Rachael Ray attends at Yappie Hour presented by BarkBox (Photo by Sergi Alexander/Getty Images for ... [+] SOBEWFF)

At more American homes, the box kit is getting the drop kick. And for retailers, that’s a foot out the door of profitability.

Retail subscriptions, those automatic replenishment services that fulfill household needs ranging from pet food to celebrity autographs, are getting a lot of “please cancel” requests following their pandemic-induced heyday. In March 2022, the number of retail subscriptions per average U.S. consumer (not household) had declined to 3.9, from five in October 2021, according to PYMNTS.com.

Back in 2020, each consumer on average belonged to fewer than two retail subscriptions, Forbes reported in May. But then the pandemic lockdown forced people to order their goods online: From February 2020 to July 2021, the share of consumers subscribing to retail product services escalated from fewer than 9% to 24%, PYMENTS reports.

And as a result, a crop of retail subscriptions emerged, for fishing tackle, face masks and even animal skulls (thanks, BuzzFeed).

A review of the reasons people enrolled in subscription services back in 2021, as well as the demographics, untangles the reasons why so many people have cut back on a subscription or two since then:

Food blogger Jill McBride of Grownupdish.com opens her Blue Apron box.

There’s one other reason a good share of consumers invested in retail subscriptions: for the excitement of it. In the midst of the lockdown, a box filled with bite-sized cakes or kitchen gadgets could really knock the wind out of the tedium. It was worth the price of enrolling.

By early 2022, when the price of a three-pound bag of oranges approached $6, CNBC has reported, those good mail-order vibes started to slide.

But not entirely. In cases where subscriptions continue to make good value sense, their memberships thrive. Keep in mind value is not just about price; it’s about convenience, time savings and, yes, pleasure.

Here are four measures that could separate long-lived retail subscriptions from cancelled ones.

Retailers know that the things their customers buy can be hard to predict; what goes on in each household can change sharply, thanks to employment shifts, school assignments, childhood (and adult) phases and emotions. A keto-dieting woman in perimenopause may have an unshakable craving for Jeni’s ice cream. A teenage boy might refuse to use store-bought razors.

What matters is that when the average household budget is in pick-and-choose mode, the choices are made for a reason. It’s not musical chairs. A subscription, regardless of the goods, should act in good times just as it would in hard times.