Time to take another look at lockdown subscriptions
Popular: TV subscriptions
Subscription services have helped many of us get through lockdowns over the past year.
But new research suggests many people are wasting cash on services they’ve lost interest in, or no longer use.
A collective £300m has been wasted since March 2020 on subscriptions and hobbies, Direct Line Life Insurance estimates. The calculations follow a survey of 2,000 people across the UK in January.
Less than half (44%) of those who signed up to a subscription service over lockdown actually continue to use it now, the research found.
A similar story is emerging for hobbies. Nearly a fifth (19%) of people who started a new hobby in lockdown gave up after a few tries, while only 50% are still doing the hobby now.
So, why don’t we just cancel? One reason is due to FOMO
(fear of missing out).
Around a fifth (18%) of those who kept paying for a service say they didn’t want to feel left out in their friendship group or family – perhaps because everyone was talking about it on Zoom.
The most popular subscription services during the first lockdown were TV and film streaming services, followed by music and gaming, the research found.
As for hobbies, the research found that it was most common for people to have taken these up in early 2020, around the start of the first lockdown.
Vincent Guadagnino, communications manager at Direct Line Life Insurance, says: “It’s important to check your finances regularly, to make sure you are still using the services you are paying for and cancel them if not, as these relatively small amounts can add up over time.”