Subscription Economy News: 11/11/2019

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

Dell Unveils Subscription Model to Counter Amazon, Microsoft

Excerpts from an article by Nico Grant on Bloomberg

Dell Technologies Inc. will offer business clients more flexible, on-demand buying options for products like servers and personal computers, seeking to counter the lure of cloud services from Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Customers will now be able to use Dell’s hardware based on their consumption, as a service, or through a subscription, the Round Rock, Texas-based company said Tuesday in a statement.

“We really think it’s an important time for Dell to simplify the way we offer our portfolio and meet customers’ needs,” Sam Grocott, Dell’s senior vice president of product marketing, said in an interview. “This type of a model – as a service – was born in the cloud. As organizations have leveraged this model in the past, they have come to like it.”

Dell is making it easier for clients to upgrade their hardware since they don’t have to spend a large amount of capital expenditures upfront, but can pay a smaller amount each month that counts toward a company’s operating expenditures. For the consumption programs, customers pay for the amount of storage or computing power they use. Companies can also hire Dell to completely manage their hardware infrastructure for them.

For more, read the full article on Bloomberg

Tesco Launches Amazon-Style Subscription Program

Excerpts from an article on PYMNTS

Tesco is taking on the competition by adding a subscription option ‘Clubcard Plus” to its Clubcard loyalty program. For £7.99 a month, customers will have access to 10 percent off two big shops up to £200 each; 10 percent off customers’ favorite Tesco brands at all times; double data on a monthly contract for new and existing Tesco Mobile customers; and exclusive access to apply for a Tesco Bank credit card with no foreign exchange fees. The company says a customer’s potential savings add up to more than £400 a year.

“We know that our customers are always looking for ways to make their money go further. That’s why we’re launching Clubcard Plus – so that they can get better value on the products and services that matter most to them, throughout the whole year,” Alessandra Bellini, Tesco chief customer officer, said in a press release.

The move is a page out of the Amazon playbook, as the eCommerce giant has seen great success with its own subscription service, Amazon Prime. Earlier this year, a study revealed that more than half (51.3 percent) of U.S. households will have Amazon Prime memberships this year, which would equal 63.9 million households in total.

For more, read the full article on PYMNTS

Citi survey finds APAC leaning towards subscription-based business model

Excerpts from an article by Soumik Roy on Tech Wire Asia

Successful businesses today are either entirely run on a subscription-based business model or at least offer that as an option to customers.

What industry observers are seeing is reflected in a new Citi report Signing up to the subscription economy which surveyed 580 senior business executives in Asia Pacific (APAC) and found that three quarters say the shift to a subscription-based business model is a board-level priority.

Interestingly, the report found that most expect subscriptions to have a significant impact on long-term revenue growth, and believe it will lead to better customer retention and stronger customer relationships.

The study also points out that the vast majority of respondents Citi surveyed see the move to a subscription-based business model as an opportunity to become a lead disruptor in their industry.

For more, read the full article on Tech Wire Asia

Publishers say internal tech expertise is crucial to the paywall model

Excerpts from an article on DigiDay 

As publishers, from digital players to national and regional titles, grapple with paywall trials, metered access and subscription models, it’s evident there’s no singular approach to content monetization. New research, of more than 100 media businesses in the US and UK, shows that more than half say the biggest contributor to growth will be subscriptions, as revenue diversification beyond advertising ramps up.

However, monetizing content at a time when advertising revenue is coming under increasing pressure isn’t just about building a paywall. In the pivot-to-paid, publishers have a wealth of options available to begin to develop a lasting two-way relationship with their audience that goes beyond simply putting a barrier between users and the content that they want to access.

Organizations looking to diversify revenue often face technical and structural challenges and a plethora of options for managing the process. This can make decisions difficult and progress slow. The research also reveals that technical complexity and inflexible tools represent the two biggest barriers to publishers achieving a more agile and sophisticated monetisation mix.

For more, read the full article on DigiDay.

Learn how Zuora helps publishers such as The Guardian and The Seattle Times succeed with the subscription business model.

WordPress.com sites can now accept subscriptions with new ‘Recurring Payments’ feature

Excerpts from an article by Sarah Perez on TechCrunch

The subscription model is today sustaining a number of businesses, including artists, creators, news publishers, game developers, entertainment providers and more. Now, top publishing platform WordPress.com is making it easier for any creator or web publisher to add a subscription feature to their own website, so they can begin to generate repeat contributions from their supporters, readers, fans or customers.

Users are able to create as many different payment plans as they like — including those that support different currencies, payment frequencies and names — which enables them to offer different tiers or types of subscriptions to their customers, readers or fans. They’ll also be able to put a Recurring Payments button on their website.

The launch could have a major impact on the prevalence of subscriptions across the web, given the size of WordPress.com’s footprint.

For more, read the full article on TechCrunch

And for more Subscription Economy resources and events, head to www.subscribed.com.

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