Do you know how much you are paying for subscriptions?
Australians are spending a monstrous $26.5 billion a year on subscription services, according to new data from ING.
The average Aussie spends $136 a month on paid services, totalling $1637 annually.
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ING head of consumer and market insights Matt Bowen says these figures partially reflect something called “subscription creep”.
“Digital providers are very easy at getting you through the door … it only takes a couple of clicks to sign up for a service,” he said.
“But actually unsubscribing becomes very, very difficult.”
Bowen says many services have established the easy in, hard out structure as their new subscription-based model.
“Once they’ve got you in, they hike those prices on an annual or semi-annual basis,” he said.
According to ING’s data, 1.8 million Australians are spending $250 or more a month, with younger generations including Gen Z and Millennials spending considerably more than their older counterparts.
Talking to Aussies on the streets, people understandably had different approaches to their subscriptions.
Ilona said she paid about $300 per month on streaming services, admitting she wasn’t sure of the specific figure coming out of her bank account.
Dean, on the other hand, kept abreast of his purchases, limiting himself to $10 per month for Netflix.
Carolina said she paid for ChatGPT Premium, saying its unlimited document upload feature was the reason she was willing to pay more.
Troy said he had previously paid for a premium version of Tinder, the dating app, but no longer subscribed after successfully using the service to meet his partner Nat, who now limited their subscriptions to $35 a month.
Bowen has three tips for Australians to ensure they don’t lose control of their subscription spending:
1. Engage with your money: “Log into your mobile app, see what’s coming out of your bank account on a monthly basis, and switch off those services you’re not using.”
2. Set reminders to cancel subscriptions: “If you sign up for a free trial, make sure the second thing you do is add a calendar invitation for yourself to cancel that if you’re no longer using that service.”
3. Look for bundle offers: “A lot of big organisations, telco providers or utilities will actually include subscription services as part of their sign on, it’s a great way to drive loyalty of their customer base.”
