Rationale for a Clothing Rental Service
The ongoing demand for clothes gives every reason to believe that the time is ripe for creating agencies to lend outfits for different occasions. This idea is the basis of the future business: offering a monthly subscription to the site in exchange for two outfits for an unlimited period. The service will be provided online, and you will have an opportunity to buy subscriptions of different levels.
The proposed idea is especially relevant nowadays as the online rental industry is rapidly expanding due to the pandemic and shared economy trends. The target audience is women aged 20-40 who need stylish clothes for daily and special occasions. Although there are major market players such as Armoire, Nuuly, Le Tote, and Bee, corporations have flaws that open up innovation and company promotion opportunities.
Market Opportunity and Social Trends
The modern world is going through a period of economic recession, which stimulates the popularization of the shared economy. According to the social survey, 55% of people are willing to borrow various belongings of other people, and 80% admit that these are not suitable times for spending on clothes (Brydges et al., 2021). Constantly buying bows from the latest fashion collections or in boutiques of famous brands can seriously affect the financial situation, even of wealthy citizens. Moreover, existing fashion trends are constantly changing, as a result of which the most popular thing today may tomorrow already lose its relevance. It leads to the need to introduce the business idea: to provide rental services of unique fashionable outfits and accessories.
Business Model, Service Offering, and Value Proposition
It is crucial for brands to become visionaries, create faith in the consumer for a happy future, and inspire new ideas and experiences with brands. Therefore, the proposal is to offer customers a monthly subscription for renting handmade items. Moreover, delivering an online consultation for one purchasing a subscription of the highest level is manageable.
The service should not merely succumb to trends but create them and be a catalyst for changes (Brydges et al., 2021). With a subscription, consumers can purchase three to four unique fashion items at a time for an indefinite duration in exchange for a monthly fee. This way, the idea will meet the population’s needs and be profitable, making the choice relevant.
The marketing of clothing rental has undergone significant changes since the pandemic. Therefore, all trends and perspectives have been considered to form a unique value proposition. It is formed in the following way: Reduce your expenditures with one click: a monthly subscription that allows you to get multiple stylist-picked handmade outfits within a few minutes.
The clothing rental industry is not new and has begun to develop in the last few years actively. The reasons for the existence of the market are the economic benefits of the service to consumers and the growing trend of sharing. The online rent industry’s growth has accelerated dramatically with the pandemic and attention to environmental issues. The market is projected to reach $1.96 billion by 2024 and could cross the $3 billion mark by 2029 (Online clothing rental market, 2023). Nowadays, renting is especially popular, and it can be assumed that this trend will not disappear in the next few decades.
Target Audience
The target group of the rental salon is 20-40 years old women. The women’s segment’s substantial share of the global online clothing market is represented by their recurring presence at social and corporate events. Moreover, according to statistics, only two women out of 100 above 40 years of age purchase or rent clothes for a special occasion; the rest go to the event in an outfit of a universal nature (Shrivastava et al., 2021).
Young girls, on the contrary, always want to look fresh, trendy, and stylish, and they often update their closets with outfits for one night. They are a target audience because they need quality clothes for a specific event, and this need will be solved by the service. As previously stated, the basic idea of the service is to provide a subscription to a monthly service, which means that the business will be located on the Internet. Online sales will save money on rent and enable the audience to quickly become familiar with the product; therefore, this location is particularly relevant.
Competitive Landscape and Differentiation
Since the service of rental clothes is not new, numerous companies are engaged in this kind of service. Among the largest competitors, Armoire, Nuuly, Le Tote, and Bee should be noted (Shrivastava et al., 2021). The essence of competition lies in the service offering, as there are many companies of this type, but most are not presented online. Among the strengths of corporations’ technology, stable quality, high customer loyalty, and a high level of service should be mentioned.
At the same time, there are likewise disadvantages, which are the presence of only physical stores, a lack of a required number of consultants, a standard range of products, and a deficiency of marketing (Shrivastava et al., 2021). These weaknesses open up opportunities for rapid development and are the idea’s strengths.
Unlike competitors, business will be conducted online, thereby greatly expanding the customer base and convenience. Moreover, the range of goods will be specific, present only in this company, and created by its designer according to the latest trends. The customers will have the possibility of personal consultation and the ability to view images made up by the stylist directly on the site.
Money saved on rent will be spent on marketing, helping to establish the company in the leading positions of the competitive market. Therefore, it can be concluded that despite competitors, the service has an opportunity to outrun them. Companies have been lacking innovations in the market for a long time, which is the principal opportunity for growth.
Reference List
Brydges, T., Heinze, L., Retamal, M., and Henninger, C. E. (2021) ‘Platforms and the pandemic: A case study of fashion rental platforms during COVID‐19’, The Geographical Journal, 187(1), pp. 57-63.
Online clothing rental market: Growth and forecasts (2023). Web.
Shrivastava, A., Jain, G., Kamble, S. S., and Belhadi, A. (2021) ‘Sustainability through online renting clothing: Circular fashion fueled by Instagram micro-celebrities’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 278, p.12.