Research and analysis

Subscriptions: types offered by business and numbers held by consumers

Research to understand the number and type of subscriptions held by adults, and the subscriptions offered by businesses in the UK.

Documents

Consumer subscriptions regulatory reform proposals: a business perspective (YouGov, February to March 2022)

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Subscriptions sold by businesses (survey data collected and analysed by YouGov, January to March 2022 in Excel format)

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Subscriptions sold by businesses (survey data collected and analysed by YouGov, January to March 2022 in open document format)

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Details

This research gathers evidence about the number and type of subscriptions held by adults and the subscriptions offered by businesses in the United Kingdom.

It was commissioned under the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to inform policy making and published by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

Consumer survey

The consumer survey was developed by BEIS and carried out by Opinium between 16 November and 19 November 2021. In total, 2,000 adults responded, and the figures presented are weighted to be representative of the UK population. The report summarises the survey findings about the types of subscriptions held by adults in the UK.

Business survey

The business survey was developed by BEIS and carried out by YouGov between 18 January and 1 March 2022. In total, 2,032 senior decision makers from businesses in the UK responded, and figures in the tables are weighted to be representative of the UK population. The data tables summarise the survey findings about the number and types of businesses offering subscriptions.

Business interviews

Business interviews commissioned by BEIS and conducted by YouGov between 2 February and 10 March 2022. YouGov carried out 25 telephone and online interviews with decision makers of UK businesses selling subscriptions to consumers across different subscription and industry types. The report summarises the interview findings about the potential impact of proposed reforms to subscriptions.

Updates to this page

Published 25 April 2023

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