Case Study: Hive (smart-home provider) turns devices into flexible subscription services with Zuora's subscription platform

Hive Turns Its Smart Home Products into Subscription Services

Hive, Centrica’s smart‑home brand launched in 2013, has grown rapidly in the UK—serving about 500,000 customers and expanding into the US, Canada and Ireland. The company’s challenge was to shift from one‑off product sales to recurring subscriptions while making smart‑home technology attractive and simple for renters and non‑technical users.

Hive introduced Welcome Home subscription packages and used Zuora’s subscription platform to iterate quickly—unbundling its Hive Live service, allowing device add‑ons and pauses, and automatically recalculating monthly fees. Combined with a user‑centric app, machine‑learning automations and field support from British Gas engineers, this approach increased flexibility, accelerated market learning and helped drive continued customer growth toward a projected one million users.

Hive

Jo Cox

Commercial Director