Spotted: The global subscription e-commerce market size is growing at a rate of more than 64 per cent each year, with analysts predicting a value of more than $904 billion by 2026 (around €850 billion). With consumers able to access many products so quickly and directly, adding circularity to the process could help reduce substantial volumes of waste and pollution. With many people keen on updating their devices as regularly as possible, e-waste is a mountainous problem affecting almost every region of the world.
Australian and Singaporean-based Circular is a subscription service designed to completely change how people consume technology. The company offers the latest devices at affordable monthly prices, and when someone wants to upgrade, the phone, laptop, or other device doesn’t just languish in a desk drawer. Instead, Circular refurbishes the device and offers it for lease to someone wanting a newer device that isn’t necessarily the latest model. When a device reaches the end of its useful lifecycle, Circular recycles it via sustainable, traceable processes.
Customers choose the length of their subscription and after being approved by Circular, receive their chosen device. Subscriptions are available for individuals and businesses, and Circular covers 90 per cent of all damage repair costs. After paying an initial launch fee for the chosen subscription length, customers pay a monthly cost that ranges from around A$44 to A$180 (from around €27 to €109), depending on the type and power of device chosen.
Despite the ubiquity of subscription services, innovators continue to find new ways to update the idea for new products and processes. In Springwise’s database, examples include a subscribe and recycle model for kids’ bikes and toys and a subscription app that provides access to electric vehicle charging availability.
Written By: Keely Khoury