Subscription Boxes Survey: Young Consumers Likely to Be Early Adopters

Interest in subscription boxes is growing, according to data from Google Trends. The subscription commerce market is made up of companies in niches like fashion, food and beauty supplies that send a selection of products to subscribers each month or week. And the methods that subscription companies can use to effectively target potential customers vary depending on those interest areas. So how many consumers have used subscription services? And how many are likely to do so in the future? We asked 1,000 respondents about their thoughts on this growing market.

Subscription Boxes

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest online survey, 9% of respondents said that they’ve signed up for many different subscription box services at some point. 22% have subscribed to just one or two. 20% said they don’t currently subscribe to any, but have in the past. And 49% said that they’ve never signed up for any subscription box services. Birchbox, Ipsy, Amazon, Graze and LootCrate were some of the most popular subscription box services that respondents have purchased. And in general, 63% of customers said they’ve been at least somewhat satisfied with the subscription box experience.

Consumer Profile

According to Personality Radar, those who are likely to subscribe to these services are young and ambitious, but also socially conscious. Additionally, those who subscribe to just one or two services seem to be more interested in practical purchases, while those who subscribe to many are more likely to pay extra for things like upgrades and features of convenience.

Popular Niches

But not every subscriber is the same. In fact, a lot can vary from niche to niche. For example, 17% of respondents said they currently subscribe to health and beauty boxes like Birchbox, Ipsy and Dollar Shave Club. Those respondents are likely to care about up-and-coming trends. 15% subscribe to food boxes like Graze. Those consumers are likely to put more stock in practical purchases. And another 15% subscribe to apparel boxes like Stitch Fix and JustFab. Those respondents tend to be more socially conscious, especially when it comes to issues like health and the environment.

Key Takeaways

Subscription boxes are part of a relatively new industry. So it makes sense that a lot of the customers so far are young people who tend to adapt to new trends early on. But as subscription box companies grow, they’ll need to adapt their marketing strategies to reach out to those who have yet to try these services. The talking points and media outlets that companies use can vary greatly depending on the niche. For example, fashion brands could reach out to consumers using magazine ads and calling attention to sustainable products or otherwise socially conscious practices. But food boxes might fare better by targeting practical-minded consumers using budgeting websites and calling attention to things like convenience and money saving features.

Photo Credit: Purrfect Box - August by Ruth Johnston under CC BY 2.0

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