On Monday, Snap said that that the June-launched paid membership service Snapchat+ now has more than 1 million users worldwide.
Even though Snapchat+ has only been around for a little over a month, Snap is still introducing some new benefits to its subscription service.
The social media platform recently gave its users access to a "summer drop," which most notably includes priority replies to celebrities' Stories, according to the news stories of Engadget and TechCrunch. This can move you up the queue if you're keen to catch the eye of your preferred celebrity or influencer.
New Snapchat+ Features
With the introduction of the new feature, Snapchat will prioritize paid user responses to stories shared by the platform's renowned creators, known as Snap Stars, over non-paid user responses.
The only other new features are visual. For instance, users can now choose a unique emoji to end their Snaps with. The emoji will show up on the timeline next to the subscriber's avatar once a friend views one of their snaps.
Additionally, Snapchat+ subscribers now have access to a range Bitmoji avatar backgrounds and customized Snapchat app icons, as per Engadget and TechCrunch's reports.
Snap said that more features would be added in the "coming months," although it made no mention of any specific functionality.
Snapchat's Revenue
Snapchat+, the company's new service, is a departure from its previous business strategy, which primarily depends on advertising.
As previously mentioned, the social media platform has more than 1 million subscribers now. Of the 347 million daily users of Snapchat, that amounts to a small fraction. For a paid plan that is only six weeks old, it's no small accomplishment.
Regular product releases might maintain this momentum and offer Snap a competitive edge over competitors like Instagram and TikTok.
In addition, it generates revenue from the sale of hardware, such as its new Pixy drone and Spectacles smart glasses, but this revenue is relatively minuscule in comparison to its advertising business.
In its most recent financial report, according to the news story by Engadget, the company recently announced a hiring freeze, which coincided with a precipitous two-month decline in the stock price.
TechCrunch, on the other hand, mentioned that within 30 days of the launch of Snapchat+, according to a research by Sensor Tower published last month, Snap had already generated $7.3 million in in-app revenue, with the paid tier accounting for more than $5 million of that total.
While the $3.99 monthly plan was a popular choice, the analytics company noted that many people also chose to purchase six- or 12-month subscriptions, which were priced at $21.99 and $39.99, respectively.
Snapchat+ was first released in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Since then, the company has increased its geographic reach to include nations like Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, and Austria.
