Amazon Prime, Spotify set to be worst hit by Brits cancelling subscriptions

British households are cancelling online subscriptions as the cost of living soars, with Amazon Prime and Spotify among the most-searched subscriptions to be cancelled, according to a new study.

According to a new study by VPN Online, Brits are increasingly cancelling their streaming subscriptions to save money amid sky-high inflation. In 2022, the average Brit spent £620 per year on sign-up subscription services, with the average household spending £41.70 per month, according to Barclaycard.

This follows a rough season for streaming services. Between July and September, video streaming services were cancelled by 234,000 British households, while the number of UK homes with at least one paid-for video subscription dropped by almost one million (937,000) between January and September, according to London analytics firm Kantar.

This is likely to get worse as subscription prices in the UK have gone up in the recent months. Amazon Prime upped prices from £7.99 to £8.99 per month, while reports indicate Spotify customers will see a price hike in early 2023.

Report data indicated that “Cancel Amazon Prime” has received the most Google searches in the last 12 months, with an average of 232,540 searches. Spotify followed closely with an average of 220,340 annual searches for how to cancel the service.

City A.M. understands that while Spotify UK believes it will be protected from some of the cancellation impact due to its use of a so-called freemium model, it acknowledges it would not be completely immune.

Spotify offers its music streaming services for free, while subscribers can pay for an advertising-free experience. The UK is Spotify’s second largest market and according to the company’s 2021 financial reports, it generated 88 per cent of its revenue from the subscription service.

Sky TV and Netflix were the next most ‘How to cancel’ searched services, according to the VPN Online report. Netflix raised subscription prices in March 2022, with the standard service tier increasing from £8.99 to £9.99 per month and the premium tier increasing from £11.99 to £13.99 per month.

Commenting on the report, a VPN online spokesperson said: “It’s interesting to see such a high number of searches around cancelling subscription services which are often part of our daily lives. However, as the cost of living continues to rise and these services hike their prices, it’s no surprise to see people sacrificing their premium packages.”

Amazon UK and Sky TV were reached for comment.