What is the economy of the subscription and how does life change us?

Imagine my anguish when, the day I found myself without


Internet
I realized that, in reality, I do not own anything.

Exactly three years have pbaded since I moved to the United States to take this job. I was offered a container to transport my stuff from the UK, but I decided to get rid of most of the things I had accumulated during my first 28 years of life.

I waited, over time, to gradually replace them with new objects.

But instead, I became one of those


subscribers for life

Taking a look at my rented apartment, I thought: what happened to my DVD collections? Now, they were a subscription to


Netflix
. And my music?


Spotify
. My books? Kindle of


Amazon

If I leave home, nothing automatic. C & # 39;


Uber
or Lyft. I'm staying? I order food at Doordash or GrubHub

If I cook, I buy the ingredients by Blue Apron or at the Whole Foods supermarket in my neighborhood, where I can pay online via Amazon Prime because, of course, I am also subscribed to this.

At least I have a beard. I decided to let it grow after canceling my subscription to spare razor blades. Now I plan to pay a monthly subscription for a subscription electric toothbrush service since I've seen the Quip commercials that seem to be hiding on the internet.

And recently I discovered the startup Feader, which offers subscription packages. home. For less than $ 10 a month, you can subscribe to a bed. What an idea … Subscribe to a bed!

The ideal place

Those who are like me are important to this business model . Some believe that we will be fundamental to their future.

The underwriting economy has increased 100% each year over the last five years, according to the global consulting firm McKinsey and Company. The company surveyed US consumers and found that among those who buy online, 15% have signed up for a recurring type of purchase (not counting services like Netflix).

But this system is not easy to win. Convincing someone that he has to buy something not only once but continually is a huge challenge.

And even when the company manages to find the perfect place to subscribe, with the ease of use, there is usually a whimsical consumer: when a subscription does not work, we do not have Do not hesitate to cancel it

And then there are services that are not subscriptions per se, like Uber, but they also replace large single payments. The former are not so important for millennia, "observed a study by Goldman Sachs

" (They) repel important purchases or avoid them altogether. "

The question is, how important is it?"

I guess that not owning things means that I have no trouble, and having the opportunity to turn on and off. Turning off the tap when it comes to managing my luxury is an effective way to maximize salary.

But with subscriptions, you lose security. Losing your job could mean losing everything.

And who am I if I have nothing? A collection of records is not a database of files, as Spotify would have us believe, but something physical that represents a trajectory: that of each of us, to be precise

Perhaps if I ask you the name of your first record, you can say one instantly, but what if I ask you the name of the first song you've heard on the internet, you probably do not know it, it means nothing because it's not not yours.

"Endowment Effect"

Owning something gives you Control. This expression, "to possess", alludes to a feeling of comforting stability. It's power, security and predictability.

There will not be a day when someone who wants to encourage you after a bad day invites you and subscribes to something.

The purchase of a home is considered an important goal and lose on the basis of our ability to achieve it.

We also attribute more value and emotion to objects when we consider them to be ours, an attitude we develop at an early age. Psychologists call this "endowment effect".

In a study, explained in depth in an excellent video, babies get angry when they tell them that they will take their favorite toy, even if they receive an exact copy immediately after. In addition, as we age, we revere objects of people we love (like our grandparents) or admire (like football players).

But having things also has a disadvantage. We become protectionist and we are afraid of change. Losing something you own can be devastating and can change your life. When that happens, many of us go into depression.

But there is not enough thought to reverse the subscription trend, which seems to have no end.

Although there is one thing
Millennials do not subscribe with much desire lately: marriage. It has dropped by 50% since the 1960s. Maybe what we really have is a problem of commitment.