Subscription business model

The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century.^[1] It is particularly common now for digital products, which lend themselves more naturally toward a subscription model.^[2]

Subscriptions can be a more convenient, hassle-free transaction for consumers.^[2] However, due to inertia among some consumers, they may inadvertently pay for subscriptions that they no longer value because they do not realize that they are subscribed.^[2]

^ Clapp, Sarah L. C. (November 1931), "The Beginnings of Subscription Publication in the Seventeenth Century", Modern Philology, 29 (2), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 199–224, doi:10.1086/387957, JSTOR 433632, S2CID 162013335
^ ^a ^b ^c Einav, Liran; Klopack, Ben; Mahoney, Neale (2025). "Selling Subscriptions" (PDF). American Economic Review. 115 (5): 1650–1671. doi:10.1257/aer.20231612. ISSN 0002-8282. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025.

[1] Clapp, Sarah L. C. (November 1931), "The Beginnings of Subscription Publication in the Seventeenth Century", Modern Philology, 29 (2), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press: 199–224, doi:10.1086/387957, JSTOR 433632, S2CID 162013335

[:2-2] Einav, Liran; Klopack, Ben; Mahoney, Neale (2025). "Selling Subscriptions" (PDF). American Economic Review. 115 (5): 1650–1671. doi:10.1257/aer.20231612. ISSN 0002-8282. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025.

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