Richard Broughton, director of research at Ampere, said that although there was an increase in churn rates at the start of the year, "there is no strong evidence to suggest that customers are being pulled away due to interest in other [streaming video] services".
The data suggest that a combination of higher inflation and a weakening stock market prompted consumers to tighten their budgets.
Many of those that left the streaming service were aged between 18 and 24, or in households with an annual income of less than US$15,000 ($23,854), according to the analysis. About 49 per cent of the poorest households surveyed said they had a Netflix subscription in the first quarter, down from about 56.2 per cent in the previous year.
Netflix's loss of subscribers came after the company in January raised the price in the US for its standard plan by US$1.50 to US$15.49.
While the analysis suggests belt-tightening was the biggest drag for Netflix, questions over its content may also have contributed.
Ampere's data point to Netflix suffering from a growing number of more fickle subscribers, or those who will cancel a subscription if they cannot find anything they want to watch, but are willing to join again when they hear of something they do.
Although an industry-wide concern, Netflix's maturity makes it more exposed to this risk than the rest, said Broughton.
- Additional reporting by Steven Bernard.
Written by: Patrick Mathurin and Anna Nicolaou
© Financial Times
