Subscription operations study

Study 10 of 12

How Swim Programs Structure Subscription Plans: 474 Records

A snapshot of how providers configured and maintained recurring swim lesson relationships on Swum.

474Plan records261 active, 212 canceled, one paused
94.7%One session per week448 of 473 plans with measurable frequency
90.9%Flexible schedules431 of 474 plan records
30 minMedian lesson length473 plans with a usable duration

Finding 1

Weekly frequency overwhelmingly dominated

448 of 473 plans with measurable frequency scheduled one session per week. Twenty-three scheduled two sessions and two scheduled three.

The result describes how plans were configured on Swum. It does not determine the ideal frequency for skill development or safety outcomes.

Finding 2

Flexible scheduling was the default pattern

431 plans used a flexible schedule and 42 used a fixed schedule. Flexibility can help families accommodate changing calendars, while fixed slots can simplify capacity planning.

A future outcome analysis should compare rescheduling, attendance and cancellation—not assume either setting is superior from configuration counts alone.

Finding 3

The typical observed canceled plan lasted about three months

Among 194 canceled plans with a usable created and effective cancellation date, the median observed tenure was 90.8 days. The 25th percentile was 42.7 days and the 75th percentile was 163.9 days.

Active plans had a median observed age of 78.1 days at the study boundary. Active-plan age is censored because those relationships had not yet ended.

Finding 4

Semi-private plans represented a substantial minority

123 of the 474 plan records were marked semi-private. That structure can combine recurring revenue with more than one swimmer, but the present study does not normalize price or instructor capacity per participant.

The median plan contained two renewal-history entries, while the 75th percentile contained six and the 90th percentile contained 10.

Plan configuration

MeasureRecordsShare
One session per week448 of 47394.7%
Flexible schedule431 of 47490.9%
Fixed schedule42 of 4748.9%
Semi-private123 of 47425.9%
Charge per lesson8 of 4741.7%

Observed canceled-plan tenure

PercentileDays
25th42.7
Median90.8
75th163.9
90th243.6

Based on 194 canceled plans with valid start and effective cancellation dates.

Methodology

How the benchmark was produced

Swum aggregated configuration and lifecycle fields from 474 production subscription-plan records without reading customer names, payment credentials or lesson objectives.

  • Status is a snapshot at the August 1, 2026 observation boundary.
  • Frequency used the structured sessions-per-week field where present.
  • Canceled tenure required both a valid created date and effective cancellation date.
  • Active-plan age is right-censored and should not be compared directly with completed tenure.

Operator response

What to do with this finding

  1. Use weekly as a tested starting structure while allowing your own demand and teaching model to decide frequency.
  2. Review plan health before the three-month mark, where the median observed canceled tenure sits.
  3. Separate fixed and flexible cohorts when measuring cancellations and rescheduling.
  4. Track completed attendance and realized revenue alongside plan status.

Limitations

What this data cannot establish

  • Plan records are not unique legal customers or businesses.
  • Renewal-history entries reflect stored operational events and may vary across legacy workflows.
  • Configuration counts do not establish instructional or financial superiority.