AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF PRICING AND ADOPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION BUNDLES

Subscription-based business models increasingly rely on bundling multiple services under a single recurring price, yet empirical evidence on how bundling affects pricing, consumer adoption, and firm performance remains limited.This study provides an integrated empirical analysis of subscription bundle pricing and adoption across digital markets, including streaming services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and e-commerce memberships.Using plan-level data compiled from publicly available sources, the study examines differences between bundled and standalone subscriptions in terms of effective per-service prices, adoption behaviour, price sensitivity, and revenue outcomes.Regression results show that while bundled subscriptions carry higher absolute prices, they offer lower effective per-service prices and achieve significantly higher adoption rates.Consumer adoption responds strongly to relative bundle discounts, and price sensitivity is substantially lower for bundled offerings, consistent with reduced price salience and enhanced perceived value.Fixed-effects analyses indicate that the introduction of bundles expands overall subscription adoption rather than reallocating existing demand.Moreover, higher bundle adoption is positively associated with firm revenue outcomes, including average revenue per user and total subscription revenue.The findings demonstrate that subscription bundling functions as a valueenhancing and demand-expanding pricing strategy, linking classical bundling theory with behavioural responses and firm performance in modern subscription markets.