The UK subscription box market is forecast to grow by 72% by 2022, according to a report commissioned by Royal Mail. Consumers in London and Wales who are driving the growth of the UK’s subscription box market, with over half of Londoners are signed up to at least one subscription box service. Welsh residents are signed up to the most subscription box services, an average of 4.3 per person.
People living in the North East of England are also driving the growth of the market. Over a third of residents in the North East are signed up to a subscription. People living in the North East are also signed up to an average of 3.8 boxes per person.
Recipe box services are Londoners most popular subscription box with 20% signed up to one. Beauty boxes are the favourite for those in East Anglia and snacks and sweets for the South West and South East. Those living in East Midlands are most likely to order a DVD subscription service.
Subscription box Self-gifting
Almost all (98%) of those signed up to a subscription box service in Yorkshire & Humberside have purchased it for themselves, compared to only 78% of those in Wales. In London, 95% buy the subscription box service for themselves.
Those living in Northern Ireland are most likely to buy subscription boxes as a gift for someone else (55%). Residents from Wales are most likely (36.4%) to receive a subscription box service as a gift.
With the massively increasing appetite for subscription boxes, if you sell a product which consumers are likely to reorder on a regular basis then it would be well worth embracing marketplace subscription services and offering subscription ordering on your own website.
What this should also tell you is that if you sell suitable products that geo-targeting online ads could pay dividends by appealing to the people most likely to sign up.
“The latest instalment from our subscription box report details the regional differences in how consumers use such services across the UK. With London, Wales and the North East driving growth, it will be interesting to see the uptake in other regions across the UK over the coming years as the subscription box market grows. We’re here to help subscription businesses along the way, wherever they are in the UK.
With the UK’s biggest by far “Feet on the Street” network covering 90.000 postmen and women, Royal Mail is playing a key role in keeping carbon emissions low. The vast majority of subscription items are letterboxable and so are ideally suited for foot delivery by Royal Mail and do not require a van delivery.”
– Royal Mail spokesperson
