Almost one out of three people who use a free trial to try out a streaming video service end up subscribing, researcher Parks Associates said Monday.
That "sizeable portion" of trial users dwarfs the amount of people who abuse free try-outs, Parks senior analyst Glenn Hower said.
"There is a potential for free trial abuse, but only roughly 1 percent of consumers are 'serial trialers,'" he said. "Most consumers use trials for their intended purpose of trying out a service before deciding whether or not to continue as a paid subscriber."
Services, such as Hulu, Netflix and live-TV streamers like Sling TV, often offer a free period, one of the consumer-friendly patterns that have become standard for online video competitors -- and have made it easier for people get a sense of life as a cord-cutter. Traditional TV providers like cable and satellite have grappled with dwindling customer growth as more people opt for online alternatives.
From the article "On a Netflix free trial? A third of you will likely pay up" by Joan E. Solsman.
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research firm specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. The company’s expertise includes the Internet of Things (IoT)...
In June, Parks Associates released a study that found video-streaming services in the U.S. will see revenue jump from $9 billion in 2014 to $19 billion in 2019. The company reported that 57% of househ...
On top of that, the industry churn rate—a metric used to reflect cancelled subscriptions to streaming services overall—shot up 41% in Q1, the most recent statistic available, as consumers experimented...
Luring and keeping customers is becoming harder as the online streaming market gets more crowded and subscribers, freed from cable television’s contract model, can cancel service with a click of the m...
