Did you know that over 68% of adult consumers use a subscription service for at least one household item? If the household includes a pet, that number jumps to 80%. Subscription boxes aren’t a passing trend — they are an enduring evolution in retail. What was once a novel way of doing business is now one of the most robust retail tools available for building and maintaining revenue.
Whether you’re a budding mompreneur looking to boost your income or a small business owner seeking to build a reliable revenue stream, a subscription box can quickly become an indispensable part of your short-term and long-term sales strategies.
Why? Subscription boxes satisfy four hallmarks of highly successful revenue streams: (1) they’re financially consistent, (2) they’re logistically mobile, (3) they’re highly targeted, and (4) they’re always fresh. All you need to transform your bottom line is a list of devoted buyers and a recurring box to send them!
Since subscription boxes are no longer solely the province of novelty products and niche customer demands, the sky’s the limit regarding the WHAT and WHEN of your subscription service. The only thing momentarily set in stone is your monthly list of subscribers, which is the rock on which you build everything else. Let’s take a look at some of the key ways subscription boxes can fuel your business success:
They’re financially consistent.
The most significant benefit of subscription box revenue is also the simplest: it’s consistent. For example, before I began offering subscription boxes as part of my retail strategy, I was a small business owner who very much enjoyed being their own boss. At the same time, the stress of irregular income and the never-ending commitment to a brick-and-mortar location was sullying any satisfaction I received from being “on my own.” Once I built a devoted list of recurring customers and transitioned them to a subscription box, all that changed. My sales figures shot up and stayed high, my costs remained mostly fixed, and I was able to plan ahead with a sense of security.
Of course, consistency isn’t only useful to the aspiring entrepreneur. Established businesses benefit from a more fixed revenue stream, too. The secure environment subscription boxes provide can make it easier to gauge the demand for new products and offer customized experiences. What’s more, a subscription box can help you build a smaller, more intimate community for your customers by engaging with them about your products in a meaningful way. Not only does this practice create more lifelong customer relationships, but it is also an invaluable source of market feedback.
They’re logistically mobile.
According to the most recent industry report, logistical expenses are disproportionately high for entrepreneurs and small businesses — that’s just the reality of working on a smaller scale. Acquisition costs are higher because you’re buying less and storing your inventory in smaller increments. Packaging and transport are more expensive because you aren’t high-volume enough to get the best prices.
A subscription box shrinks your logistical needs to one small area for production and packaging. This dual-purpose space drastically decreases overhead costs and makes even highly demanding logistics fully mobile. For the entrepreneur, this can be a serious boon for their personal life, allowing them to parent however they choose or simply live a more flexible, on-the-go lifestyle. For the settled business, a subscription box represents the perfect opportunity to trim the fat and gauge product profitability absent unnecessary distribution costs.
They’re highly targeted.
Retail culture was already evolving at a breakneck pace when the forced isolation of the COVID pandemic took things to a whole new level. Customers are no longer searching for a simple product — they want a fully customized experience. E-commerce makes new things possible every day, and over 70% of customers expect retail businesses to understand their wants and needs on an individual level. This is a whole new frontier of customization for the consumer, and it’s an experience that most entrepreneurs and small businesses simply can’t offer within a traditional distribution framework.
The answer is the highly targeted, month-to-month model made possible by subscription boxes. A subscription box is an ever-changing monthly box of constantly curated gifts for your close-knit community of buyers and supporters. Subscription services combine the limited release and/or reuse of inventory with an expertly tailored customer experience. They are the perfect fit for small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs looking to provide competitive customization. Consider each subscription box a micro experience within your retail circle, made possible through its unique distribution model.
They’re always fresh.
Two of the most powerful forces in the modern retail environment are seasonality and trend. These two transient shopping states have become so powerful that they can affect entire industries, yet entrepreneurs and small businesses can rarely take advantage of them when trapped inside a typical distribution model.
Subscription boxes are not beholden to long-term inventory concerns, and they are easily modified on the fly to capture the current climate of your market or target demographic. They are designed with trends and change in mind, so you’re always on the cutting edge of what the customer wants or expects.
Where does the box fit for you?
Subscription boxes are not a trend. They are not simply a stepping stone to something else but a unique and dynamic tool to help any business generate more revenue. They are financially consistent. They are logistically mobile. They are highly targeted, and they are always fresh. So, where does a subscription box fit inside your revenue stream?
About Sarah Williams:
Sarah Williams, The Subscription Box Queen, is a dynamic entrepreneur, coach, and bestselling author. With a passion for subscription boxes, she guides businesses to profitable heights. Her book, “One Box at a Time,” published by Hay House, distills her proven strategies. Join her community at LaunchYourBox.com.
By Sarah Williams
