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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM67409
Volume:
10 |
9 |
Sep 2026
Pages:
1-12
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
Independent Researcher
Independent Researcher
Subscription commerce has evolved from a niche fulfillment mechanism into a strategic e-commerce model that converts episodic transactions into continuing customer relationships. Although recurring billing can improve revenue predictability, the evidence also shows that subscription growth is fragile when firms optimize enrollment while underinvesting in value realization, retention, fulfillment economics, and customer trust. This study develops a Subscription Revenue Growth Framework (SRGF) through a convergent mixed-methods evidence synthesis. The quantitative strand integrates causal studies of customer purchases, engagement, churn, and lifetime value with current industry benchmarks. The qualitative strand codes conceptual research, executive-interview studies, and public-policy evidence to identify the organizational and behavioral mechanisms that sustain recurring revenue. The integrated findings indicate that durable growth depends on seven mutually reinforcing capabilities: offer–market fit, pricing and packaging flexibility, activation, continuous engagement, churn prevention, expansion, and unit-economic governance. The framework formalizes recurring revenue growth as the net result of new, expansion, and reactivation revenue less contraction and churn, while positioning trust, transparent consent, easy cancellation, data intelligence, and operational reliability as cross-cutting foundations. The paper contributes by connecting consumer psychology, customer lifetime value, revenue operations, and e-commerce fulfillment into one managerial control system. It also proposes testable relationships and a phased implementation roadmap for retailers, marketplaces, and digital service providers seeking profitable rather than merely visible subscription growth.
KEYWORDS
Subscription commerce is rising because it offers a compelling exchange: customers receive convenience, access, personalization, or privileges, while firms gain repeated revenue and richer relationships. Yet the model is not inherently superior to transactional e-commerce. Its advantage emerges only when recurring billing is supported by recurring value, reliable operations, disciplined unit economics, and trusted customer control. The mixed-methods evidence indicates that subscriptions can increase purchasing and engagement, but these gains are heterogeneous and can be offset by churn, service cost, or friction-based retention. The Subscription Revenue Growth Framework addresses this problem by integrating acquisition, activation, engagement, retention, and expansion with offer fit, pricing, analytics, operations, and governance. Its central managerial principle is direct: optimize the net recurring-revenue bridge and contribution customer equity, not gross subscriber additions. Firms that follow this principle can use subscriptions to create durable relationships and profitable growth rather than merely converting one-time purchases into recurring charges.
[1] Zuora, “The Subscription Economy Index Report—2025,” Subscribed Institute, Apr. 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.zuora.com/resource/subscription-economy-index/ [2] Recurly, “2025 State of Subscriptions,” Jan. 2025. [Online]. Available: https://recurly.com/research/state-of-subscriptions/ [3] T. Chen, K. Fenyo, S. Yang, and J. Zhang, “Thinking inside the subscription box: New research on e-commerce consumers,” McKinsey & Company, Feb. 2018. [4] S. F. Bischof, T. M. Boettger, and T. Rudolph, “Curated subscription commerce: A theoretical conceptualization,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol. 54, Art. no. 101822, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.04.019. [5] R. H. Kerschbaumer, D. Kreimer, T. Foscht, and A. B. Eisingerich, “Subscription commerce: An attachment theory perspective,” The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 92–115, 2023, doi: 10.1080/09593969.2022.2134173. [6] R. Iyengar, Y.-H. Park, and Q. Yu, “The impact of subscription programs on customer purchases,” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 59, no. 6, pp. 1101–1119, 2022, doi: 10.1177/00222437221080163. [7] L. Wagner, C. Pinto, and P. Amorim, “On the value of subscription models for online grocery retail,” European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 294, no. 3, pp. 874–894, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2020.05.011. [8] B. Wu, G. Guo, and P. Luo, “The effect of subscriptions on customer engagement,” Journal of Business Research, vol. 178, Art. no. 114638, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114638. [9] H. Datta, G. Knox, and B. J. Bronnenberg, “Changing their tune: How consumers’ adoption of online streaming affects music consumption and discovery,” Marketing Science, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 5–21, 2018, doi: 10.1287/mksc.2017.1051. [10] L. Einav, B. Klopack, and N. Mahoney, “Selling subscriptions,” American Economic Review, vol. 115, no. 5, pp. 1650–1671, 2025, doi: 10.1257/aer.20231612.
Publication Date
9/22/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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