Survey: 20% of Users Who Cancel a Streamer Resubscribe to That Service; What Can Platforms Do to Bring Back Customers?
Streaming services are increasingly putting the financial squeeze on their customers, and users around the globe are responding. One recent survey found that 50% of the population in the United States has canceled or intends to cancel a streaming service this year, and price considerations are at the top of the list when users are asked why they’re churning.
New data from Aluma Insights shows that churn doesn’t have to be an irreversible trend, however. Its survey found that 20% of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscribers who canceled a service like Disney+ or Prime Video resubscribed to that service. Almost 90% of resubscribers did so within one calendar year, suggesting there’s a shelf-life to returning users.
“Because someone cancels a streaming video service doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t enjoy it or they won’t return,” said Michael Greeson, founder and principal analyst at Aluma. “The question is what ‘hot buttons’ most encourage cancelers to reenroll.”
As expected, price was the top consideration for customers who chose to return to a service they’d previously canceled. The most-given answer for why users resubscribed to a streaming platform was that it offered a special promotional price, which 29% of respondents cited as their reason. Content considerations are also important, as 27% of Aluma’s survey participants said they’d re-upped with a streamer because that platform added an interesting show.
Given that price considerations are a leading cause of user defections on streaming platforms, it stands to reason that they’re also a leading cause of customers resubscribing to those platforms. Several of the top streaming platforms on the market, including Disney+ and Hulu, as well as Paramount+ have confirmed price increases are coming to their services, and they’d be wise to time them ahead of big new releases or offer a special deal soon after executing those increases to lure customers back into the fold.
Streamers don’t have an unlimited amount of time to get users resubscribed, however. Aluma’s data shows the vast majority of customers (~90%) who do return to a streamer do so within one year of canceling, so if streamers want a good chance of bringing departed users back, they have to act fast.
Overall, however, there’s a good chance that the number of streaming customers who cycle or “hop” between services to keep streaming costs down will increase as prices rise. The cost of ad-free streaming has risen 25% in the last year alone, and the short-term nature of streaming contracts makes it easy to sign up, watch a title and cancel before the next billing cycle.
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