Loyalty Tests — Real Life

If subscriptions work, they allow companies to consolidate market share and drive out competitors before loyalty wears thin, the impotence of voice becomes apparent, and customers head for the exit. If this approach succeeds, as examples like Amazon suggest, customers might find that when their loyalty finally fades, there’s nowhere else to go.

But the appeal of subscriptions often hinges not on a better deal but on an escape from having to make deals. For many direct-to-consumer subscriptions, the absence of active purchasing decisions is the entire point. They replace more active forms of brand loyalty with a passive form in which the subscribed user is loyal to the point of effectively... See more