Key Points:
- Bango research: 58% of American consumers want bundles that include more than just major streaming platforms, favoring personalized combinations of niche services.
- 68% of U.S. consumers now access at least one subscription via a bundle.
- 72% of brands report higher lifetime value from bundled users.
A growing number of American consumers are signing up for specialist subscriptions that reflect their personal interests, according to new research from Bango.
The company surveyed 5,000 Americans and found nearly one-third are paying for a specialist subscription like pet care, guided meditation, diet plans or a membership to a niche-based streaming video platform.
While some of the larger streaming video platforms have formed their own bundles in recent years, Bango said American appetites are driving up demand for more-specialized bundles that incorporate a wide variety of products like gym memberships, premium banking features and home security — and consumers are interested in having service-based providers like broadband Internet and wireless companies offer those bundles to them.
More than half of subscribers (58 percent) say today’s bundles should go beyond mainstream platforms and incorporate a wider mix of niche services. Consumers are already creating hybrid bundles that reflect their lifestyles and passions:
- 34 percent of health-and-fitness subscribers also pay for meal kit or food delivery services
- 26 percent of students combine language apps with international food subscriptions like Hungry Panda
- 21 percent of food delivery subscribers also pay for genre-specific streamers like Shudder
- 16 percent of AI tool users subscribe to dating app upgrades like Tinder Gold
- 14 percent of gaming subscribers also pay for pet-care subscriptions such as BorrowMyDoggy
“When deciding whether to take up a bundle or deal, today’s subscribers want more than just streaming, music or retail,” Giles Tongue, the Vice President of Marketing at Bango, said in a statement. “The beauty of bundling is that subscribers get to design their own experiences and build a combination that is genuinely useful and meaningful to them.”
Tongue continued: “Today’s subscribers are creating all kinds of weird and wonderful combinations. They’re bundling meditation apps with heavy-metal playlists and using AI subscriptions to perfect their Tinder ice-breakers. These quirky combos represent the next stage in the Bundle Economy, offering a huge commercial opportunity to providers who are willing to team up with other, more specialized players.”
According to Bango, 68 percent of U.S. consumers now pay for at least one subscription obtained through a bundle, while 72 percent of subscription brands report higher customer lifetime value from bundled subscribers compared to direct ones.
“The bundle economy presents a huge opportunity, but the challenge is in linking all of these services together efficiently,” Tongue said. “Consumers don’t want complexity. They want convenience, choice, and value in one place.”
If companies are interested in offering specialized bundles, Bango has a solution just for them — the Digital Vending Machine, a technology platform that streamlines the process of creating “Super Bundles” across streaming video services and other subscription-based products, including those focused on banking, health and wellness, delivery, security and other sectors.
This week, Bango launched a new campaign called “That’s a Bundle” that drives home the idea that different subscription-based products can come together in “Super Bundles” that any company can offer if they already have a product or service that involves a membership or repeat billing.
“Imagine Shudder teaming up with HelloFresh for a ‘Meals & Squeals’ deal. That’s a bundle,” Tongue said. “Or Duolingo offering Hungry Panda vouchers to language learners. That’s a bundle.”
