Subscription *everything* - nothing is immune
As London moved back into another lockdown this week, Apple became the latest tech company who are getting into the fitness subscription game with Apple Fitness+. These fitness services have never more popular than in 2020, the year that has seen gyms worldwide close for months at a time, with some seeing doors shut since April.
The closures, coupled with the fact that many of us have been stuck at home have lead to a home-gym revolution, with people dusting off old exercise bikes or purchasing new gym equipment for the spare room or garden, in order to maintain personal fitness at a time when our physical health has never been so important. It is this hunger for home-workouts that has helped the already popular apps that offer a instructor-hosted class at a time [and place] that is convenient to you.
But these paid-for fitness apps aren't the only subscription model being utilised in the exercise arena. The Swiss running shoe specialist "On" are busy taking pre-orders for their shoe subscription service, where wearing out your trainers results in you sending back the old pair to be recycled while you are furnished with a brand new set, all for a monthly fee od $29.99.
This unusual move for the shoemaker reminded me of the Nike Adventure Club, a subscription service for kids' shoes that launched last year in the US as a collaboration between Nike and Converse, where once the child has out grown the shoes they can be sent back to be recycled and in turn another pair arrives in a larger size. With the world focus on sustainability and reducing waste it seems a smart way of dealing with an ever-present issue, while tying in the family to a brand for life!
While the subscription model is not a new concept, there has been a surge of companies springing up and targeting evermore niche demographics and services, looking for the differentiator that sets them apart from anything that has come before.
It seems finding that niche is the key, just as it is with any business venture and, just like any business venture - there are success stories, and there are those that land wide of the mark; Quibi the "short-form streaming platform" that was aiming to revolutionise video content lasted just 6 months after a reported $1.75 billion raised from investors.
Failures aside, it sure looks like there is plenty of room for innovation in the subscription space and whether it's Netflix, Peloton, Adventure Club, Beer52 or Hello Fresh recipe boxes, there seems no end of potential areas of our lives we are willing to automate or "hack" with a subscription, taking away life's admin while we can enjoy the extra time with curated content that can even expand our horizons in ways we might not have got to on our own.
Just as the "Tastebreakers" playlists that Spotify put together are often a welcome sojourn into the unknown away from those favourite tracks you can always rely on, there's sure to be any number of new services that can help open our eyes to new experiences.
The question is, what's next?
