With more and more retailers combining traditional shopping with different types of subscription services, our latest research reveals how a single subscriptions hub – powered by Super Bundling – is now on 76% of shoppers’ wishlists.

Milk? Check. Eggs? Check. A streaming subscription? Check.

The way we shop is changing – again. The emergence of subscription boxes, meal kits, and same-day delivery has transformed retail in recent years, creating new shopping habits and raising the bar for the industry.

Now we’re seeing a shift among big-name retailers toward bundled services that bring together much more than your weekly grocery shop, with some crossing the industry divide and partnering with media and entertainment organizations to offer something else entirely.

Next on the list for the retail industry? It has to be Super Bundling. Let me explain why.

Retailers are diversifying their subscriptions services

The first shopping subscription to also include free shipping, discounts, music and movies, Amazon Prime set the trend for a new standard of retail offering – and has dominated the market in the decade or so since. Now though, we’re now seeing more and more retailers follow suit, diversifying their subscriptions offerings in different ways.

In the US, there’s Target 360, a new membership program designed to enhance the shopping experience at Target by making it more convenient and affordable. Subscribers get unlimited same-day delivery, an extended return window, access to additional retailers within its Shipt network, and first dibs on discounts and promotions.

Walmart goes several steps further ahead with its Walmart+ membership. While a Walmart+ subscription comes with unlimited free delivery from Walmart stores, it also includes discounts on fuel at partner gas stations, free tire repairs and vehicle maintenance, and – since 2022 – a subscription to Paramount+ at no additional cost.

In France, a pilot scheme launched in early 2024 saw Carrefour Plus members able to access Netflix (standard with ads) along with a 10% discount on all own-brand products for €5.99 per month – with no commitment. Netflix merchandise was also on sale at selected locations of France’s biggest supermarket chain.

Then there’s Meli+ from online marketplace Mercado Livre, Latin America’s almost like-for-like version of Prime. Meli+ comes with free shipping, Disney+, Deezer Premium and discounts on Max and Paramount+.

Region to region, the trend is gaining traction as competition heats up. But many retailers are struggling to keep pace. Leading UK supermarket Tesco, for example, has a popular offering in its Clubcard Plus membership thanks to money-saving discounts. Yet while customers can get a three-month subscription to Disney+ by spending vouchers they collect using their Clubcard, there is no option to bundle it neatly with a Clubcard Plus subscription. Customers have to go through Disney to first cancel any existing subscription, then back to Tesco to redeem vouchers, then back to Disney to manage the new subscription.

Retailers must go further if they want to meet consumer expectations and get ahead of competitors.

76% of shoppers demand one app to manage all of their subscriptions

Echoing findings across our body of research, subscribers are feeling increasingly frustrated with the fragmented and inflexible nature of subscriptions. Shoppers today already have five subscriptions on average. Half (50%) of consumers surveyed are “annoyed” that they can’t manage all of their subscriptions in one place. As a result, 76% say they want one app to manage all of their subscriptions in one place.

While consumers love the certainty of regular payments for a regular service, managing multiple subscriptions remains a pain. These issues are compounded by the recent price hikes and password-sharing crackdowns in the SVOD world.

With a mounting number of subscriptions to juggle against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, many might be questioning the value of yet another subscription. But combining their shopping and streaming into one easy-to-manage package solves that dilemma.

Including non-retail related subscriptions from other brands means that retailers could boost the perceived value of shopping with them. By associating with streaming and other popular subscriptions services, retailers also get to up their cool factor and strengthen their brand identity as a one-stop shop for customers’ essential needs.

Super Bundling grants access to every subscription you could ever want

So what if you could connect all your favorite shopping, entertainment, gaming, and food delivery subscriptions, but then also add well-being, fitness, work, and education to that mix?

Well, with Super Bundling, you can.

Super Bundling is a way of packaging together subscriptions from different providers, catering to different needs and interests, into one single offer for the customer. The propositions are limited only by the huge variety of subscription services out there.

Customers can access a range of services without having to subscribe to each one individually, reducing the overwhelm of having too many subscriptions – and often leading to cost savings via discounts and promotions.

As retail subscriptions become commonplace, I believe that Super Bundling will increasingly break into the retail space.

In fact, retail subscribers appear receptive to Super Bundling, with our research showing that almost a third (31%) already get their subscriptions as part of a bundle rather than going directly to the retailer.
From insurance to coffee, toilet roll to baby toys, pet care to murder mysteries, the subscription economy is evolving alongside changing consumer desires. It will be interesting to see how companies respond to the increasing demand for an all-in-one subscriptions platform as they navigate an ever-shifting retail landscape.

What’s clear is that we need a technological standard for connecting various subscriptions across industries to simplify deployment, reduce costs and complexity, and improve customer experience.

The Digital Vending Machine® from Bango does exactly that. By bringing together resellers and subscription providers, it enables retailers to implement Super Bundling at speed and scale. Companies connect once to Bango and join an ecosystem of over 150+ partners, reaching new paying customers everywhere. The technology is already behind offers for more than 100 subscription services including Amazon and Netflix.

Super Bundling holds the key to enabling them to maximize opportunity, reach and revenue in this exciting era of retail.