The subscription economy has crept into household finances, slowly eating away at South Africans’ disposal income.

According to data from Standard Bank, household subscription spending has risen sharply, with high-income males over 40 reportedly spending more than R1 000/month on streaming and software subscriptions.

“We all deserve to spend a portion of our incomes on things that bring us joy and comfort. But as incomes rise, so do expenses – often unconsciously,” said Doret Jooste, head of money management and advisory at Standard Bank.

“This ‘lifestyle inflation’, including growing subscription costs, can shrink disposable income and delay emergency savings.”

Standard Bank data shows that, not surprisingly, subscription spending per household varies widely, depending on income brackets. While high-income individuals can easily spend over R1 000/month, the averages for middle- and low-income households are R482/month and R336/month, respectively.

Males over 40 are the biggest spenders, but their female counterparts are not far behind, also spending, on average, more than R1 000/month on streaming, health and fitness, and digital services subscriptions.

There is a positive correlation between age and higher subscription spending in high-income households, with older customers committing to long-term premium services, Standard Bank said. However, in the lower-income segments, the bank’s clients over 60 show less engagement with subscription services.

Subscription fatigue

Streaming and other entertainment services dominate household subscription spending. Health and fitness services follow, with software and digital services also showing significant growth. Higher-income earners tend to spend more on premium digital subscriptions, including fintech services and advanced software.

“Subscription fatigue is real. Many add more subscriptions without regularly reviewing their needs,” said Jooste. “When factoring multi-banked customers, and transactions not captured by banks for customers paying at retail outlets, the financial impact could be much larger than what we see.”