Consumer Subscription Software

CSS is not revolutionary — the model has been proven before in entertainment. If you think about it, CSS is the next evolution of a cable subscription, where consumers are paying a monthly subscription fee in exchange for a service but ultimately do not own the TV shows or content they viewed. However, unlike cable, consumer subscription software c... See more

I believe Consumer Subscription Software (“CSS”) will quickly rival enterprise SaaS as the most exciting growth opportunity in software.

Unlike in the early days of the internet, consumers are now willing to pay for higher quality offerings, driving demand for CSS offerings.

HOWEVER, if consumers are finding a service useful and it becomes a part of their life, retention rates for the second-year approach 80–90% allowing CSS businesses to build extremely profitable cohorts of users that provide years of cash flow.

Consumers are adopting the model after becoming comfortable with Netflix and Spotify as the “Pioneer” CSS services. Now consumers are expanding their purchases to capture better experiences in broad and exciting new verticals including family communications, travel, exercise, hobbies and religion.

Whether it’s SaaS as the preferred delivery method for software products, monthly subscriptions for music / video streaming, newspapers, newsletters, podcasts, or physical products, subscriptions are infiltrating nearly every business model.