Our thinking

The Goods: Kicking off sports subscriptions

2 September, 2022

Most of us don’t take enough exercise, and for many, access to sports is contingent on the right equipment, which can be expensive and hard to store.

In response, sporting goods store Decathlon launched a trial with 2,000 customers who were offered three different subscriptions at varying price points. This allowed people to access thousands of different types of sporting equipment and to swap products freely, at any time, for a fraction of the cost of buying equipment.

The results were compelling, and everyone involved was a winner. Families made substantial savings and increased their participation in sports. Decathlon improved cash flows and gathered plenty of data on how to improve the lifespan of their products, as they were able to analyse wear and tear on return. This is a great example of how traditional businesses are shifting their models to turn one time purchase buyers into lifelong customers and improve sustainability.

Although this isn’t available to UK consumers it’s available in Belgium and coming soon – we hope – to the UK. And when it does, it will be a welcome opportunity for us all to dabble in paddle boarding, get our skates on and climb every mountain, without the inconvenience of storage or the costs of purchasing the kit.

By George Hargreaves