Subscription Spending Rose 7.7% Year Over Year, BofA Says
Sep 03, 2026Subscription spending is growing faster than total spending in Bank of America’s customer payments data.
For subscription operators, the headline number is only the starting point. What’s driving the 7.7% increase? Are consumers adding subscriptions, or are higher prices doing more of the work? Bank of America’s data can’t separate the two.
Non-utility subscription spending per household increased 7.7% year over year in July 2026, according to research released September 2 by Bank of America Institute.
The bank found subscription spending grew faster than its measure of total spending per household for the second year in a row.
Entertainment and Retail Take the Biggest Share
Entertainment and large retailer subscriptions accounted for about 43% of subscription spending, up from 41% in each of the previous two years.
They also drove most of the current growth.
Food, fitness and fashion accounted for 26% of subscription spending. Home services represented 24%, although Bank of America says home services have been a slight drag on subscription spending growth so far in 2026.
Reading and information made up only 7% of spending, but that category is growing quickly.
Bank of America’s reading and information category includes magazines, newspapers, audiobooks and AI subscriptions. We know spending on the category increased sharply. We don’t know which products inside it drove the increase.
Gen Z Is Growing Fastest
Gen Z posted the largest increase in subscription spending, up nearly 14% year over year.
Younger Millennials were up about 10%, while older Millennials increased spending about 8%. Those younger customers are increasing their subscription spending quickly, but they still spend less on subscriptions than several older generations.
Gen X households spent slightly more than any other generation. Gen X and older Millennials each spent roughly 40% more per household than Gen Z during the 12 months ending in July. Baby Boomers spent more than 30% more.
What people subscribe to also changes by age.
About 60% of Gen Z subscription spending went to entertainment and large retailers. Older consumers devoted more of their subscription spending to home services, food, fitness and fashion.
Reading and Information Spending Grew Fastest
Reading and information produced some of the largest increases in the study. Spending grew 61% among Gen Z, 51% among younger Millennials and 42% among older Millennials.
Publishers and other information businesses should pay attention to those numbers, but carefully. Because Bank of America combines newspapers, magazines, audiobooks and AI subscriptions into one category, the research doesn’t tell us which of those products is driving the increase.
Insider Take
A 7.7% increase in subscription spending gets our attention. It is not 7.7% subscriber growth. Bank of America is measuring dollars spent. Its research doesn’t tell us how much of the increase came from new subscriptions versus higher prices. A price increase can lift spending while subscriber counts weaken. Subscriber growth can also improve while average revenue falls.
The generational findings add another layer. Gen Z is increasing subscription spending fastest, while older generations still spend considerably more per household. Younger subscribers are also concentrating much more of their recurring spending in entertainment and retailer memberships.
The 7.7% headline tells us spending is growing. It doesn’t tell us what is happening underneath that growth.
Related Member Resources
For more on understanding what is changing underneath subscription revenue growth:
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