They forget what they joined
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
A $9 or $15 monthly charge can disappear into a credit card statement for months or even years.
Key facts
- Close to half (44%) of U.S. consumers increased their subscription spending in 2025, with average annual spending rising to $1,887, or about $157 a month, according to a report published
- A $9 or $15 monthly charge can disappear into a credit card statement for months or even years
- The average canceled subscription costs $17.39 a month, and Mackler said ScribeUp saves users more than $300 a year on average on recurring bills they didn't realize they were paying for or no longer
- According to the company, the median ScribeUp user now has more than 12 recurring subscription payments, while 1 in 4 has 20 or more
Summary
For years, subscription businesses have benefited from a simple fact of consumer behavior: people are much better at signing up than canceling. They forget what they joined. With the rollout of Meta Muse this month, an AI personal agent that can handle tasks across many areas of personal life, it quickly became clear that subscription bloat was an easy target. And the timing matters. Neale Mahoney, an economics professor at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, has studied how much subscription businesses benefit when consumers fail to cancel.