Donuts’ numbers show promise for fresh TLD business model
Firm notes solid growth and metrics. Keep an eye on it as discounted domains come up for renewal.
Donuts has summarized data regarding its progress in 2017 and there are some interesting tidbits:
- Year-over-year growth in fresh registration volume (excluding fresh TLD launches) has increased by 34%
- One million fresh registrations so far in 2017, bringing total domains under management to 3 million
- Average renewal rate for a Donuts TLD is 71% (weighted by volume)
These numbers are indeed encouraging for Donuts’ business model and perhaps some of the other fresh TLD registries.
Donuts has done some fairly sizable promotions this year with discount pricing for initial registrations. It had every TLD in its stable on sale for a while and most domains were under $10 for the first year. 60 were regarding $5 or less retail. The low prices have certainly juiced initial registrations.
Domains that cost a lot more to renew than the initial registration fee usually have lower renewal rates. Still, Donuts’ discounting wasn’t the same as some registries that did extreme discounting with a goal of attracting domain investors in China.
The 71% renewal rate is in line with what the firm told me it was getting a little over a year ago.
Rightside (now owned by Donuts) noted 59% overall renewal rates earlier this year with 50% on first-year renewals. Rightside has traditionally offered more first-year discounts, so I expect Donuts’ renewal rates to slip as discounted domains come up for renewal.
It will be interesting to watch over the next few quarters.
