Excitement over Bango Digital Vending Machine unified digital subscription platform is expected to trigger a tectonic shift in the way Philippine consumers interact with digital subscriptions.
“Our survey found that a significant 89% would be more likely to include additional subscription services if the management aspect was simpler. This enthusiastic response from the Filipino market really underscores the need for a unified, straightforward subscription management system,” said Anil Malhotra, CMO and Co-Founder of Bango plc (Bango). The company is a developer, marketer and seller of technology that enables mobile phone users to make payments for digital content and media on smartphones and tablets.
He reported a new Bango study incorporated data from over 6,000 consumers currently paying for subscription services across India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Faced with a cost-of-living crunch, half of Asian consumers (59%) say they can no longer afford all of their subscription services. As a result, 44% now access content via illegal piracy sites,” according to the Bango study, exploring subscription trends and the rise of Super Bundling technology in Asia.
“Our survey clearly shows that managing several subscriptions can be a hassle, with 81% of subscribers, including many in the Philippines, finding it overwhelming. To tackle this, Bango’s Super Bundling technology – called the Digital Vending Machine – brings all these different subscriptions together into one easy-to-use interface. For Filipino users, this means having everything from their favorite streaming shows and movies to gaming apps in one accessible place,” he continued. “The feedback from our Filipino users has been incredibly positive.”
Report Highlights Subscription Overload
In Asia:
- 81% of subscribers in Southeast Asia (SEA) and India say they have too many subscriptions
- 93% are open to a service managing all subscriptions
- 89% would use more if they were easier to manage
- 59% of SEA and Indian subscribers are annoyed with the lack of subscription management service or platform
In the Philippines:
- 77% of Filipino subscribers use mobile plans for subscriptions
- 83% of Filipino subscribers use mobile contract-based services
- 85% of Filipino consumers think there are too many services
- 91% of Filipino consumers want a single subscription management platform
As the number of subscriptions available increases, and it becomes easier to sign up, keeping tabs on spending is becoming overwhelming for subscribers, noted Giles Tongue, VP-Marketing at Bango.
The market is reaching a saturation point, he said. “With so many subscriptions to manage, people are getting frustrated with this administrative nightmare, often finding themselves paying for multiple subscriptions they don’t even remember signing up for.”
Clearly, a new approach is required to reduce this rise in ‘subscription fatigue’ and improve the overall customer experience, he remarked.
Take a look at these “subscriber frustrations”:
- 71% would like to opt out of automatic renewals on their subscriptions
- 54% can’t remember the billing date of subscriptions
- 53% find it hard to know which streaming services carry the content people are looking for
- 51% feel frustrated they can’t pause or stop their subscriptions whenever they like
- 48% of subscribers feel ‘locked in’ to their current subscription providers
- 32% of subscribers are paying for subscriptions they don’t use.
Challenges in Service Customization
With the subscription economy growing from $100 billion in 2018 to over $300 billion in 2023, Bango noticed key trends in the market and responded by tailoring its services to these evolving trends.
“The past five years have marked a significant shift in the subscription landscape. We’ve seen a move towards more niche and specialized services, alongside the continued growth of major platforms,” said Malhotra.
Recognizing the distinct preferences of the Filipino audience who are avid consumers of TV and online streaming, averaging nearly four hours of screen time daily, Bango tailored its services to align with their interests.
“The widespread usage of streaming services and the popularity of music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music, also guide our content curation,” he said. “To match these interests, we collaborate with local content providers to ensure the Digital Vending Machine reflects the tastes and preferences specific to the Filipino market.”
In addition, he continued, “we customize our payment options to resonate with the prevalent financial practices in the Philippines, taking into account that Filipinos trust mobile operators the most as the platform for Super Bundling. This localized approach ensures that our services offer a familiar and convenient experience for Filipino users.”
Partnership Strategies
“In our partnership strategy, we focus on two key aspects: finding partners who are committed to Super Bundling for their customers, and those that can benefit most from the Digital Vending Machine,” said Malhotra.
“Our research indicates that, among Filipinos, there is a high level of user trust in mobile operators for Super Bundling, with 81% preferring them over digital wallets at 63% and TV providers at 39%. This preference guides us to collaborate with telcos that are innovative and seeking a valuable way to differentiate their core telco offering. Such partnerships ensure that users enjoy a diverse range of quality services and benefit from the ease of managing all their subscriptions and payments in one convenient, secure location.
Malhotra said, “With escalating household expenses and a surge of new entrants in the streaming market, content providers need to ensure they offer subscribers value for money. If they don’t, our data indicates that many consumers will resort to piracy instead.”
“Telcos in the region have a major role to play, by helping subscribers make sense of their subscription commitments. By offering these services through a Super Bundling subscriptions hub, delivered through existing telco billing relationships, telcos and their content partners can take the wind out of the sails of this growing trend towards piracy.”
Bango brings together digital payments and marketing technology to help businesses effectively market, sell, and monetize products to online customers everywhere. The world’s leading companies, including Google, Amazon and Microsoft, all work with us to accelerate their growth and scale their businesses.
The Bango Digital Vending Machine is provided as a SaaS product offering essential services for merchants to grow, including one-click online payment and digital distribution through third-party resale partnerships.
These technologies, delivered through a unified platform, enable merchants and their partners to market and monetize content and services to billions of online users everywhere.
