Inside the $2.6 Billion Subscription Box Wars
In this hard-fought battle, the line between winners and losers can be thin
By Elizabeth Segran
We’ve hit peak subscription box.
As you go about your daily life on the internet, chances are you’ve came across several dozen highly specific subscription startups hawking you their wares. Sure, there is Birchbox, one of the pioneers of modern subscription commerce, which offers personalized beauty samples for both women and men. But Birchbox’s popularity spurred startups to launch subscription boxes for everything else you could possibly imagine.
And I mean this literally. There are boxes for sex toys, dog toys, comforting things for PMS, lifestyle products for women over 50, tea, stuff for single women, stuff for Christian women, crafts, Scotch, Korean snacks, Grateful Dead-inspired fashion, and adult incontinence products. The list goes on.
According to an in-depth McKinsey report published earlier this year, consumers are now fully on board with receiving products and services on a regular schedule, without having to place new orders. In 2011, the subscription e-commerce market was $57 million, and by 2016 it had ballooned to $2.6 billion. This also includes media subscriptions like Netflix, meal kits, and product…
