Consumers are increasingly interested in the subscription box model with interest up nearly a third, according to new research from Hitwise. Research from the company shows that in 2017, visits to subscription box websites increased by 30%.
Year-on-year online visits rose to 76.7 million, making it one of the fastest growing retail verticals in the UK.
18-24-year old’s drove website visits throughout Q4, being 16% more likely to have visited a subscription box website – but a mere 10% are more likely to be female. More surprisingly however, Hitwise found Q4 saw to a massive 125% increase in male shoppers searching for subscription boxes and consumers aged 45+ also increased by 40% in this period.
Whilst the top three brands in each category accounted for around 60% of each category’s traffic in Q4 2017, the top risers are also gaining traction – for example, men’s grooming company, Harry’s, and Protect my Pet, in the lifestyle category.
The subscription model is popular across a range of categories such as food and beauty but searches for specifics such as gin and wine and fitness supplements show interest in these areas is growing in particular.
In fashion and beauty 2017 traffic grew by 34% whilst in food and alcohol, it grew by 25% year on year. Lifestyle grew by 26%.
“Shoppers are starting to move away from the high street and we can only expect to see a continual growth in this area throughout 2018,” said Marie Louise Dalton, global vice president of marketing at Hitwise. By understanding the behaviours of people who use subscription boxes, brands and marketers will be able to target them better, and in doing so use their budget as wisely as possible.”
The full report is available here: Subscription Box Industry.
