Treasure or clutter? – What comes in the box? Parents’ perspective on educational subscription boxes

Abstract

Educational subscription boxes are on the rise in the United States. The increasing demand for educational toys in Western Europe (Euromonitor International, n.d.), and the growing popularity of subscription boxes in the UK (Globaldata Consulting, 2019) indicate that the UK's educational subscription box market will follow the growth trajectory of its American counterpart. However, subscription boxes receive little attention from academics, despite their popularity among customers. The research study for this master's thesis aimed to gain insight into parents' perspectives on educational subscription boxes by exploring their beliefs on play and toys and what they perceive as the key benefits and barriers to subscription. A qualitative approach was implemented; twelve parents of pre-school-aged children living in the United Kingdom participated in semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analysed by thematic analysis. The primary findings revealed that parents valued the access to child development-related content in addition to the physical items, curation, and high-quality, aesthetically pleasing toys. They identified a lack of personalisation, negative past experiences, and a fear of overspending as the primary obstacles. The qualitative method used for this study doesn't allow the results to be generalised to other educational subscription boxes; however, the data showed that parents judged the educational value of the boxes by comparing the descriptions and photos of toys and activities to similar things their children already had.