Ask HN: How much revenue of big tech comes from paying but inactive subscribers?

2 points by erkjs 3 years ago | 2 comments

How many people keep paying for a product/service that doesn’t give them any value, just because they forgot about it, or because they couldn’t find a way to unsubscribe? How much do tech companies make out of these zombie accounts? Is there any research on this topic? What would you do if your product was making most of the money on inactive customers?

throwaway8945 3 years ago |

(Created anon account just for this) Not a "big tech" company, but we do have a subscription service and I'd say 20%

dieselgate 3 years ago |

Im not sure about “big tech” but have heard that’s partially the business model of Planet Fitness gyms. They have a very low monthly rate to the point where being an inactive user doesn’t seem a big deal. Gyms are kind of notorious for Users being inactive IMO - I could imagine a class action lawsuit targeting companies using dark patterns to discourage subscription terminations. Not a lawyer and am sure this is more a legal thing than a product thing