A Subscription Model For Everything

The New York Times has published an interesting article that examines the growing popularity of the subscription model amongst a variety of businesses. Pioneered by periodicals in the 17th century, the monthly payment system has been recently applied to everything from movie rentals to software and cars.

The Times explains:

Marketers like them for good reason: Convince someone to take a subscription, and the revenue flows in for months to come. “It is amazing how inertia takes over,” says Peter S. Fader, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Anyone who has signed up for a gym membership that is paid for but not used understands the genius behind subscriptions.