub was available. Meanwhile, 91% also believe that having all of their subscriptions in one place would help them manage their household expenses.
When it comes to building this solution, the survey showed that local mobile network operators may be the key to unlocking ‘Super Bundling’.
For a majority of Asian consumers (81%), telcos are the most trusted provider for a centralised content hub. They’re the logical go-to, as two-thirds (67%) of consumers already have subscription services included in their phone plan.
Additionally, the data also revealed that ‘Super Bundling’ content hubs can boost consumer loyalty, with 95% saying they would be more loyal to the brands that provided them and 66% willing to leave their current telco provider if this service became available elsewhere.
An example of a ‘Super Bundling’ content hub are the ones offered by Verizon and Optus in the US and Australia. Both are offering centralised hubs for streaming, music, gaming, and more through their +play and SubHub platforms, respectively.
Anil Malhotra, co-founder at Bango, explained, “Managing multiple subscriptions is a headache for users. They don’t want less choice—just less admin. We should focus on building all-in-one solutions that can offer consumers flexibility in billing, a wider variety of choices, and a great user experience. That’s what they really want.”
