You don’t have to leave the house. Pretty much ever. In 2017 there are literally thousands of subscription services available, many to New Zealanders. Whether it is the more traditional newspaper or magazine subscriptions, or a streaming platform like Netflix or Spotify or a food or meal delivery like My Food Bag, if you want it, there is probably a subscription service for it.
Take, for example, 5,000 New Zealanders who have bamboo toothbrushes delivered to their home every month (Toothcrush delivers eco-friendly toothbrushes to your door every month from $25 – toothcrush.co.nz). And forgetting to buy a new toothbrush monthly looks to be a world wide problem – with Toothcrush expanding into Australia and with interest in Hong Kong, India, Iran, Canada and USA. Toothbrushes? Who would have thought.
But not that long ago, a subscription was for a newspaper or a magazine only. Why the increase in subscription businesses? Well, life is busy. There is a huge shift towards more simplified purchasing demands. People are more comfortable shopping “from home” (in fact, 79% of US consumers shop online, up from 22% in 2000) and online subscriptions often provide much better convenience, selection and value.
Plus, there is also nothing like having a package delivered – even though you ordered it yourself, it still feels like a gift. A subscription is like a gift that arrives every week, fortnight or month.
The humble toothbrush subscription is just one example of the dramatically changing retail space, where toothbrushes are delivered to your door and your newspaper, more often than not, is read on a smartphone.
