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Online subscriptions surged during pandemic – FNB
FNB revealed South Africans are doubling down on online spending on home deliveries, as well as music and video streaming subscriptions.
This is according to data on spending by FNB customers.
FNB attributed the increase in spending on deliveries and online subscriptions to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns.
“The pandemic has accelerated the use of digital platforms and home delivery services for a safer and convenient exchange of goods, services, and payments,” said FNB’s CEO of retail and private banking, Raj Makanjee.
What online spending and subscriptions are trending?
According to FNB’s data, Uber is still the most popular home delivery app among South Africans.
However, Mr D saw a 140% usage increase since the start of the lockdown. When the bank compared the app’s usage between March 2020 and March 2021, there was a 98% increase.
At the same time, there was an overall increase in South Africans subscribing to video streaming services. The average number of people paying a Netflix subscription increased by 64%.
Showmax subscriptions increased by 78%, while Amazon Prime subscriptions increased by 50%.
Music-wise, subscriptions for Apple iTunes increased monthly by 18% on average. Spotify subscriptions have increased by 83%.
Another trend with FNB customers is the preferred method of payment for subscriptions is the Virtual Card on the FNB and RMB Private Bank mobile apps.
More than 200 000 FNB virtual cards have activated since the service was launched in January 2021 and total spend values are approaching R200 million.
“Individually, customers are not necessarily spending more on any of these categories, however, adoption is certainly growing across our base,” said CEO of FNB Card, Chris Labuschagne.
“There is clearly a significant shift in consumers’ appetites and choices, based on where people choose to spend their money.”
Feature image: Andy Walker/Memeburn
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