Tag Archives: pricing

by | Thursday, November 23, 2023 · 7:05 am

“Mom” to the rescue!

What do college students do when they are far from home and need some help – or even just a hug and a home-cooked meal?  Well, if your own mother can’t be there, the next best thing just might be a remote “concierge” mom-for-hire. Yes, there are now concierge services developed specifically to help college students.

Priced at $450 a year, plus delivery fees, concierge moms perform some of the duties a local mom might help with performing. Some of the tasks could be transportation, company at doctor’s visits, grocery shopping, legal help, apartment hunting, and even giving gifts.

Another Mom concierge service based in Boston charges a lot more – up to $10,000 for an academic year and caps the number of students at 30. The service began largely to help foreign students at boarding schools in Boston, but now has expanded to helping college students. Each student has access to as many as five “second moms” who can help with classes, tutoring, and more.

Another type of service is Daisy Bug Delivery in Tampa which accepts deliveries for students, and then hand delivers packages to the right place. Students ship everything from bedding, to minifridges, to laundry carts, furniture, and more. Since June, the service has worked with more than 250 students on shipments and deliveries.

Who will you call?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Has anyone had experiences with concierge services?
  2. Who wished they had this service?
  3. View website for Concierge Services: https://www.bostoncss.com/
  4. View website for Campus Concierge: https://campusconciergeservice.com/
  5. Divide students into teams.
  6. Have each team brainstorm a concierge-type of services.
  7. Define the target market, services, prices, and promotion for the service.

Source: Weiss, T. (19 September 2023). A mother’s love – a bargain at $450 per year, plus applicable fees. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Monday, November 13, 2023 · 7:00 am

Streamflation – Paying More for Streaming?

Have you heard the term “streamflation”? It’s a phrase being used to explain the increasing prices for entertainment streaming services.

On average, the cost of a major ad-free streaming service has increased by roughly 25% in the past year, with more increases to come. These increases account for the roughly $219 per month that consumers pay for subscriptions. That’s $2,628 per year!

Let’s take a quick look:

  • YouTube TV – in 2018 it cost $40; compared to 2023 at $73.
  • Netflix – in 2018 it cost $11; compared to 2023 at $15.49.
  • Disney+ – in 2019 it cost $7; compared to 2023 at $14.
  • ESPN+ – in 2018 it cost $5; compared to 2023 at $10.
  • Peacock – in 2018 it cost $5; compared to 2023 at $6.
  • Apple TV – in 2019 it cost $5; compared to 2023 at $7.

And don’t forget about music streaming such as Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music – all of which carry a monthly fee.

Some fees can be reduced if viewers are willing to accept advertising as part of the service. For example, Netflix has prices of $6.99 per month for ad-supported viewing, compared to $15.49 per month for ad-free viewing.

Why the steep increases? Because most streaming services have been losing money to the tune of millions, if not billions, of dollars. But can companies raise prices and expect customers to stay loyal?

What will you pay?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Pricing is a complex topic. Discuss the six steps for pricing (determining objectives, estimating demand, determining cost/profit relationships, select price level, set list price, and make adjustments).
  2. Discuss the various pricing models in class: demand-oriented, cost-oriented, profit-oriented, and competition-oriented.
  3. Poll students: What do they pay each month for streaming?
  4. Show video about streaming inflation: https://youtu.be/WNhkP9Q2gNs?si=18CUvNE8Oms-K46f
  5. Which pricing strategy is being used by streaming companies?
  6. Divide students into teams. Have each team research the prices being used by the various streaming companies (Disney+, Netflix, Apple, Hulu, etc.). Include both ad-free and ad-supported prices.
  7. Draw a table on the white board that lists the companies and their prices.

Source: Whelan, R., Flint, J., Rattner, N. (15 August 2023). Streamflation is here and media companies are betting you’ll pay up. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Thursday, June 22, 2023 · 7:07 am

 100% Recyclable Running Shoes Rented By Subscription Only

We all know that the world has a growing waste problem, partly due to the age of disposable clothing and fast fashion. Apparel and sportswear companies are working to reduce emissions and decrease the products going to landfill, but is it enough? In particular, athletic shoes tend to be made from a great many complicated components, meaning that it isn’t worth it to separate the individual parts for recycling.

For college students and athletes, a big portion of their budget goes to shoes. And, a big part of their closets are likely old and used shoes that are rarely worn any more. If their closets are like ours, they probably have at least six pairs, of which five pairs are very used and dirty and ready to be thrown away.

But what if we didn’t have to enlarge the waste dump? What if we could wear our running shoes until they are worn or dirty, and then just trade it them to be recycled and receive a shiny, clean, new pair?

Sounds complicated, but Swiss sportwear company “On” has a solution. It recently launched the Cloudneo running shoe as is a recycled premium running shoe – but it can’t be purchased, only rented.

For a monthly fee of $29.99, s Cloudneo is a subscription service for not only a performance running shoe, but a fully recyclable plant-based shoe! Castor beans are used as the base, and the shoe upper is sewn from a single piece of fabric to help reduce waste. The shoe contains only nine pieces of material compared to dozens of materials in most brands. And, since dye contaminates plastic, the Cloudneo is only available in white.

On is now shipping more than a million pairs of its Cloudneo athletic shoes each month, plus has added a growing line of sports clothing. The Cloudneo was supposed to launch in 2021, but was held up by the pandemic and supply chain issues. It has also added non-subscription shoes which are sold individually, but can be recycled. On is distributed through retail partners in more than 60 countries, plus direct-to-consumer.

Run, recycle, run again.

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss a subscription business model. Poll students: What subscription services do they use? Other services they can name? (Ex: meal kits, shave clubs, entertainment, etc.).
  2. Poll students: How many running or athletic pairs of shoes do you own? How long do they last? How much do you spend?
  3. How many pairs of athletic shoes do they have currently? What do you do with your old shoes?
  4. Show video about the company and its process.: https://youtu.be/tCH7lqkud8w
  5. Show On Running website: https://www.on-running.com/en-us/cyclon
  6. Who is the target market? Include demographics, psychographics, behaviors, values, attitudes, etc.
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team come up with a promotional plan for Cloudneo.

Source: Ballard, E. (7 July 2022). The 100% recyclable running shoe that’s only available by subscription. Wall Street Journal.; Danziger, P. (4 April 2023). On, the $1 billion Swiss running-shoe company, declares Cyclon its sustainability incubator. Forbes.

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