The increase in the prices of textbooks have compelled higher education students to resort to less expensive alternatives such as used textbooks, book rentals and online learning. This shift has left traditional publishers in the lurch. So, in order to compete with modern eLearning tools, publishers are adopting the subscription-based product strategy.

The subscription- based model has been used by some major business houses to increase their profit margins. By leveraging a subscription model, publishers intend to offer books to students at a low cost, without incurring losses, and keep their textbook publishing business alive and thriving.