UK subscription service statistics

Brits spend over £2 billion every single year on subscription services – but which are the most popular and how is the market growing?

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Georgia-Rose Johnson
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From baby book clubs to Japanese culture, subscription services are a great way of getting the most from your favourite brands. Whether it’s free next-day delivery from Amazon Prime or getting healthy snacks delivered to your door with Graze, there’s a subscription service for everyone. We’ve explored the latest statistics to see how many Brits are subscribed to services such as these.

Quick overview

  • Brits spend more than £2 billion every year on subscription services.
  • A recent survey suggests that over 60% of adults in Britain are subscribed to the Amazon Prime subscription service.
  • The average Brit spends £60 per year on subscription services.
  • The average price of a subscription box is £14.
  • The subscription box market is estimated to grow by 77% to be worth over £1 billion by 2022.
  • More than 1 in 4 Brits (27.4%) were subscribed to at least one subscription box service in 2018.
  • 23% of those aged 18-34 has a subscription box.

Subscription box services

It’s predicted that Brits spend more than £2 billion every year on the overall subscription market, with over 60% of Brits subscribed to retail giant Amazon’s Prime service. We looked at the latest reports to see which subscription box services are the UK’s favourites.

The most popular subscription boxes are those bringing us food, with 37% of all subscribers subscribing to some sort of food service. The second most popular type of box is those containing razors and shaving items, with 30% of all subscribers. On the other end of the spectrum, only 10% of subscribers see the benefit of getting contact lenses delivered to their door.

Of those who do use a subscription box service, 45% said that the reason they were subscribed was because of the price, as many boxes offer high value for a lower price. 43% of subscribers like the convenience of having items delivered, and 43% say they subscribe as a treat for themselves.

Subscription box Percentage of subscribers
Food 37%
Razor & shaving 30%
Perfume & cosmetics 26%
Clothing 21%
Contact lenses 10%

The best subscription services

Amazon Prime is the most subscribed to service, but which other companies make the top five list?

Healthy snack subscription service Graze comes in second place, with just over 1 in 10 (12.3%) of subscribers subscribed to this service. Next on the list are Nextunlimited (9.7%), Pact Coffee (8.5%) and beauty subscription service Glossybox (7.8%).

Subscription service Percentage of subscribers
Amazon Prime 61.4%
Graze 12.3%
Nextunlimited 9.7%
Pact Coffee 8.5%
Glossybox 7.8%

Subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are a great way to get your favourite goods delivered straight to your door whenever you want them. Whether it’s food ingredients or a fresh new pair of socks, there’s a subscription box for just about everything! The latest stats from Royal Mail suggest that the subscription box market is expected to be worth over £1 billion in 2022 – a 77% increase from 2017 figures (£583 million).

  • 1 in 4 Brits (27.4%) are signed up to a subscription box in the UK.
  • Suscription boxes are most popular amongst 18-34 year olds, with 1 in 4 (23%) signed up to at least one service.
  • 13% of 35-54 year olds are subscribed to one of these services, but only 3% of those over 55 have a subscription box service.
  • Subscription boxes are more popular with males than females, with 30% of men subscribed to one, compared to 24% of women.
  • It’s anticipated that male grooming subscriptions will see the biggest growth of any subscription category, reaching 2 million members by 2022.

Subscription boxes for businesses

With the demand for subscription boxes on the rise, how many companies are planning to jump on the bandwagon and introduce their own subscription box service?

The latest report from the Post Office reveals that over half (58%) of businesses plan on investing in new or existing subscription boxes in the next year. Cited by 45% of businesses, the key motivation for introducing a subscription box service was driving greater brand loyalty.

Reasons businesses start subscription services

The top motivations cited for starting a subscription service were as follows:

Reason Percentage of businesses
Drive greater brand loyalty 44.8%
Desire for greater control (distribution) 34.5%
Control of marketing and promotion 24.1%
Lower start-up costs 24.1%

Sources

  • Royal Mail Group
  • Mysubscriptionaddicion

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

Matt Mckenna
UK Communications Manager
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

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