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Subscription sea change: As acquisition slows, retention management drives the business

February 15, 2026

https://www.quantummedia.com/uploads/Recurly_2026_for_q_site.jpg

For years, it seemed that many subscription marketers were aggressively spending to acquire net-new users at “any cost.”  However, in considering  Recurly's recent 2026 State of Subscriptions report, this behavior is over.

The industry-wide subscription acquisition rate has dropped from 4.1% in 2024 to ~ 2.3% in 2025. Because finding new customers has become more difficult and expensive, revenue is now being driven by a focus on keeping and winning back the customers the companies already had. 

Resurly's report highlights two behaviors:

  • "Win-Back"  subscriptions now account for 25% of all new sign-ups, up from 20% just a year ago. The report stresses that “churn” is no longer a permanent end to the relationship, but rather a part of a "cycling" behavior where consumers move in and out of services based on their current needs.
  • "Pause"  not cancellation.  A dramatic shift in consumer behavior this year is giving subs a chance to stop the service not just by "cancellation" but a more temporary sounding “pause.” This gives users a way to step away without cutting  all the data and comms ties. The "Pause" feature has seen an astronomical 337% year-over-year increase.

Read the entire 2026 State of Subscriptions report from Recurly.  #managementconsulting #subscriptions #subscriptionmarketing