Why are subscriptions so hard to give up. A look behind the psychology of subscriptions. Subscriptions, particularly those for digital services, can be surprisingly hard to leave due to several psychological, emotional, and even technical factors. Here’s a deeper look into some of the reasons why: 1. The Sunk Cost Fallacy/ The Consistency Principle: Humans are naturally inclined to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, time, or effort has been made, even when continuing is not the best decision. This is known as the sunk cost fallacy. For subscriptions, the perceived need to make the most out of the money spent can cause people to stick with a service even if they no longer need it or if it’s not providing the value they anticipated. 2. The Endowment Effect: This is a cognitive bias where people place a higher value on things merely because they own them. With subscriptions, this can translate into an irrational attachment to the service, making it hard to let go. 3. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Many subscriptions, particularly those involving media and entertainment (like Netflix, Hulu, or various news and magazine subscriptions), continuously offer new content. Subscribers may fear they’ll miss out on something exciting or important if they cancel their subscription. 4. Complexity of the Cancellation Process: Some services make the cancellation process deliberately complex or time-consuming to discourage subscribers from leaving. This could involve navigating through multiple web pages, making a phone call, or even sending a written request. Very recently companies like Amazon has very recently found itself in hot water by being sued by The Federal Trade Commission, alleging the nation’s ( USA) premier online retailer intentionally hoodwinked millions of consumers into signing up for Prime and “sabotaged” their attempts to cancel. 5. Auto-Renewals and Forgetfulness Many subscriptions renew automatically, and people sometimes simply forget to cancel them. It’s easy for subscriptions to fall into the background of one’s financial transactions, only to be remembered when the next charge hits the account. 6. Perceived Value and Convenience- Subscriptions often offer value and convenience that can be hard to give up. For instance, music streaming services provide access to millions of songs for a monthly fee, which is usually much cheaper and more convenient than buying individual albums. Understanding these factors can help businesses adopt and develop their own subscription services which will be beneficial both for the customer and the business itself.
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