Is developing a subscription offer for a distributor or manufacturer a genuinely good idea? The model isn't new, but its expansion into nearly every sector—beauty, food, mobility, DIY, energy, health—marks a significant shift.
1. Why Subscription is Everywhere Today
The SubscriptionX Retail Report 2025 highlights this transformation. The global market for subscriptions, membership programs, and loyalty schemes crossed the $3 trillion threshold in 2024. European consumers now hold an average of 3.2 subscriptions and spend nearly €700 annually on these services, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the engagement.
This growth reflects a profound change: a desire for more fluidity, reduced mental load, predictability, and services that fit naturally into daily life.
2. When Subscription Truly Creates Value
Subscription becomes a powerful lever when it meets a regular, real-life need. Take the example of a pharmaceutical lab creating an offer for food supplements. Customers previously interrupted their courses due to simple reasons: forgetfulness, lack of discipline, or running out of stock.
The subscription provided exactly what was missing: continuity, peace of mind, structured reminders, and personalized advice. The relationship moved far beyond a simple transaction.
Successful digital transitions in media (e.g., Le Monde, NYT) follow this logic: subscription wasn't just the goal, but the consequence of renewed editorial value and a permanent connection. Value factors prioritized by consumers—priority delivery, member benefits, simplicity, reliability—far outweigh simple promotional logic.
3. Hidden Difficulties: Customer Knowledge and Constraints
Most companies view subscription as a way to strengthen customer relationships. However, it acts as a truth serum: it immediately reveals the organization's maturity level, particularly its ability to understand and serve clients.
Gaps in Customer Knowledge
Many firms have precise commercial indicators but lack a fine understanding of real usage. As the SubscriptionX report notes, differences in adoption vary hugely by region, income, and digital maturity. No subscription works without deep knowledge of buying behaviors and life rhythms.
Unidentified Irritants
Reasons for cancellation rarely match internal assumptions. They stem from delivery reliability, management simplicity, transparency, and the ease of modifying an offer. The "Benchmark Trap"—copying Amazon Prime or Darty Max—is a frequent error. These models rest on robust logistics and tech infrastructures, not just a "concept."
4. Principles of Successful Organizations
Companies that build sustainable subscription models follow constant principles:
- Deep Customer Understanding: Offers result from true investigation—segmentation, behavioral analysis, and field observation—not just imagining what clients want.
- Co-design with Users: Ideation and rapid testing help identify concrete irritants and validate hypotheses.
- Simple, Targeted Offers: Effective subscriptions focus on a few high-value benefits. For B2B, this often means reliability: express delivery, technical assistance, net pricing.
- Organizational Alignment: It requires transversal mobilization: logistics, customer service, data management, and payment systems must all align around the promise.
5. What Subscription Really Reveals
A subscription offer is an organizational revealer. It highlights:
- The real quality of customer knowledge.
- The capacity to keep a promise over time.
- The degree of cooperation between departments.
- Logistical and technological maturity.
- The culture of service.
It is not a gadget or a simple commercial lever. It forces an alignment of strategy, experience, and organization.
Conclusion
Well-designed, subscription is a powerful growth lever and a vector for internal transformation. Designed through mimicry or haste, it becomes a heavy, costly, and ineffective mechanism.
The difference lies in one thing: the capacity to understand, accompany, and serve customers continuously.