Snapchat just announced some new additions to its Snapchat+ subscription offer, while also sharing some new insights regarding Snapchat+ take-up. In turn, this provides additional perspective on the potential of such options in the broader strategic scheme.
Snapchat+, which was launched late in June, allows Snap users to pay $3.99 a month to get access to an array of add-on elements including variable app icons, new data insights, and the capacity to Pin a user in the app as your ‘#1 best friend’.
Snapchat+ Plus
After much deliberation (and possibly thousands of customer feedback), Snap is now finally looking to ‘Sweeten the Deal’ by adding yet another feature that allows users to set ‘Priority Story Replies’, which makes your replies more visible to Snap Stars. Another one is ‘Post View Emoji’, which allows you to pick a dedicated emoji that you want your connections to see after they’ve viewed your Snaps. There are also new Bitmoji backgrounds, including ‘Gleaming Gold’ and a beach paradise. New app icons were also thrown into the mix for good measure, providing users with even more ways to customize their Snap experience. While none of these are groundbreaking, Snapchat+ clearly holds a certain level of appeal, with Snapchat also reporting that it now has over a million paying subscribers that have signed up for the option.
This is an extra $4 per month directly filling Snapchat’s coffers. It may not seem all that upfront, however, the numbers show that even at marginal takeup (>1% of Snap’s total user base), such options can still provide the app with significant earnings. If it can get it right. These latest features now give Snapchat+ subscribers access to 11 exclusive in-app features, putting it slightly above Twitter Blue’s 9 Blue-only elements. It may not be a competition, but still, these two subscription options provide an interesting parallel as to how these types of offers can work.
Putting aside the full details of the variances between Twitter Blue and Snapchat+, Snap is gunning for volume, which is what makes it so sticky to markets like India, which now also happens to be its single biggest market at 144 million Indian users. This could eventually help Snap develop a stronger market presence and give it a lot more users to either sell ads or pitch their own products, such as its Pixie Drone camera and upcoming Spectacles.
The Wrap
Snap’s huge and growing Indian market presence opens up a lot of opportunities for it, like if it were to partner with Apple for its AR glasses. That could open the door for Snap and Apple to either go toe-to-toe or even ahead of Meta in terms of AR development; Snap’s ‘Cool’ factor and Apple’s tech and resource dominance make for a truly formidable pair.
With this in mind, building an audience could be a key step, which is why Snapchat’s approach to Snapchat+ might just be the way to go.
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