hitwise-零售业颠覆者系列一：订阅盒子（英文）-2018-24页-1mb

Retail Disruptors Series - Part 1: Subscription Boxes

Core Content Overview

The Subscription Box industry is identified as one of the fastest-growing retail verticals, with notable growth in online visits and consumer engagement. This report explores the trends, audience profiles, and collaboration strategies that define the current state and future direction of the industry.

Key Trends and Statistics

• Growth: The subscription box industry experienced a 30%+ YoY increase in visits in 2017, compared to a 5% increase in the overall retail industry.
• Traffic by Month: In 2017, November became the peak month for subscription box visits, driven by Black Friday and other holiday-related promotions.
• Category Growth:
  • Fashion & Beauty saw a 21% increase in November traffic compared to December.
  • Fashion & Beauty, Food & Alcohol, and Lifestyle categories grew by over 25% YoY.
• Top Players & Risers:
  • Top Players: Look Fantastic, Harry's, Birchbox (Fashion & Beauty); Abel & Cole, HelloFresh (Food & Alcohol); Tails, Blurt It Out, Butternut Box (Lifestyle).
  • Top Risers: Harry's, Not Another Bill, This is Powder (Fashion & Beauty); The Goodness Project, The Mindful Chef, Beer 52 (Food & Alcohol); The Happiness Planner, Butternut Box, Protect My Pet (Lifestyle).

Audience Profile

• Total Visitors: 3.1 million people visited a subscription box site in Q4 2017, a 18% YoY increase.
• Demographics:
  • Fashion & Beauty: Younger females (18-24 yo), lower income (PI Sub-£20K), interested in experimenting with makeup and keeping up with fashion trends.
  • Food & Alcohol: A mix of genders, aged 18-34, higher income (PI £50-£75K), time-poor, and willing to pay for quality.
  • Lifestyle: Diverse age and income groups, with a preference for change and adventure.
• Audience Overlap:
  • Lifestyle audiences had the highest overlap with other categories (15%).
  • Fashion & Beauty audiences showed the fastest growth in visiting Food & Alcohol sites (+19% YoY).

Collaboration Tactics

• Birchbox's Strategy: Birchbox regularly collaborates with brands from various industries, such as publishing, design, and gifts.
• Case Study: Birchbox X Ohh Deer:
  • Audience Uplift: Ohh Deer saw a 267% MoM uplift from Birchbox visitors during the collaboration, compared to a 3% uplift from the general online population.
  • Combined Audience Growth: The combined audience of Birchbox and Ohh Deer almost quadrupled during the collaboration period.
  • Audience Shift: The audience shifted toward older demographics, with a higher ratio of males and higher personal incomes.
• Collaboration Impact:
  • Both brands benefited from increased audience reach and evolved customer profiles.
  • Collaborations serve a two-fold purpose: delighting existing customers and opening up to new segments.

Key Takeaways & Predictions for 2018

Trends

1. Continued Growth: The subscription box industry is expected to grow further, with more retailers and niche verticals entering the market.
2. Strengthened Brand Partnerships: More players will focus on collaborating with top brands to enhance their offerings.
3. Audience Maturation: The market and audience will mature rapidly, with personalisation becoming increasingly important.

Risks

1. Offer Overload: Too many options may confuse consumers.
2. Growing Competition in Brand Sourcing: It will become harder to source unique and high-quality brands.
3. Consumer Fatigue: High churn rates may occur due to saturated markets and overexposure.

Key Tactics for Subscription Box Providers

• Target New Segments: Identify and understand new audiences through search, content, and social trends.
• Prioritize Loyalty: Develop regular feedback loops to track audience needs and interests.
• Stay Ahead of Trends: Monitor fast-moving trends to attract and retain current and potential audiences.
• Use Metrics for Success: Track KPIs such as audience overlap, profile changes, and benchmarking to measure collaboration effectiveness.

Conclusion

The subscription box industry is evolving rapidly, driven by niche interests, personalisation, and strategic collaborations. Brands must stay agile, understand their audience, and leverage data and analytics to maintain growth and relevance in 2018 and beyond.