26% of Brits order essentials online

Due to the impact of the epidemic, subscription e-commerce services have become more and more popular in the UK. Especially for food, beverages and other supplies that are necessary for daily life, subscription services are convenient. Just like subscribing to milk when you were a child, you would order once and it would be delivered to your door every day. Online subscriptions can enjoy regular delivery services.

After multiple lockdowns, many consumers want to have necessities delivered to their homes conveniently. Among these subscription products, food, beverages, and men's beauty are more popular.

In addition, not only is the demand for food and grocery subscriptions growing, but there is also obvious demand in other areas, such as personal care products such as razors and blades, hygiene-related products represented by deodorants, and household necessities such as laundry detergent, which are also becoming increasingly popular in the subscription market.

According to Royal Mail’s survey of the UK subscription market, more than a quarter (26%) of UK consumers have now signed up to a food and drink subscription service , with this type of service experiencing the highest year-on-year growth in 2020.

Data shows that the total value of the subscription service market for various food and beverage products exceeds 1.18 billion euros , far higher than the nearly 500 million euros in 2017, and is expected to grow to at least 1.77 billion euros by 2025.

According to Royal Mail, more and more sellers have recognised the potential of these subscription services in terms of meeting consumers’ daily and essential needs , and the survey authors say this trend is likely to continue post-pandemic “due to changes in consumer shopping behaviour and the convenience these subscription plans offer” .

However, a survey a few days ago showed that the average subscription period for British people is no more than one year, with an average subscription period of about 5.3 months. The main reason is that there is no novelty. If sellers want to try this method, they need to work harder to increase customer stickiness.

Affected by the epidemic, consumers' preferences are also changing, and sellers need to adjust their layout according to market demand.

U.K.

subscription

food