Subscription box market worth £583m

A total of £583 million is spent on gifting – and “self-gifting” – subscription boxes, a report has found.

While 90 per cent of subscription shoppers bought for themselves, almost a third bought as gifts on behalf of somebody else. Subscription boxes such as beauty box Birchbox or Hellofresh have rocketed in popularity in recent years.

The study from the Royal Mail said gifting was responsible for over a quarter of spending on subscription boxes, equating to £160m, while a further £423m was spent on self-gifting subscription boxes.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Gifting and selfgifting are key drivers for growth in the subscription box economy. The gifting market is important for subscription businesses, especially at this festive time of year, including gifting to others.”