Who knew everything from yoga memberships to primetime TV to audiobooks for kids could be so cheap?
They’re not, really. Not at all. But ever since communities around the globe started sheltering in place as part of a widespread effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, various apps have tweaked their subscriptions and blasted out marketing emails to offer potential customers free trials. Stressed out? Headspace, normally $13 per month, has assembled free collections for health care workers, teachers, and the general public. Kids stressing you out? Amazon-owned Audible is offering six categories of free kids books. Looking to work out? Peloton, Nike Training Club, CorePower Yoga, even a Chris Hemsworth workout app are all offering generous free trials. Feeling lonely? Never to be left out when it comes to technology trends, PornHub is offering free trials of its premium service.
It might be tempting to sign up for all kinds of free trials right now. Especially if your financial situation has become precarious, or you suspect it will in the near future. Free trials or “freemium” services can be incredibly useful, a means of testing out software and seeing how it works before taking the full subscription plunge. But taking advantage of what seems like a good deal in the time of coronavirus could end up creating a mess of your digital life in the long run. Here are a few things to consider before handing over your email and credit card info.
Free software trials (and bundles) were a trend long before the pandemic. Analysts who follow the software industry closely say these kinds of customer acquisition strategies have been used for years now. It might just seem like a novelty because companies are now trying to address price sensitivities in their messaging—or because the promotions are more directly in your face while you’re glued to screens at home.
“In business software there’s been a move from the perpetual license model to subscription models, or software-as-a-service, for a while now,” says John Santoro, a senior research director for Gartner. “And now it’s become popular in consumer software too. Subscription offerings allow the consumer to more effectively try it, and to feel like there’s a lot less invested if it doesn’t work out.”
Walt Piecyk, a partner and technology analyst at LightShed partners, points out that the telecom sector in the US has also been promoting free subscriptions. A few years ago T-Mobile started bundling a Netflix subscription with some of its family plans, a way to differentiate itself from its wireless competitors. Now T-Mobile is doing the same thing with a new streaming media service: Quibi, which charges up to $8 pe
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