구독 서비스에 관한 연구들이 대부분 온라인 미디어 스트리밍 서비스에 집중되어 있으나, 이미 시장에서는 제품 구독 서비스가 활발하게 적용되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 제품 구독 서비스에 있어 구독 서비스 유형(보충구독 vs. 추천구독)과 제품 유형(쾌락재 vs. 실용재)이 소비자 행동에 미치는 영향을 알아보고, 선행연구를 기반으로 이 관계를 매개하는 요인들을 쇼핑의 편의성과 지각된 즐거움으로 구분하고 관계를 살펴보았다. 우선 사전조사를 통해 제품 구독 서비스에 대한 소비자의 의견을 수집하였고, 이를 토대로 드러그 스토어의 화장품 구독 서비스 및 기업형 대형할인점의 식료품 구독 서비스의 광고 자극물을 제작하였다. 이어 Amazon MTurk을 통해 무작위로 모집된 822명을 대상으로 실험을 시행하였다. 실험은 2 (구독 서비스 유형 : 보충구독 vs. 추천구독) × 2 (제품 유형 : 실용재 vs. 쾌락재)의 집단 간 설계로 시행되었으며, 구독 서비스의 광고 자극에 노출된 실험 참가자에게 구독 의도, 쇼핑의 편의성 및 지각된 즐거움의 측정 문항을 차례대로 응답하도록 하였다. 실험 결과, 구독 의도에 대한 구독 서비스 유형 및 제품 유형의 상호작용효과가 확인되었다. 또한 PROCESS macro를 통해 구독 서비스 유형과 구독 의도 간의 관계에서 쇼핑 편의성의 부분 매개효과가 확인되었으며, 제품 유형과 구독 의도 간의 관계에서 지각된 즐거움의 완전 매개효과가 확인되었다. 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 구독경제전략과 관련된 이론적, 실무적 시사점을 논의하였다.
Purpose: While most of the studies on subscription economy focus on online media streaming services, consumer goods subscription services are already actively being implemented in the market. In this study, the type of subscription service (replenishment vs. curated) and product type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) examined the effect of subscription intention in the consumer goods subscription economy. Furthermore, based on previous studies, the factors mediating this relationship were classified into shopping convenience and perceived enjoyment, and the relationship was examined.
Research design, data, and methodology: Consumers’ opinions on consumer products subscription services were collected through the pretest, and based on this, advertisement stimuli for drugstore’s Health & Beauty subscription service and Super supermarkets’ Food & Groceries subscription were produced. Subsequently, an experiment was conducted on 822 randomly recruited people through Amazon MTurk. Experiment 2 (Subscription service type: Replenishment subscription vs. Curated subscription) × 2 (product type: Hedonic goods vs. Utilitarian goods) was designed between groups, and experimental participants were exposed to advertising stimulation of subscription services were asked to respond to the measurement questions of Subscription intention, Shopping convenience, and Perceived enjoyment.
Results: As a result of the experiment, the interaction effect of the subscription service types and product types on the subscription intention was confirmed. In addition, through PROCESS macro, the partial mediating effect of shopping convenience was proved in the relationship between subscription service types and subscription intention, and the complete mediating effect of perceived enjoyment was found in the relationship between product type and subscription intention.
Conclusions: The study provides the following academic and practical implications. First, for the performance of product subscription services, companies need to change the types of subscription services depending on whether the supplied products are hedonic or utilitarian products. Second, when the subscription service type is Replenishment subscription, it is necessary to focus on the convenience for consumers, and when the product type is hedonic, it is important to improve customers’ enjoyment of shopping. Third, this study has verified the role of factors dealt with in existing shopping studies through experimental studies on subscription services, which are attracting attention as a new trend following the sharing economy. Finally, the influence of perceived enjoyment and shopping convenience, which have been studied as important parameters or regulatory variables related to shopping, was expanded to consumer goods subscription services.