the market for home-delivered boxes | Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The subscription box market was born in the United States around 2007. The market is developed around the idea of paying a periodic subscription fee, ranging between 10 and 30 euros, to receive monthly, semi-annually, or annually boxes containing specific categories of products: the most common are boxes containing products for body care or ingredients for the realization of recipes. The market is divided into two categories: subscription box service with a surprise effect, where customers only know the category of the product they will receive but not the specific products, and subscription box service with the function of periodic replenishment, which concern products that consumers usually use and prefer to buy in this form to obtain saving possibilities. 

The global market was worth $18.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.1% between 2021 and 2026. A key driver of this growth has undoubtedly been the strong development of e-commerce and social media that have stimulated the purchase of subscription boxes through social media blogs or influencers.  

The Italian subscription box market only began to gain popularity in 2012, but has exploded in recent years, recording very high growth rates and ensuring good future prospects.

The competitors operating in this market, on the Italian scene, are many and are known to be classified on the basis of the products offered: in the food sector, among the best established competitors there are certainly Cortilla and Babaco Market. 

Of great importance, moreover, is the positive impact that this service is having on the cosmetics sector, which has been severely slowed down due to the pandemic Covid-19. In this regard, the most established company in Italy is Abiby, which in 2020 recorded a growth in turnover of 170%.